ILLIPILLY HILL

Fresh from the quiet dignified life of England, the three Wilmot children react strongly to their rustic home in nineteenth century Australia. To twelve-year-old Harriet it is all wonder and adventure: to her ladylike little sister, it is a fearsome place; and to Audan, the thirteen-year-old son, it is a barbaric land killed with uneducated natives. After accepting the rugged, strange children in the one-room school, and exploring the cerie swamp of the white herons where he meets a boy of nature, Audan comes round to Harriet's way of thinking and the family decides to remain. Sharp contrasts and humorous conversations combine with ""far outback"" adventures to form a very readable book.