In a case of art imitating life, this mother and daughter duo have written a time-travelling tale set in and around Alice Springs. The fictional mother, Leni, is of white settler heritage, as is Linda Wells; and Leni’s daughter, Millie, has Walpiri heritage from her late father, a legacy shared by Marly Wells.

Millie borrows a book from her high school library about Central Australian history, becoming so involved in it that a willy-willy transports her back to the bush in 1924, to meet the characters she had been reading about.

One is Spike, daughter of a widowed station owner; another is Sonny, an Aboriginal boy living with his family; and the third is Beryl, an Aboriginal girl who had run away from the Bungalow in Alice Springs, a place for children taken from their parents, later
known as the Stolen Generation.

The four teenagers share adventures and information, with Millie returning to contemporary Alice Springs to learn more about her own heritage. She persuades the three 1924 characters to time-travel with her to her home, and on seeing the present-day town, Beryl provides her memories of it in 1924, when she was taken to the Bungalow, with many fewer people, and just desert tracks instead of roads.

Linda and Marly Wells have portrayed the deep familial ties that Millie has to her father’s mob, whether from the town or the bush, and glossaries of Warlpiri and Arrernte language at Desert Tracks’ end help with the conversations throughout.

Reviewed by Jennifer Somerville

Age Guide 12+

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Linda Wells is of white settler descent and proud to be Marly’s mother. She is a teacher and writer. Linda has lived in Central Australia for many years and worked as a teacher on desert communities as well as in Alice Springs. For over ten years Linda also ran a small business, conducting guided walking tours of Alice Springs. She has a PhD in creative, post-colonial possibilities for writing Australian history and loves writing books.

Marly Wells is a proud woman of Warlpiri and white Australian descent. She grew up in Alice Springs. She completed a Bachelor of Arts at Melbourne University with majors in Sociology and Indigenous Studies. Marly lived in England for two years in her early 20s. She then returned to Alice Springs where she worked in the management of children’s services. Marly has also worked as a freelance editor and researcher for Hardie Grant Publishing. She co-wrote a children’s book for the Girls Can Boys Can project in Alice Springs and an article for The Saturday Paper about the killing of Kumenjayi Walker at Yuendumu.