DERVISH Bejah was a Pakistani camel-keeper.
He lived to 95 and spent most of his life in West Australia's desert country. He is just one of the unique people in this fine book.
- Outback Pioneers, by Evan McHugh. Viking, rrp $32.95
It takes a special person to endure outback isolation.
Dervish had the same qualities of toughness and resilience as Nat Buchanan, Australia's legendary drover.
Buchanan was as tough as they come.
Try this for starters. In the 1870s, Buchanan rode 500km in a week, through trackless wilderness, from what's now Borroloola, to Katherine, to secure extra rations for his team.
Just as capable was Grace Francis who, among other things, began the Birdsville CWA.
Her isolated nursing life in the 1920s was spent caring for the sick in Heartbreak Corner where Queensland, the Northern Territory and South Australia join.
Francis bound wounds and salved the grief of sudden death on outstations. John Flynn, who is also included here, was also responsible for much needed health care in the outback and saw the necessity of reliable communications.
To the rescue came pedal-radio operator Alf Traeger who, in the late 1920s, helped introduce radio to the interior. Traeger's story is the stuff of hand-held generators and hope.
These 13 stories of hardship, loss and sometimes humour are accompanied with illustrations.
