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The Singing Line was the term given by Australia's Aborigines to the telegraph wire that, once slung across the continent, would open the world and permanently alter their lives. Writer Alice Thomson and her husband Ed follow the trail of the singing line while tracing the path of her great-great-grandparents, Charles and Alice Todd, the latter for whom Thomson was named. Flipping from the present to the mid-18th century in which her ancestors lived, this book offers both a glimpse of the heroic efforts of telegraph surveyors and the changes that these poles and wires wrought.

The tales of Alice Todd are sparse and of little consequence, however, since after arriving from England, the young bride never strays 30 miles from her home in Adelaide. It's her husband, Charles, who propels much of the book, as he oversaw the construction of the Australian telegraph in the 1850s, traveling--sometimes on camel--across desert, bush, and a no-man's-land where white men had never been, battling man-eating alligators, quicksand, monsoons, near-starvation, dehydration, and searing heat along the way.

At its best, The Singing Line is lively, funny, and filled with odd narrative snapshots of Aussies and their land. Like the stringing of the telegraph wire itself, though, this book can become a bit monotonous and fail to fully engage the reader. Ultimately, however, it does succeed in its task--and leaves one with anappreciation of struggles oft-forgotten in the age of modems and cellular phones. --Melissa Rossi ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Foundations!
This was truly an amazing book.The author involves you in the very foundations that build up the Australian telegraph system - you become part of the history as she takes you through the life of her great-great-grandmother and grandfather. It reveals, once again, how many people gave up so much so that we can have a secure foundation in our society. Well worth owning.

Irritating
I bought this book because I am interested in the early explorers and travellers in to the Australian hinterland and because I was about to travel to some of the same areas the author had visited. I found the bitsabout Todd, the man who came to Australia to look at the stars and ended upconnecting Australia to the outside world by a telegraph wire, quiteinteresting. Although I thought perhaps Alice Thomson was a bit confused asto whether the story was about Alice Todd (the great grandmother for whomshe was named) or Charles Todd who laid the line.And I could see whereshe was coming from in trying to relate the story of her own travels withher husband in the same area and the Todds adventures. But again I'm notsure she pulled it off exactly. By exaggerating her own hardships, sheunderplayed the genuine difficulties the Todds endured and both storieslost credibility - for me, anyway.But what I really disliked about thisbook was its horrid comments about Australians and the way they live, inthese so-called remote areas. She makes it sound as though one hour out ofAdelaide she was alone in the world with people almost unrecognisable ashuman beings. Spare us the "don't come the raw prawn","strewth cobber" cliches (which are always only used by theEnglish, anyway). And I hope she feels ashamed at the way she treatedpeople who went out of their way to help her, for a few cheap laughs. Ingreat frustration (it was so nearly a good book) I eventually threw it onthe campfire, unfinished, at Lake Eyre, halfway along the Singing Line.

Alice Thomson is Her Own Biggest Fan
I was fortunate enough to have the chance to live in Melbourne Australia for more than three years.I have experienced large parts of the journey Alice and her husband undertake in their quest to better understand her ancestor's experiences in creating the first telegraph line acrossAustralia.

I found the book to be very Alice Thomson-centric.Sheseems to glorify all aspects of her journey while continually placingCharles Todd higher and higher upon his pedestal.I was hoping she wouldrekindle some of my own memories of the Australia outback.However, Ms.Thomson invariably spends paragraph after paragraph describing herhusband's illness or her own tiny adventures driving the Land Cruiser orwalking around Coober Pedy.Her descriptions of the local towns andenvirons is terse, quick, and dull.I do not recommend this book to anyoneexcept Alice Thomson and her immediate family.

Regrettable
An interesting effort by a distant, if not vague relation to an historically insignificant figure, albeit one from whom myths form with their customary accuracy.What bits of research and experience are fairlypresented are harmed, in my view to no benefit, by gratuitous asidesregarding her apparently long-suffering companion, family and (soon to beformer?) friends. One must wonder what would have been the book had theauthor not worked for a newspaper, which one might suspect arranged itsserialization gratis. The photos beg for the book guillotine. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from The Australian Journal of Politics and History, published by University of Queensland Press on September 1, 2004. The length of the article is 817 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Keeper of the Faith: a Biography of Jim Cairns.(Book Review)
Author: Drew Cottle
Publication: The Australian Journal of Politics and History (Refereed)
Date: September 1, 2004
Publisher: University of Queensland Press
Volume: 50Issue: 3Page: 445(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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This digital document is an article from Sabretache, published by Military Historical Society of Australia on June 1, 2002. The length of the article is 6188 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: An Annotated Index, for military historians, to Volume 14, (1940-1980, Di-Kel) of the Australian Dictionary of Biography.(Bibliography)
Author: George Franki
Publication: Sabretache (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 2002
Publisher: Military Historical Society of Australia
Volume: 43Issue: 2Page: 22(15)

Article Type: Bibliography

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This digital document is an article from Journal of Australian Studies, published by University of Queensland Press on September 1, 1998. The length of the article is 583 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: South of My Days: A Biography of Judith Wright.(Review) (book reviews)
Publication: Journal of Australian Studies (Refereed)
Date: September 1, 1998
Publisher: University of Queensland Press
Page: 201(1)

Article Type: Book Review

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This digital document is an article from Australian Literary Studies, published by University of Queensland Press on May 1, 2002. The length of the article is 6828 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: The tidiest revolution: regulative feminist autobiography and the de-facement of the Australian women's movement.
Author: Margaret Henderson
Publication: Australian Literary Studies (Refereed)
Date: May 1, 2002
Publisher: University of Queensland Press
Volume: 20Issue: 3Page: 178(15)

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This digital document is an article from Journal of Australian Studies, published by University of Queensland Press on September 1, 2004. The length of the article is 4765 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Biography, narrative and Christina Stead: an imperfect match?(Creative Arts Review)
Author: Susan Tridgell
Publication: Journal of Australian Studies (Refereed)
Date: September 1, 2004
Publisher: University of Queensland Press
Issue: 83Page: 119(10)

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This digital document is an article from Biography, published by University of Hawaii Press on January 1, 2004. The length of the article is 13600 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: The affective work of Stolen Generations testimony: from the archives to the classroom.
Author: Rosanne Kennedy
Publication: Biography (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2004
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Volume: 27Issue: 1Page: 48(30)

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This digital document is an article from The Australian Journal of Politics and History, published by University of Queensland Press on September 1, 2001. The length of the article is 528 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 15. 1940-1980. Kem-Pie.(Review)
Author: Colin Hughes
Publication: The Australian Journal of Politics and History (Refereed)
Date: September 1, 2001
Publisher: University of Queensland Press
Volume: 47Issue: 3Page: 420

Article Type: Book Review

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This digital document is an article from The Australian Library Journal, published by Australian Library and Information Association on May 1, 2003. The length of the article is 1469 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Yadlamalka girl shaped Australian librarianship.(Obituary)
Author: Brian McMullin
Publication: The Australian Library Journal (Refereed)
Date: May 1, 2003
Publisher: Australian Library and Information Association
Volume: 52Issue: 2Page: 105(3)

Article Type: Obituary

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This digital document is an article from Australian Academic & Research Libraries, published by Australian Library and Information Association on June 1, 1998. The length of the article is 4092 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: In addition to his great contributions to librarianship in Australia, Dietrich Borchardt's editorial work on AARL was one of his greatest achievements. The "New Sheet" created in 1960 for UCLS developed into a sophisticated journal and became known as AARL, an important part of the Australian academic library environment.

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Title: D H Borchardt as AARL editor. (Dietrich Borchardt)
Author: John Horacek
Publication: Australian Academic & Research Libraries (Refereed)
Date: June 1, 1998
Publisher: Australian Library and Information Association
Volume: v29Issue: n2Page: p89(9)

Article Type: Biography

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This digital document is an article from China Review International, published by University of Hawaii Press on March 22, 2002. The length of the article is 2811 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Some thoughts on the state of Chinese diaspora studies.(The Encyclopedia of the Chinese Overseas; Dragon Seed in the Antipodes: Chinese-Australian Autobiographies; Chinese San Francisco, 1850-1943: A Trans-Pacific Community)(Book Review)
Author: Christopher Fung
Publication: China Review International (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 2002
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Volume: 9Issue: 1Page: 17(6)

Article Type: Book Review

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This digital document is an article from Antipodes, published by American Association of Australian Literary Studies on June 1, 2002. The length of the article is 881 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: A pioneering compilation of Chinese-Australian autobiographies.(Dragon Seed in the Antipodes: Chinese-Australian Autobiographies)(Book Review)
Author: Roger Daniels
Publication: Antipodes (Refereed)
Date: June 1, 2002
Publisher: American Association of Australian Literary Studies
Volume: 16Issue: 1Page: 100(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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This digital document is an article from The Australian Journal of Politics and History, published by University of Queensland Press on September 1, 2002. The length of the article is 937 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Suharto: a Political Biography. (book review)
Author: Robert Cribb
Publication: The Australian Journal of Politics and History (Refereed)
Date: September 1, 2002
Publisher: University of Queensland Press
Volume: 48Issue: 3Page: 444(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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This digital document is an article from Biography, published by University of Hawaii Press on January 1, 2004. The length of the article is 10418 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Title: Racism, moral community, and Australian Aboriginal autobiographical testimony.
Author: Tikka Wilson
Publication: Biography (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2004
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Volume: 27Issue: 1Page: 78(26)

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Barrow Point, on the far northern coast of Queensland, Australia, was once the home of numerous Aboriginal groups. For countless centuries these indigenous people worked the sea, the rivers, and the forests, memorializing the landscape and its animals in a rich body of songs and folktales. With the arrival of Europeans during a succession of gold rushes in Queensland, however, they were driven away from their homeland. John Haviland, an American anthropologist, and Roger Hart, an elderly Barrow Point Aborigine, reconstruct some of that body of oral literature here. Hart narrates a series of stories about "Old Man Fog," who moves about the countryside talking with curlews, lizards, dingoes, foxes, and snakes, learning their ways and occasionally suffering their tricks. Many of these stories point to lessons on how the Aboriginal peoples learned how to live in this difficult country, where sources of fresh water are few and dangers many. They address ritually powerful "story places," points on the land that possess special significance. While noting the irony of the folkloric enterprise ("what were once moral tales for initiated adults have become 'fairy tales' for children's books"), Haviland provides useful commentary on Hart's stories, which shed light on the ethnography and natural history of Australia. --Gregory McNamee ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Journal of the Australian War Memorial, published by Australian War Memorial on October 1, 2002. The length of the article is 7895 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The forgotten man: Lieut.-General Sir Frank Berryman.(Biography)
Author: Peter Dean
Publication: Journal of the Australian War Memorial (Refereed)
Date: October 1, 2002
Publisher: Australian War Memorial
Issue: 37Page: NA

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