{"product_id":"2026100010648-secondhand-australian-squatters","title":"Australian Squatters","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good\u003cbr\u003eJacket: Worn\/faded, no tears\u003cbr\u003ePages: Good\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the sun-scorched pastoral landscape of colonial Victoria, a Swiss-born viticulturist turned his sharp, observant eye on the remarkable world of Australia's pioneering squatters — those bold settlers who staked their claim on vast, untamed stretches of land — and immortalised their lives in a vivid firsthand account. Originally published in French as Les Squatters australiens in 1861, Hubert de Castella's Australian Squatters chronicles the rugged realities, social customs, and extraordinary characters that defined the squattocracy of 19th-century Australia, rendered here in an authoritative English translation with introduction and notes by C. B. Thornton-Smith.\n\nThis landmark work of colonial literature sits at a compelling intersection of travel writing, social history, and memoir, offering a rare outsider's perspective on a society in the raw throes of formation. De Castella's prose carries the precision of a trained observer and the warmth of a genuine admirer of the Australian frontier spirit, illuminating class structures, land politics, and the daily dramas of bush life with equal clarity. The 1987 Melbourne University Press edition, complete with scholarly apparatus, presents this nineteenth-century document to modern readers as both a historical primary source and an enduring piece of Australian cultural heritage. A testament to the power of cross-cultural witness, it leaves the reader questioning just how much — or how little — the Australian character has changed since those frontier days.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50736449126619,"sku":"2026100010648-SECONDHAND","price":30.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/cffec245-c0a3-4ff0-ba6d-c2f7a890923f.png?v=1792123024","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026100010648-secondhand-australian-squatters","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}