A Million Wild Acres

"When first published in 1981, A million wild acres was seen as a contentious story of men and land; of occupation and growth. By following the men who crossed the Blue Mountains into northern New South Wales, Eric Rolls rewrote the history of settlement and destroyed the argument that Australia's present dense eucalpyt forests are the remnants of 200 years of clearing. The Pilliga teems with wildlife, with plants and trees, with feral pigs, prolific, intelligent and secretive; with the marvellous interaction of insects and plants, rare animals and birds. The lovely tangle which is the modern forest came to life as Rolls - poet, famer, hunter and conservationist - reflected on soils, living conditions, breeding and ecology. Rolls' brilliant writing records the history of changes to the forests, especially to tree density, caused by Aboriginal burning, then by its cessation, and by the arrival of immigrant settlers and animals. His conclusions and their later misrepresentation for political purposes by both farmers and scientists are addressed in this edition by Tom Griffiths' seminal essay, 'The writing of A million wild acres'.--Cover gate fold.