HEISS, Anita (text) and Samantha Campbell (illustrator), Bidhi Galing, Simon & Schuster Australia, June 2023, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781761105258
In the 1850s, Wagadhaany lived with her family close to the Marrambidya Bila (Murrumbidgee River) near Gundagai. Her father had always warned her that the river can be dangerous when the rains come. Wagadhaany goes to work for a white family, cooking and cleaning, all the while desperately missing her family. Although they were warned, this family refuses to move to higher ground when the river floods in what became known as the 1852 Great Flood of Gundagai. In the end they seek refuge on the roof of their house, taking Wagadhaany with them. Her father, Yarri, and friend Jacky Jacky finally rescue them in canoes taking them, one by one, to safety.
The book is a tribute to these men, written in English and using key words in the Wiradyuri language. Most of the meanings would be clear to older children from the context but there is a glossary on the last page. Readers can access a QR code to listen to the author reading the story and thus hear her language spoken.
The illustrations, largely in tones of brown and green, convey the terror of the flood with animals and buildings being swept away. Bidhi Galing was Notabled in the 2024 Book of the Year Awards in the Eve Pownall category.
Reviewed by Elizabeth Douglas
