Pamela Rushby, Those girls, Walker Books Australia, April 2024, 336 pp., RRP $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760657840
On the farms and in the dairies, on the outback station runs,
Those girls with grit are needed,
Just as much as men with guns.
(Poem written by Sergeant S. Clark)
It’s 1942 in Brisbane, and sixteen year old Hilly is still at school, while her older brother Graham has left to fight in the war. When Hilly sees a poster for the Women’s Land Army she jumps at the chance to get away from home and contribute to the war effort.
Hilly finds herself mixing with girls and women much older than her, and quickly learns some life facts from the more experienced girls! She makes some firm friends as they together face back-breaking work picking strawberries, digging up potatoes and even picking pineapples. Some of the accommodation provided by the farmers is less than perfect; in one case they have to remove roosting chickens (and their poo) from the shed before making it liveable. Some farmers try to take advantage of the girls’ naivety and make them do work that is not safe, sometimes with tragic results. And then there are the farmers who try to take advantage, if you get my drift. Rushby handles this episode with subtlety, and Glad (who is described as ‘a little slow’) knew how to ward off the farmer’s advances and escapes unscathed.
Hilly meets Gene, an American soldier and is swept off her feet. Is this true love? Does she want to leave Australia after the war is over to be with Gene in Georgia on his peach farm? What about her dreams to become a writer?
Rushby has written about a part of Australia’s war history that we don’t see often in fiction. She makes it come to life as we follow Hilly, Glad, Aileen and Win as they face adversity, discrimination and physical hardship to do their bit for their country. It makes my blood boil to learn that after all their hard work, the Land Girls were not included in Anzac Day marches until the 1980s! Dare I say, could it be because they are women and the RSL is a boys’ club? Discuss!
This book is a terrific read – I read it in a day and recommend it without reservation.
It is recommended by the publisher for readers aged 14+ (there are themes regarding sexual violence, loss of virginity, birth control that would not be suitable for younger readers). It is a perfect resource to support the Year 10 History Curriculum – the Australian Home Front in WWII.
Reviewed by Gaby Meares
Read Barbara Swartz’s review here.
