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A Million Wild Acres: 200 Years of Man and an Australian Forest
Thirty years ago, a bomb landed in the field of Australian consciousness of itself and its land in the form of Eric Rolls' A Million Wild Acres . The ensuing explosion has caused extensive and heated debate ever since amongst historians, ecologists, environmentalists, poets and writers. Now reissued in a commemorative 30th Anniversary Edition for a new generation of readers and against the backdrop of renewed and urgent concern about climate change, it includes Tom Griffiths' seminal essay, 'The Writing of A Million Wild Acres', and a foreword by Les Murray drawn from his work 'Eric Rolls and the Golden Disobedience'. Here is a contentious story of men and their passion for land; of occupation and settlement; of destruction and growth. By following the tracks of these pioneers who crossed the Blue Mountains into northern New South Wales, Eric Rolls – poet, farmer and self-taught naturalist – has written the history of European settlement in Australia. He evokes the ruthlessness and determination of the first settlers who worked the land — a land they knew little about.
465 pages, Hardcover
First published July 31, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 18, 2017
This is a stupendous book. It's baggy. It's eccentric. It takes a long time to get to the point. It's pugnacious. It's huge. It's full of hard words. It's packed with details. It is, as Joseph Furphy put it, 'offensively Australian', and it's absolutely marvellous.
Eric Rolls tells the story of all the men and women who lived in the Pillaga forest from 1788 to his own day (1979). He has trawled through the records, and uncovered the stories of countless ordinary men and women. He spices the narrative with his own observations of the forest, where he lived most of his adult life. Though most of the people he talks about are white men who pioneered in the country, he does an excellent job of uncovering indigenous and women's stories from the historical record.
Along the way, he informs us on all kinds of topics, from colonial diet to bovine homosexuality. He writes beautifully. The great literary critic, Erich Auerbach, would have called his style 'paratactic'. He uses short sentences and simple conjunctions. He lets facts speak for themselves. Often he will introduce an idea, and then illustrate it with a series of paragraphs, each containing a different anecdote about a different forest dweller.
I never felt swamped by the detail, even when he was discussing matter totally foreign to me. I was surprised to discover how interested I was in soil composition and the manufacture of railway sleepers. I found the description of pig hunting gripping and gory. I could almost smell the fruits and flowers he described. I could see the rocks and mountains rising and falling across the millennia. Occasionally, it is true, I found myself in a thicket of detail, unsure precisely where I was. But it is the point of this book to immerse you in the forest and its people, and the feeling of immersion was sweet.
Behind all the detail lurks a particular environmentalist agenda. Rolls had a radical—and in my view, compelling—view of nature. He saw humans as part of nature. He didn't believe in 'virgin' forest or 'untouched' bush. Since every landscape is a human landscape, human interference is not in itself ugly or wrong to him. For an environmentalist he therefore has some unorthodox views. He advocates woodchipping. He advocates introducing species to particular ecosystems, only in certain circumstances of course. For a country lad, he is remarkably fond of cities and their people. For a birdwatcher, he is remarkably tolerant of those who shoot and eat birds.
His primary aim is to preserve biodiversity. The book as a whole develops a strong case for preserving biodiversity, by illustrating the sheer complexity of the Pillaga forest, and revealing the chasms in our knowledge of the world. In a way he is a true conservative of the old school, who warns us not to meddle in things we do not understand. But he is also an incorrigible radical, who optimistically declares that a better way is possible and imagines that science and reason and observation can bring it about.
The author I have read who Rolls most resembles is John Clare. Like Rolls he was a working man from the countryside, though unlike Rolls, Clare never had the privilege of owning his land. Both men shared the same fundamental quality: wonder. They were open to the world. They loved so many different things. They saw themselves as simply another item in the landscape, and human beings as simply another species. They wrote with the same terseness and independence of mind. Luckily for us, they also wrote a lot.
Eric Rolls tells the story of all the men and women who lived in the Pillaga forest from 1788 to his own day (1979). He has trawled through the records, and uncovered the stories of countless ordinary men and women. He spices the narrative with his own observations of the forest, where he lived most of his adult life. Though most of the people he talks about are white men who pioneered in the country, he does an excellent job of uncovering indigenous and women's stories from the historical record.
Along the way, he informs us on all kinds of topics, from colonial diet to bovine homosexuality. He writes beautifully. The great literary critic, Erich Auerbach, would have called his style 'paratactic'. He uses short sentences and simple conjunctions. He lets facts speak for themselves. Often he will introduce an idea, and then illustrate it with a series of paragraphs, each containing a different anecdote about a different forest dweller.
I never felt swamped by the detail, even when he was discussing matter totally foreign to me. I was surprised to discover how interested I was in soil composition and the manufacture of railway sleepers. I found the description of pig hunting gripping and gory. I could almost smell the fruits and flowers he described. I could see the rocks and mountains rising and falling across the millennia. Occasionally, it is true, I found myself in a thicket of detail, unsure precisely where I was. But it is the point of this book to immerse you in the forest and its people, and the feeling of immersion was sweet.
Behind all the detail lurks a particular environmentalist agenda. Rolls had a radical—and in my view, compelling—view of nature. He saw humans as part of nature. He didn't believe in 'virgin' forest or 'untouched' bush. Since every landscape is a human landscape, human interference is not in itself ugly or wrong to him. For an environmentalist he therefore has some unorthodox views. He advocates woodchipping. He advocates introducing species to particular ecosystems, only in certain circumstances of course. For a country lad, he is remarkably fond of cities and their people. For a birdwatcher, he is remarkably tolerant of those who shoot and eat birds.
His primary aim is to preserve biodiversity. The book as a whole develops a strong case for preserving biodiversity, by illustrating the sheer complexity of the Pillaga forest, and revealing the chasms in our knowledge of the world. In a way he is a true conservative of the old school, who warns us not to meddle in things we do not understand. But he is also an incorrigible radical, who optimistically declares that a better way is possible and imagines that science and reason and observation can bring it about.
The author I have read who Rolls most resembles is John Clare. Like Rolls he was a working man from the countryside, though unlike Rolls, Clare never had the privilege of owning his land. Both men shared the same fundamental quality: wonder. They were open to the world. They loved so many different things. They saw themselves as simply another item in the landscape, and human beings as simply another species. They wrote with the same terseness and independence of mind. Luckily for us, they also wrote a lot.
October 10, 2019
I read this one because Roger Deakin (Wildwood - A journey through trees) was very approving of it. I have the feeling that he quoted the most readable passages.
Large pieces consist of a simple enumeration of persons and their actions. For Australians reading this, this might be very interesting but if you're, like me, mostly interested in what happened with australian nature, what the differences are between today and what it used to be before the European invasion than you have to delve through the above mentioned. That's a pity really because there are quite a few interesting things to learn.
The surface was so loose that you could rake it through te fingers. No wheel had marked it, no leather heel, no cloven foot - every mammal, humans included, had walked on padded feet. Our big animals did notmake trails. Hopping kangaroes usually move in scattered company not in damaging single file like sheep and cattle... Every grass-eating mammal had two sets of teeth to make a clean bite. No other land had been treated so gently.
Large pieces consist of a simple enumeration of persons and their actions. For Australians reading this, this might be very interesting but if you're, like me, mostly interested in what happened with australian nature, what the differences are between today and what it used to be before the European invasion than you have to delve through the above mentioned. That's a pity really because there are quite a few interesting things to learn.
The surface was so loose that you could rake it through te fingers. No wheel had marked it, no leather heel, no cloven foot - every mammal, humans included, had walked on padded feet. Our big animals did notmake trails. Hopping kangaroes usually move in scattered company not in damaging single file like sheep and cattle... Every grass-eating mammal had two sets of teeth to make a clean bite. No other land had been treated so gently.
August 16, 2017
Dense with facts, anecdotes and, at times, overwhelming detail, this important book tells a powerful story about the impact of the indigenous people and incoming settlers upon a significant area in Australia. Lovingly researched and written with much personal and professional understanding, the book is a daunting read at one go, but will be one to which I'll return again and again. I wish I hadn't left it so long before the first time!
August 5, 2016
Full of history.
Hard to take in some of the first part, following various families, but once I'd worked out what to concentrate on and how to group things (in my mind), I could get on with it and really try to understand the story of white settling (?) of Australia.
I had seen this book referred to in many books I've read, so knew I would eventually get to it. It is clearly a very important book.
This book took me on to reading the Goyder biography.
Hard to take in some of the first part, following various families, but once I'd worked out what to concentrate on and how to group things (in my mind), I could get on with it and really try to understand the story of white settling (?) of Australia.
I had seen this book referred to in many books I've read, so knew I would eventually get to it. It is clearly a very important book.
This book took me on to reading the Goyder biography.
December 13, 2012
Highly recommended by one of our major poets, Les Murray, in his compelling foreword, this book is in reprint and is considered an Australian history classic..
May 12, 2019
This is such an individual book, you can feel the mind of the author on every page. Eric Rolls must have been a rascally contrarian to a lot of people in his day: such a mix of traditional values and original thinking, not surprising he had strong reactions from both left and right when this book was published. It won awards in the early 1980s, and is still highly regarded by historians. He focuses for over 400 pages on the Pilliga Scrub/forest area in central NSW. He was a dogged researcher and recounts the long history of this area in great detail, in human and environmental terms. This extends to the area under indigenous occupation, the colonial encroachment, early grazing runs, squatters and selectors , right up to changes bringing about further forms of activity, timber getting and associated ways of life. Animals and plants end the study. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of every aspect. It's densely written, fact after fact becomes a bit mesmerising. His character shines through, he doesn't hold back from giving his personal opinions about people, policies and practices.
I wonder what he'd think about the area now.
I found this hard copy easy-to-read book at Clunes Booktown recently, my old paperback tiny font copy is free for anyone who wants it.
I wonder what he'd think about the area now.
I found this hard copy easy-to-read book at Clunes Booktown recently, my old paperback tiny font copy is free for anyone who wants it.
November 30, 2020
A fascinating account of how 200 years of colonisation has not only destroyed indigenous people and their rich culture and farming practices but also the delicate balance between predator and prey that helps keep natural ecosystems in their pristine state. Stories of man's relationships with and exploitation of animals; namely horses, bullocks and dogs and was also fascinating; i never knew that bullock herders or teamsters gave commands to each of their 10 or so bullocks by name. It was also the first I'd heard about barefooted indigenous bushrangers, Joe and Jimmy Governor -inspired by Ned Kelly some 20 years earlier - who alluded the NSW police and dozens of paranoid settlers for many weeks with their bush craftsmanship before finally being captured. Some early chapters were heavy on dates and names of early settlers which made reading a slog, unless perhaps you grew up in the Pilliga Forest region of northwest NSW.
December 30, 2021
A big thick volume packed full of tiny tiny details about all kinds of thing from termite's habits to european settlement in australia. But wait there's more, its a whole catalogue of details concerning the area known as the Pilliga Scrub.
Relatively easy read and a refreshing approach to the potted history dished up over and over regarding both Aboriginal and European use and abuse of the land. There's just enough interesting bits to keep one going though the morass. I stuck it out almost to the end, but gave up when I got into the animals sections.
I'm glad I read it, but can't see myself reaching for it again anytime soon
Relatively easy read and a refreshing approach to the potted history dished up over and over regarding both Aboriginal and European use and abuse of the land. There's just enough interesting bits to keep one going though the morass. I stuck it out almost to the end, but gave up when I got into the animals sections.
I'm glad I read it, but can't see myself reaching for it again anytime soon
March 20, 2020
This is a great big, shaggy book that is half history and half the story of Rolls' love for his country, the Pilliga.
Both sides of the book contain a wealth of knowledge that you will not find anywhere else. Rolls is a farmer and this fact informs his work and adds detail only available to a practical man of the land
Reading the book means working your way through a forest of information. But the effort will give you a new appreciation of the country.
Both sides of the book contain a wealth of knowledge that you will not find anywhere else. Rolls is a farmer and this fact informs his work and adds detail only available to a practical man of the land
Reading the book means working your way through a forest of information. But the effort will give you a new appreciation of the country.
September 30, 2021
Informative. Has a lot of info about Aboriginal management of country before white settlement. Reads like the Bible or Lord of the Rings. Bruce Pascoe revisits this 30 years later, when more people became interested in Aboriginal land management
August 10, 2022
A wonderful book mixing history of many aspects - natural, geographic and human settlement since white invasion.
July 7, 2021
Eric Rolls was a farmer in the NSW Pillaga who took to writing about his country in the 1970s. He was not exactly unlettered but he wasn't a conventional historian. This is hugely researched and hugely passionate and knowledgable and wonderfully readable. I hesitate to write anything because other Goodreads' reviewers have hit the nail on the head. I just want to put my name up there with those who have found this book so important to them.
His subject is the history of the land he farms, from the first European settlements, backwards in time to Indigenous land practices, historical events, personalities, regulations, trees, plants, animal life, soils, everything. Yes sometimes I got lost in detail. On the other hand I started the chapter on insects without enthusiasm and immediately wanted to read it again. And I want to drive up the Newell Highway again and look at the countryside with new eyes.
He describes making thirty odd piles of paper on one side of the room and two maps on the other side, a modern map from the Forestry Commission and a Lands Occupation map from 1882 divided into named blocks of land. Each one of the thirty piles of paper dealt with one man. His task was to move each pile of paper to places on the map like a gigantic game of chess but it was a game that had already been played and the rules for movement were far more complicated than those of chess. Few men stayed on the board for long. Flood, drought, depression, land laws caused them to slide off. And there were family disputes, sudden illnesses, unexpected deaths, depletion of soils, inappropriate stock, crops, financial disasters, corruption, lawlessness, Eric Rolls is interested in it all. And forestry, introduced animals and plants, road making, postal runs, fencing and on and on.
I can see why many of his readers came back to this book again and again.
His subject is the history of the land he farms, from the first European settlements, backwards in time to Indigenous land practices, historical events, personalities, regulations, trees, plants, animal life, soils, everything. Yes sometimes I got lost in detail. On the other hand I started the chapter on insects without enthusiasm and immediately wanted to read it again. And I want to drive up the Newell Highway again and look at the countryside with new eyes.
He describes making thirty odd piles of paper on one side of the room and two maps on the other side, a modern map from the Forestry Commission and a Lands Occupation map from 1882 divided into named blocks of land. Each one of the thirty piles of paper dealt with one man. His task was to move each pile of paper to places on the map like a gigantic game of chess but it was a game that had already been played and the rules for movement were far more complicated than those of chess. Few men stayed on the board for long. Flood, drought, depression, land laws caused them to slide off. And there were family disputes, sudden illnesses, unexpected deaths, depletion of soils, inappropriate stock, crops, financial disasters, corruption, lawlessness, Eric Rolls is interested in it all. And forestry, introduced animals and plants, road making, postal runs, fencing and on and on.
I can see why many of his readers came back to this book again and again.
August 7, 2013
An interesting insight into the complex relationship between people and landscape. This book challenges notions of Pre-European Australian natural landscapes as wilderness, painting a complex and sometimes long winded picture of the historical practices and processes that have shaped the Australian landscape and vegetation.
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November 16, 2013A great book to aid understanding of the Australian landscape and the way that the early European settlers had to come to terms with it.
December 2, 2014
Some interesting history but too detailed in places
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews