Penelope Bungles to Broome

by Tim Bowden

We were completely unprepared for the magnificence of the gallery suddenly revealed. A shiver ran up my spine as I saw for the first time the great white Wandjina spirit figures, two and three times larger than human scale' So begins Tim Bowden's fascination with rarely seen Aboriginal rock art, a major theme in this most recent book detailing the Bowdens' continuing love affair with Australia. On their latest journey Tim and Ros Bowden explore the Kimberley by land and sea, where dramatic twelve-metre tides guard coastal locations unchanged by time - still as 17th century buccaneer William Dampier first described them. For three months, Tim and Ros and their trusty four-wheel-drive, Penelope, travelled from the improbably sculptured Bungle Bungles to the Pilbara and the wildflower-filled Mid West. Bowden's enthusiasm for history is infectious and this book is peppered with great stories of present and past, ill-fated settlements and expeditions, tragic tourist deaths and the grandeur of Australia's intriguing, spectacular north-west.

344 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2002

About the author

Timothy Gibson Bowden was an Australian author, radio and television broadcaster and producer, and oral historian.

Reviews

[Alayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting account of travelling in WA in 1999. I have taken a star off for several inaccuracies, including saying "east" when he meant "west", and saying that James Cook discovered the East Coast of Australia in 1788, when it was actually in 1770. They are easily checked and corrected errors which should have been picked up by proof readers.

[Elizabeth Carboon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most enjoyable after visiting most of those places