About the author
Reginald Ottley (1909–85) was born in London. He left London at the age of fourteen to go to sea, and after travelling the world working as a deck boy, cook and fireman’s peggy, settled in Australia in 1924. There he worked on a grazing property in New South Wales, which he used as the background for his books. Although he did move to Fiji to manage a large cattle station, he returned to Sydney after the start of World War II. He was drafted to the Remount Squadron, and supervised the breaking in of 5000 horses (after which writing must have seemed like a walk in the park).
During the 1960s he moved again, living and writing in England and Ireland before he returned to Australia in 1970.
Finding the books
Most of the books were published in England as well as in Australia, so are reasonably easy to find.
Links and sources
Reginald Leslie Ottley by Belle Alderman (Reading Time, no. 95, April 1995)
Series
Yamboorah
By the Sandhills of Yamboorah
The Roan Colt of Yamboorah
Rain Comes to Yamboorah
Bibliography (pony books only)
Stampede
T Werner Laurie, London, 1961
By the Sandhills of Yamboorah
André Deutsch, London, 1965, illus Clyde Pearson
As Boy Alone, Harcourt, Brace & World, New York, 1966
Armada, London, 1971
Macmillan, Melbourne, 1988
Queensland University Press, 2003
Set on a cattle station: the boy hero is alone apart from his dogand her puppy, but Kanga, the dog man, wants to take Ragsand train him. The boy has to deal with hardships and dangers,but wonders only if he can keep the puppy.
The Roan Colt of Yamboorah
André Deutsch, London, 1966, illus David Perry
as The Roan Colt, Harcourt, Brace & World, New York, 1967
Armada, London, pb, 1971
The boy likes his life on the Yamboorah cattle-station well enough – he has his dog Rags, but he can’t see why he’s given a saddle when he can’t ride. He learns to ride, and starts to become a cattle man. Then he finds a lame roan colt which he is told must be culled, but he is desperate to save it.
Rain Comes to Yamboorah
André Deutsch, London, 1967, jacket Jillian Willett, 128 pp.
Harcourt, Brace & World, New York, 1968
Kanga cured Roany’s hoof, and at last he could ride again, but there was a terrible drought afflicting the country.
Brumbie Dust: A Selection of Stories
Collins, London, 1969
Harcourt, Brace & World, New York, 1969
A Word About Horses
Collins, London, 1973
The blurb:
These stories give a vivid insight into a vast country of great contrasts. There are men like Bog-eye Clancy, the rabbit trapper; and the eccentric “hatter” with his curious collection of pets. There are kangaroo hunts, camel hunts and even an hilarious Outback cricket match.
Mum’s Place
Collins, London, 1974
Black Sorrow
Hutchinson, Melbourne, 1980, illus John van Loon
Beaver, New South Wales, 1989
The blurb:
15-year-old Jody Windum has been crippled as a result of a ar accident in which her mother was killed. She is able to walk with the aid of callipers, but she can no longer ride her beloved horses and help with the
mustering on her father’s property. Her life takes on a new meaning, however, when her father buys a brumby stallion for the rodeo. The horse, which has been cruelly treated, is fierce and untameable and only Jody can pacify him. A bond develops between the two, and when a wild bull escapes, it is Black Sorrow who saves Jody’s life.”
OTHER BOOKS
Giselle
Collins, London, 1968
The Bates Family
Collins, London, 1969
Jim Grey of Moonbah
Collins, London, 1970
The War on William Street
Collins, London, 1974
No More Tomorrow
Collins, London, 1972