Author(s): Nigel Nichols

Biography & Memoir | Regional History

My father didn't talk about the war much, but sometimes he would firmly grip the edge of the kitchen table and shout, 'SINKING STATIONS!' - apparently it was something they used to do in the mess on the ships when tall stories were told.A son's story of his father's life during the Great Depression and as a sailor in the Navy in World War II. The reward of a Soldier Settler block in the Central Highlands of Tasmania was an opportunity that brought wit it a new set of challenges - isolation, drought, flood and fire. Self-sufficiency was vital.Nigel Nichols tells his story through his experiences as a young boy on a remote property at the end of a long road. It's a story of life in the 1950s and '60s, not much different from life a hundred years before.Without power, cut off by flooding rivers, enduring cold harsh winters and isolation, family was all important.The stories of Nigel and his father are of a post-war Tasmania, but when you read this you might be surprised: that is not really so long ago.-Chris Wisbey