Brumbies

Brumbies the wild horses of Australia.

In Search Of A Wild Brumby

by Michael Keenan.

In some of Australia's most beautiful and rugged mountain scenery, the author seeks to expose the deceit, manipulation, and political intrigue surrounding the Australian wild horse (brumbies). Keenan enters a harsh world, surrounded by characters from another time. But times have changed. The days of the mountain people are numbered, and so too are the brumbies which have roamed wilderness regions for more than 150 years. The author explores the history of the brumbies, uncovering an early Irish enclave in one of Australia's remotest pockets. To-day many of the families are still defiant of bureaucratic encroachment upon their land and view brumbies as a symbol of their culture.

As his quests for a brumby of his own is overtaken by his growing interest in their plight, Mike shares campfires and rollicking yarns with a host of bush characters who could have stepped straight our of banjo's poem "The Man From Snowy River" - and pursues the elusive brumbies through the snows, mists and treacherous bogs of the spectacular Snowy Mountains landscape.

The bull moved out of the spear grass and onto the creek bank, vigorously shaking his head. The ivory-tipped horns were like giant skewers. He raised more dust and I could hear the saliva gurgling deep in his throat. In full view on the bank, we all stood vulnerable to a thousand kilograms of hard muscle. "Look for a tree!" I yelled.

The Fitzroy River, one of the last great rivers flowing freely to the sea, is the lifeblood of the west Kimberley. When Mike heard of plans to dam it to allow cotton-growing, he was horrified. A dam on the Fitzroy could cause an environmental disaster greater than any Australia has ever known.

With the help of the local Bunuba people, fierce opponents of the dam which threatened their homeland and sacred sites, Mike organised a horseback trek to explore the area and discover what was at stake. What he found was a paradise of unique plants, pristine rivers and dramatic gorges.

In Wild Horses Don't Swim we join Mike, his intrepid wife Sal and their Bunuba friends in an action-packed adventure as they dodge wild bulls, ford raging torrents, brace bushfires and climb sheer cliffs - searching for the legendary rock art that might be lost forever.


The Horses Too Are Gone

The drought had reached crisis point. Cattle farmer Mike Keenan decided there was only one solution: he would have to get his starving cattle - and his beloved horses - to greener pastures north of the border. But when he finally got there he found his troubles had only just begun. South-west Queensland seemed like a modern day Wild West, and as Keenan moved his cattle along the traditional droving routes in search of long-term pasture, he had to match wits with a host of characters, as well as Nature herself.

The Horses Too Are Gone is the true story of Keenan's struggle to survive against mounting odds, and it's an action-packed adventure that rivals any fiction. A fresh voice from the Bush, Mike Keenan writes with a deep passion and knowledge of Australian life that is under threat. The Horses Too Are Gone will strike a chord with all Australians.

The Shadows of Horses

Mike Keenan's poignant memoir is a return to the bestselling territory of The Horses too are Gone In The Shadows of Horses, Mike Keen shares the inside sotry of what like is like for today's farmers.

Last Horse Standing

An amazing true story of courage and survival in the outback by the bestselling author of The Horses Too Are Gone

In 1971, bushman Jack Camp went mustering wild cattle - 'cleanskins' - in a vast and isolated stretch of the Kimberly coast. With cattle fetching boom prices, the potential profit would be huge - but so were the risks. It was the unpredictable and dautingly hot wet season, the forbidding region was infested with snakes and crocodiles, and the cattle would have to be swum out across a river notorious for its dramatic tidal surges.

Following a life time on the land near Coonabarabran in north-western New South Wales, Michael has retired to a few acres near Moss Vale on the Southern Highlands. With more time available, traveling in the west Kimberley of Western Australia has become the author’s most recent passion. His books --- “Wild Horses Don’t Swim” and “Last Horse Standing” are both stories within the shadows of the King Leopold Range.