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Kings in Grass Castles
'...far better than any novel; an incomparable record of a great family and of a series of great actions'. (“The Bulletin”). When Patrick Durack left Western Ireland for Australia in 1853, he was to found a pioneering dynasty and build a cattle empire across the great stretches of Australia. With a profound sense of family history, his grand-daughter, Mary Durack reconstructed the Durack saga - a story of intrepid men and ground-breaking adventure. This sweeping tale of Australia and Australians remains a classic nearly fifty years on.
411 pages
First published January 1, 1959
94 people are currently reading
822 people want to read
About the author
Mary Durack
34 books11 followersDame Mary Durack was an Australian author and historian. The Durack family were pioneers in the settlement of Australia by Europeans. The story of her family's history, beginning with the mid-19th century migration from Ireland, is presented by Durack in Kings in Grass Castles, and its sequel, Sons in the Saddle.
Durack married the aviator, Captain Horrie C. Miller, and had two sons and four daughters. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1977 for her services to literature.
Durack married the aviator, Captain Horrie C. Miller, and had two sons and four daughters. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1977 for her services to literature.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
August 6, 2019
I really enjoyed this book. I have read a lot of books on Australia, but this one will always stick with me. Mary is the granddaughter of Patrick Durack, and she has written an interesting, in-depth chronicle of the Durack family history. Patrick left Ireland (due to the potato famine) in 1853, and over the years, with MUCH hard work built a life, for himself, and heaps of relatives he helped get to Australia.
It was intriguing to read of the differences between Patrick's generation, and his sons'. Like Patrick, I tend to feel that the sons have 'lost' something vital along the way.
Also, interesting to realise, yet again, how 'soft' modern folks are compared to the folks who settled Australia (or any other land, for that matter). The things they endured ... just amazing.
5 Stars = It made a significant impact on my heart, and/or mind. It moved me. I won't forget it.
It was intriguing to read of the differences between Patrick's generation, and his sons'. Like Patrick, I tend to feel that the sons have 'lost' something vital along the way.
Also, interesting to realise, yet again, how 'soft' modern folks are compared to the folks who settled Australia (or any other land, for that matter). The things they endured ... just amazing.
5 Stars = It made a significant impact on my heart, and/or mind. It moved me. I won't forget it.
September 30, 2017
You have to be ready to read this book; its very detailed and can be a bit slow in places, but, the wealth of knowledge it contains about early white settlement in Australia is outstanding. So is the follow-up: Sons in the Saddle
Both books have to be read in the context of their time and the social, geographical and political environments of the time
I've just read it again and thoroughly enjoyed it. This time however, I was in no rush as I already knew how it ended. So, I got to read and savour the details and the humanity of the characters. Excellent.
Both books have to be read in the context of their time and the social, geographical and political environments of the time
I've just read it again and thoroughly enjoyed it. This time however, I was in no rush as I already knew how it ended. So, I got to read and savour the details and the humanity of the characters. Excellent.
April 1, 2025
Mary Durack's literary work, "Kings in Grass Castles," presents a detailed account of the pioneering experience of the Durack family in Northern Australia during the late 19th century. Durack employs a vivid narrative style that captures the multifaceted experiences of the family as they traversed the harsh Australian outback, enduring a wide range of triumphs and hardships.
The book's strengths include its intimate portrayal of family relationships and daily life on the frontier. However, some readers may find that the historical and political context surrounding the various economic downturns impacting both the Durack family and the wider community is insufficiently explained. Another strength of this book is the provision of a colonial perspective on the complex and violent relationship between Indigenous and European peoples during this period.
Durack delineates the fears and anxieties of European pioneers in the face of Indigenous attacks. However, the book neglects to acknowledge the pivotal role of pastoralists in the conquest of Australian land from Indigenous people. Indigenous attacks were often retaliatory acts as part of a guerrilla warfare campaign. The book disproportionately examines the deaths of Europeans at the hands of Indigenous people while relegating Indigenous deaths to a lesser status. Ultimately, the Durack family's success is rooted in the destruction of Indigenous livelihoods.
The book's strengths include its intimate portrayal of family relationships and daily life on the frontier. However, some readers may find that the historical and political context surrounding the various economic downturns impacting both the Durack family and the wider community is insufficiently explained. Another strength of this book is the provision of a colonial perspective on the complex and violent relationship between Indigenous and European peoples during this period.
Durack delineates the fears and anxieties of European pioneers in the face of Indigenous attacks. However, the book neglects to acknowledge the pivotal role of pastoralists in the conquest of Australian land from Indigenous people. Indigenous attacks were often retaliatory acts as part of a guerrilla warfare campaign. The book disproportionately examines the deaths of Europeans at the hands of Indigenous people while relegating Indigenous deaths to a lesser status. Ultimately, the Durack family's success is rooted in the destruction of Indigenous livelihoods.
June 12, 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v60x3...
Description: When Patrick Durack left Western Ireland for Australia in 1853, he was to found a pioneering dynasty and build a cattle empire across the great stretches of Australia.
With a profound sense of family history, his grand-daughter, Mary Durack reconstructed the Durack saga - a story of intrepid men and ground-breaking adventure. This sweeping tale of Australia and Australians remains a classic nearly fifty years on.
January 4, 2018
An Outback Family Saga
Though Australia, like North America, came to its present form through immigration and pioneering settlement, its history contains major differences, perhaps partly because everything happened much later, and partly because it was so far away from the mother countries. Whatever the case, Australia's pioneering stories are not nearly as well known in the wider world as are those of the USA. American mythology dwells long and lovingly on those pioneer journeys, the struggles with nature and the Indians, and the toughness of those who began to farm or ranch the new lands. Australia no doubt has its own mythology, but not a powerful media industry to spread it around the world. KINGS IN GRASS CASTLES is an exceptionally good family history that gives the authentic flavor of what it was like to explore and settle vast swathes of that vast part of the southern continent known as "the Outback". If anyone wishes to acquire matter-of-fact knowledge about the period, they could do far worse than to read Mary Durack's family story, created from letters, diaries, from interviews and reminiscences years later, and from various documents found among her relatives. She made an effort to present the whole thing, warts and all, minus mythology.
Covering the period 1849-1898, Durack starts with the immigration of her paternal grandfather from Irish poverty to Sydney's sunny shores. The book covers not only him, but many of his siblings and cousins, tracing their move to Goulburn, New South Wales, episodic ventures on the Victorian goldfields, and then a great migration with herds and all, up into the dry, flat country of western Queensland, at that time still inhabited by groups of Aborigines who had been there for untold thousands of years. The family story is, on one hand, the story of struggles to build vast land empires of watered pasture in a country most prone to drought and sudden flood, to make a home where no European had ever lived before. On the other, it is an amazing tale of constant movement---men on horseback driving cattle for thousands of miles, riding three hundred miles across country for the most trivial of reasons, going to the coast or Goulburn, coming back, sailing around to Perth, incessant motion for half a century. Australia, more than North America, was (and is) a land of boom and bust. With rain, cattle and sheep multiplied and brought great riches to the Durack family. With drought or with financial collapse in the over-extended property markets of the cities, they could, and ultimately did, lose everything, their grass castles swept away by the winds of fate. Undeterred, the Durack clan made an epic cross-continent march of close to 2,000 miles with a large herd of cattle, winding up in the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia, where they proceeded to establish yet another `castle' built of grass. There, if drought was not such a big problem, ticks, labor shortage, diseases, distant markets, and Aborigines who resented intruders proved difficult. If family fortunes rose and fell, we at least get a marvelous picture of what pioneers went through in Australian history, almost still within living memory.
KINGS IN GRASS CASTLES provides an absorbing read, provokes admiration of the guts of these people, sorrow for the fate of the Aborigines, (brushed aside and often murdered), and disappointment that no one now will ever see that magnificent, untouched land again. The only flaw is that, as a family history, Durack perhaps put in too much detail for the outsider, recording the to's and fro's of various relatives, confusing the reader with an amazing number of characters named Mary, Michael or Patrick ! Her writing style might be a little clunky, but believe me, you will never get such a true, "from the horse's mouth" picture anywhere else. An Australian classic.
Though Australia, like North America, came to its present form through immigration and pioneering settlement, its history contains major differences, perhaps partly because everything happened much later, and partly because it was so far away from the mother countries. Whatever the case, Australia's pioneering stories are not nearly as well known in the wider world as are those of the USA. American mythology dwells long and lovingly on those pioneer journeys, the struggles with nature and the Indians, and the toughness of those who began to farm or ranch the new lands. Australia no doubt has its own mythology, but not a powerful media industry to spread it around the world. KINGS IN GRASS CASTLES is an exceptionally good family history that gives the authentic flavor of what it was like to explore and settle vast swathes of that vast part of the southern continent known as "the Outback". If anyone wishes to acquire matter-of-fact knowledge about the period, they could do far worse than to read Mary Durack's family story, created from letters, diaries, from interviews and reminiscences years later, and from various documents found among her relatives. She made an effort to present the whole thing, warts and all, minus mythology.
Covering the period 1849-1898, Durack starts with the immigration of her paternal grandfather from Irish poverty to Sydney's sunny shores. The book covers not only him, but many of his siblings and cousins, tracing their move to Goulburn, New South Wales, episodic ventures on the Victorian goldfields, and then a great migration with herds and all, up into the dry, flat country of western Queensland, at that time still inhabited by groups of Aborigines who had been there for untold thousands of years. The family story is, on one hand, the story of struggles to build vast land empires of watered pasture in a country most prone to drought and sudden flood, to make a home where no European had ever lived before. On the other, it is an amazing tale of constant movement---men on horseback driving cattle for thousands of miles, riding three hundred miles across country for the most trivial of reasons, going to the coast or Goulburn, coming back, sailing around to Perth, incessant motion for half a century. Australia, more than North America, was (and is) a land of boom and bust. With rain, cattle and sheep multiplied and brought great riches to the Durack family. With drought or with financial collapse in the over-extended property markets of the cities, they could, and ultimately did, lose everything, their grass castles swept away by the winds of fate. Undeterred, the Durack clan made an epic cross-continent march of close to 2,000 miles with a large herd of cattle, winding up in the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia, where they proceeded to establish yet another `castle' built of grass. There, if drought was not such a big problem, ticks, labor shortage, diseases, distant markets, and Aborigines who resented intruders proved difficult. If family fortunes rose and fell, we at least get a marvelous picture of what pioneers went through in Australian history, almost still within living memory.
KINGS IN GRASS CASTLES provides an absorbing read, provokes admiration of the guts of these people, sorrow for the fate of the Aborigines, (brushed aside and often murdered), and disappointment that no one now will ever see that magnificent, untouched land again. The only flaw is that, as a family history, Durack perhaps put in too much detail for the outsider, recording the to's and fro's of various relatives, confusing the reader with an amazing number of characters named Mary, Michael or Patrick ! Her writing style might be a little clunky, but believe me, you will never get such a true, "from the horse's mouth" picture anywhere else. An Australian classic.
June 29, 2021
I listened to this book on Audible, it was a long and very detailed book. Quite dry in parts and sometimes disengaging. Overall, an interesting story and tale of hardship, sacrifice and resilience in outback Australia in the late 1800’s. It’s important to try and understand and appreciate local history, this book gives a very detailed account of the Durack family and their journey and settlement in the East Kimberley region.
November 13, 2020
Thoroughly enjoyed the story of Pat Durack and his pioneering family establishing themselves in 19th century Australia.
They were tough bastards! Setting off with hope, optimism, Irish spirit and a hardiness that we wouldn’t recognize in the comfort of our current times, what they achieved in the Cooper and East Kimberly regions was quite remarkable.
I found the dynamic between Patrick and his sons particularly interesting and felt for the man in his later years as the sons leant away from his experience and guidance. He came across a tough but fair man, with strong ideals and a sense of fairness that shone bright. A true legend of his time.
An easy read and well worthwhile for any interested in the colorful figures that shaped the Australian character.
They were tough bastards! Setting off with hope, optimism, Irish spirit and a hardiness that we wouldn’t recognize in the comfort of our current times, what they achieved in the Cooper and East Kimberly regions was quite remarkable.
I found the dynamic between Patrick and his sons particularly interesting and felt for the man in his later years as the sons leant away from his experience and guidance. He came across a tough but fair man, with strong ideals and a sense of fairness that shone bright. A true legend of his time.
An easy read and well worthwhile for any interested in the colorful figures that shaped the Australian character.
August 29, 2017
Yes. It absolutely has to be a classic. A forever tale of Australia. Because it is based in hstorical fact. Enamouring, enthralling. I read this when I hadn't long been in Australia.. It may have been in the cards but not yet certain, that I would stay.
The descriptions of characters, the land, the genuine trails opened and used. The Droving lifestyle in evidence even today is all genuine material.
Another such is the story of Heartbreak Corner by Fleur Lehane, building upon the life of another Durack. 'The Corner' is an actual geographical location where South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory meet just West of NSW and East of Western Australia. Many of the cattle trails began and finished there.
The lives, the fortunes, the genuine lifestyles undertaken and some of the genuine battles with land, the indigenous population and the spread of livestock including the need for enduring horses of Arabian descent are all described. The Cameleers (Afghans) and so much else which is later picked up in similar books by novelists Courtenay and Morrissey. Judy Nunn and McCullough.
Wonderful writing with the ability to transport the reader into the times and understandings.
The descriptions of characters, the land, the genuine trails opened and used. The Droving lifestyle in evidence even today is all genuine material.
Another such is the story of Heartbreak Corner by Fleur Lehane, building upon the life of another Durack. 'The Corner' is an actual geographical location where South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory meet just West of NSW and East of Western Australia. Many of the cattle trails began and finished there.
The lives, the fortunes, the genuine lifestyles undertaken and some of the genuine battles with land, the indigenous population and the spread of livestock including the need for enduring horses of Arabian descent are all described. The Cameleers (Afghans) and so much else which is later picked up in similar books by novelists Courtenay and Morrissey. Judy Nunn and McCullough.
Wonderful writing with the ability to transport the reader into the times and understandings.
August 18, 2019
I wanted to read this having been brought up hearing about the majestic nature of the storytelling and the epic story it told. But I think it really needs to be retired from the category of ‘classic’ now. Especially ‘Australian classic’. I can see how it was groundbreaking and possibly even progressive in its day but now it is just beautifully written. But on all other fronts it is incredibly outdated and irrelevant for the most horrific reasons. I got as far as Chapter 14 and couldn’t do any more of it. So incredibly racist and patronising to the traditional owners of this country and at the same time completely denies and white washes the genocide exacted by early white inhabitants in Australia, even when in eye witness accounts! It just drove home to me how much the arrogance of early Europeans in the country has impacted even our current storytelling of how this country was ‘founded’. Just awful. Don’t read it. Read Dark Emu instead.
September 2, 2019
I found it too culturally insensitive to continue with. I got past the gold rush years with still only cursory mentions of indigenous Australians (like how hard they are to 'manage') and no recognition whatsoever of the harm this woman's forefathers did to an entire native culture. If the last half of the book is an apology for the land grabbing and culture killing, it still wouldn't make up for the first half. I'm ashamed it's considered an Australian classic. We knew better at the time this was published and we certainly know better now.
February 6, 2017
I'm torn on how to describe this book. It was obviously thoroughly researched and describes the lives of squatter families in unique detail. But this fact also means the story moves at a sluggish pace. As I listened to it on audio I just tunes out for some of the (unnecessary detail) and just took in the broad strokes which I enjoyed. I don't think I would have finished it if I was reading the hard copy.
October 21, 2023
Excellent book, well written. Makes you wonder about the desperate grab for land by new settlers & it’s cultural roots in class inequality & feudal systems. It also suggests the futility of applying European pastoral practices to the ancient & unique & fragile lands in western Queensland & the Kimberleys. Important & very surprising early insight into the cultural differences between settlers & aboriginal people.
August 19, 2024
32nd book of 2024
Follows a family of Irish immigrants as they (and other white folks) explore & start to colonise the Australian outback for their cattle stations. Authored by the daughter/grand-daughter of the main characters followed. Talks about both positive (in the author's view) and negative interactions with Australia's Indigenous peoples. Read while on vacation in Australia.
Anyone have books they've loved by Australian Indigenous authors to recommend?
Follows a family of Irish immigrants as they (and other white folks) explore & start to colonise the Australian outback for their cattle stations. Authored by the daughter/grand-daughter of the main characters followed. Talks about both positive (in the author's view) and negative interactions with Australia's Indigenous peoples. Read while on vacation in Australia.
Anyone have books they've loved by Australian Indigenous authors to recommend?
May 18, 2025
This is not a thrilling read, so brace yourselves, but its delivery of a detailed history of an early white settlement in Australia is truly invaluable.
And it certainly have to be read in the context of the social, geographical and political circumstances of the times. So again, brace yourselves.
And it certainly have to be read in the context of the social, geographical and political circumstances of the times. So again, brace yourselves.
April 21, 2024
A fascinating history which gives a sense of what the early pioneers experienced. Our modern sensibilities do not match with some of the attitudes of the first settlers, but I felt admiration for the determination and energy of the men and women who braved the outback.
November 9, 2020
Very Interesting. A book I have always planned to read but have only just at 63.
March 5, 2021
Have you ever watched an interview with some person and checked out the background while they are on camera? This book was on the shelf behind the Prince of Wales in some interview he did in recent years (I don’t even recall what the interview was about). I looked it up and when I saw it was Australian history, I tracked it down. Until this book, my knowledge of the subject had come from a few novels and movies.
This is a very detailed account of one Irish family who emigrated to Australia for the opportunity it presented when there was none in Ireland. It’s amazing what they accomplished from starting with practically nothing. Over 40+ years in the country saw them holding huge amounts of land and cattle from coast to coast. Amid great hardships they built fortunes and lost them. I saw many parallels to the United States western expansion, from harsh climates in unforgiving lands to conflict with native people.
The book is a bit slow in some places. The large families involved who recycled names across generations (multiple Patrick’s, Michaels, Mary’s, etc) makes it tricky to keep track of who is who) but there is a family tree provided which is helpful. The maps in the book were of limited use to me as I had no reference point, so keeping a map of Australia on my I-pad as I read worked better to see the places she mentions.
This is a very detailed account of one Irish family who emigrated to Australia for the opportunity it presented when there was none in Ireland. It’s amazing what they accomplished from starting with practically nothing. Over 40+ years in the country saw them holding huge amounts of land and cattle from coast to coast. Amid great hardships they built fortunes and lost them. I saw many parallels to the United States western expansion, from harsh climates in unforgiving lands to conflict with native people.
The book is a bit slow in some places. The large families involved who recycled names across generations (multiple Patrick’s, Michaels, Mary’s, etc) makes it tricky to keep track of who is who) but there is a family tree provided which is helpful. The maps in the book were of limited use to me as I had no reference point, so keeping a map of Australia on my I-pad as I read worked better to see the places she mentions.
July 14, 2018
This book is a fascinating insight into the lives of the pioneering white settlers in colonial Australia. It tells of the hardships, the extraordinary droving trips, the conflicts between white and black and the day to day lives of the settlers. It is incredibly well researched.
However, there is too much detail, it often becomes more a repeat of diary or copy of record than a story and that causes the book to bog down in detail, making it very difficult to read.
By the last third of the book I was swamped and just wanted it to finish. I skim read the end.
If you take this book as a family history written for that family's eyes, then it is understandable that all the detail be included, but as a story for the general public it is overwhelmed by too much detail, too many characters And the pace is variable at best, tedious at worst.
However, there is too much detail, it often becomes more a repeat of diary or copy of record than a story and that causes the book to bog down in detail, making it very difficult to read.
By the last third of the book I was swamped and just wanted it to finish. I skim read the end.
If you take this book as a family history written for that family's eyes, then it is understandable that all the detail be included, but as a story for the general public it is overwhelmed by too much detail, too many characters And the pace is variable at best, tedious at worst.
December 3, 2024
This is an Aussie classic -it is the true historical account of an extended family of Irish settlers in the Australian outback in the mid to late 1800s. It’s full of cowboy type tales, drought, death, reports of racism and persecution of the native First Nation peoples.
I’m on an Aussie roll at present.
I listened on BorrowBox which made it a little difficult to keep track of geography as apparently the hard copy has a map. I had to dig out the Atlas to figure out the amazingly long overland treks they did with cattle.
Well worth a read or listen ( engaging!)
I’m on an Aussie roll at present.
I listened on BorrowBox which made it a little difficult to keep track of geography as apparently the hard copy has a map. I had to dig out the Atlas to figure out the amazingly long overland treks they did with cattle.
Well worth a read or listen ( engaging!)
August 21, 2018
A bit of a slog but I had no choice as it was on the high school English reading list. Not a ringing endorsement, I know but elements of this epic have stayed with me for the 4 decades since I read it. I initially thought the said "Kings" were the dispossessed indigenous but since the book is an almost daily account of the Durack family (who still run a business empire here) I guess my 16-year old self was wrong.
September 17, 2020
An extensive and detailed history of the Durack family, this book tells of the family's experiences from their trip from Ireland and their beginnings in Australia to the demise of a beloved head of the family man years later. It is an eye-opening and fascinating picture of that continent for those of us who don't have a deep grasp of its history. Through the vicissitudes and the successes of this family, the reader gets a good picture of what early colonial life was like there.
June 30, 2017
I finished it but it was a hard slog.
Yes it is a classic of Australian literature but it was very dry and had too much detail (e.g. How much inventory was purchased by each item). By the time I got to the great tick disagreement I just wanted the book to end. I would say it is a 2 star for enjoyment but it gets an extra star for being so well researched.
Yes it is a classic of Australian literature but it was very dry and had too much detail (e.g. How much inventory was purchased by each item). By the time I got to the great tick disagreement I just wanted the book to end. I would say it is a 2 star for enjoyment but it gets an extra star for being so well researched.
March 22, 2020
This is a beautifully written story of Mary Durack’s family from the time her grandfather Patrick Patsy Durack came from Ireland to Goulburn and his farming enterprises beyond, from Queensland to the Kimberley. The description of Australia’s development through this period is fascinating and should be required reading for all Australians.
April 14, 2020
We loved this book of the early pioneering family, the Duraks. The privations and suffering of opening up the wealth of this country is immense and we stood in awe of their work ethic, their faith and their characters.
did-not-finish
January 5, 2021This is one of my mother’s favourite books, discovered recently by her. So when I was able to access the 18 hour audio book I gave it a go. 9 hours in I am tuning out much more than I am following. Too much side detail for me. Moving to my unable-to-finish shelf.
September 23, 2023
Rich and evocative narrative arch of three generations of the Duracks family. Well researched and poignantly written, I thought the book would be drier but was continually drawn back into it throughout.
June 16, 2025
Took a while to become engrossed in the characters but once I did I could not help but marvel at the strength of these people. A story of how man and woman are shaped by the country and time they live in.
August 6, 2018
Excellent.
June 12, 2019
Good depiction of the harsh times in Ireland. Wonderful story
September 29, 2019
An interesting look at the early settlers taking up land in Queensland and trekking across to the Kimberley area.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews