What do you think?
Rate this book
Silver Brumby #3
Silver Brumbies of the South
Silver Brumbies of the South is the third book in the original series about the Silver Brumby. Thowra, the most beautiful brumby stallion ever to gallop across the great Main Range, is disturbed by men bringing machinery and noise to the area of the mountains which he roams.
Storm also has been uneasy and has taken his mares and sons further south. When they meet they decide to take the restless two year olds, Lightning and Baringa, further to the south where they will have to fight for a place with the herds already there.
Lightning and Baringa become competitors; Lightning always trying to steal Baringa's mares. Baringa saves Lightning three times and each time he knows he will have to fight Lightning again next spring! But Baringa becomes the acknowledged Silver Brumby of the South.
Storm also has been uneasy and has taken his mares and sons further south. When they meet they decide to take the restless two year olds, Lightning and Baringa, further to the south where they will have to fight for a place with the herds already there.
Lightning and Baringa become competitors; Lightning always trying to steal Baringa's mares. Baringa saves Lightning three times and each time he knows he will have to fight Lightning again next spring! But Baringa becomes the acknowledged Silver Brumby of the South.
156 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
10 people are currently reading
287 people want to read
About the author
Elyne Mitchell
64 books124 followersElyne Mitchell is an Australian author best known for her Silver Brumby children's series, which tells the story of brumbies that roamed the Snowy Mountains in the Australian Alps, in particular a pale brumby named Thowra.
In 1988, she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for her services to literature, as well as an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Charts Sturt University in 1993.
In 1988, she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for her services to literature, as well as an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Charts Sturt University in 1993.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 26, 2013
There's a point in the Silver Brumby books that reaches a great and amazing place, and it's not a thing that occurs over and in one book alone. Rather it's a point that is reached in The Silver Brumby and continues throughout the series and genuinely blows your mind. This saga of silver horses is big, guys, it's big. It's Tolkien-esque at points, featuring inter-herd rivalries, familial ties, and stallions fighting for mares the colour of the purest snow.
It is good. Australia lives here, and it lives loud. Mitchell has her world and it is big and embracing. You're pulled into it, following the perspectives of the silver herd, whether that perspective is wise Thowra, foolish Lightening or the bright hope of Baringa. God, even writing those names has an impact. Mitchell writes horses so well. She doesn't humanise them to an uncomfortable degree, rather she writes them as horses and not just as thinly masked people. It is a gift and one she is perhaps unparalleled in doing so.
This book is the third in the series, and it is the establishment of Lightening and Baringa in their own right. The two colts are led out of the Secret Valley by Thowra and to the south where other brumbies live and fillies are ready to be stolen and formed into herds. Lightening, cocky and brash, revels in the attention of being one of the Silver Herd and Baringa, younger, more cautious, moves like moonlight in the mist as he starts to find his footing.
It is a good and brilliant book this, and it is part of a good and brilliant series. The world that is created here is huge and it's unique. The way Mitchell pauses over describing a stallion fight, or conjures up bush legends of mysterious fillies, gives you so much. These books are full of joys.
It is good. Australia lives here, and it lives loud. Mitchell has her world and it is big and embracing. You're pulled into it, following the perspectives of the silver herd, whether that perspective is wise Thowra, foolish Lightening or the bright hope of Baringa. God, even writing those names has an impact. Mitchell writes horses so well. She doesn't humanise them to an uncomfortable degree, rather she writes them as horses and not just as thinly masked people. It is a gift and one she is perhaps unparalleled in doing so.
This book is the third in the series, and it is the establishment of Lightening and Baringa in their own right. The two colts are led out of the Secret Valley by Thowra and to the south where other brumbies live and fillies are ready to be stolen and formed into herds. Lightening, cocky and brash, revels in the attention of being one of the Silver Herd and Baringa, younger, more cautious, moves like moonlight in the mist as he starts to find his footing.
It is a good and brilliant book this, and it is part of a good and brilliant series. The world that is created here is huge and it's unique. The way Mitchell pauses over describing a stallion fight, or conjures up bush legends of mysterious fillies, gives you so much. These books are full of joys.
Read
May 19, 2016Placeholder for the omnibus book with review found here. Otherwise it counts the omnibus as one book read and I'm reading one book from it a month.
June 2, 2012
As always, I enjoyed this Silver Brumby novel. I love Elyne Mitchell's writing style, when I'm reading her novels I always feel as if I am right there watching the story unfold.
Someone said to me not long ago that the Silver Brumby books are for children, but I disagree. A well written book can engage any audience, different ages may get different things out of the novel but I believe such well written books can be enjoyed by anyone.
I began reading The Silver Brumby novels when I was quite young and I still enjoy reading them now as an adult.
Someone said to me not long ago that the Silver Brumby books are for children, but I disagree. A well written book can engage any audience, different ages may get different things out of the novel but I believe such well written books can be enjoyed by anyone.
I began reading The Silver Brumby novels when I was quite young and I still enjoy reading them now as an adult.
October 20, 2024
Love this one! Probably my second favorite after the first book in the series
July 9, 2021
Easily my second favourite of the series, after the first novel. Thowra is concerned by the fact that men are building railroads through his beloved territory, and wants to send his main herd south. It is also an opportunity for him to take along Lightning, his son by Golden, and Baringa, his grandson through Kunama, so that they can find territory and herds of their own.
It has all the vitality and superlative prose of the first novel, with some truly memorable characters. I loved the introduction of the two young silver stallions, especially Baringa, who is as wise and swift and nimble as his grandsire. The story of the rivalry between Lightning and Baringa is well done, showing how the jealousy grows, and how Baringa has to fight against his natural instinct to respect and protect his older relative.
Other fantastic new characters include Whiteface, always good for comic relief; Steel, a new enemy from an old enemy; and Dawn, the beautiful silver silly who ignites the feud between the two silver horses.
Once again, the Australian outback is brought to life vividly by an author who obviously loves her source material.
This novel succeeded where the previous novel in the series didn't because there were varied exciting events, rather than the same old chase by man, chase by horse. In fact, man doesn't feature in this entry into the series, and it is refreshing for that. We simply have a take of silver brumbies living their lives and learning how the new southern territory works.
It has all the vitality and superlative prose of the first novel, with some truly memorable characters. I loved the introduction of the two young silver stallions, especially Baringa, who is as wise and swift and nimble as his grandsire. The story of the rivalry between Lightning and Baringa is well done, showing how the jealousy grows, and how Baringa has to fight against his natural instinct to respect and protect his older relative.
Other fantastic new characters include Whiteface, always good for comic relief; Steel, a new enemy from an old enemy; and Dawn, the beautiful silver silly who ignites the feud between the two silver horses.
Once again, the Australian outback is brought to life vividly by an author who obviously loves her source material.
This novel succeeded where the previous novel in the series didn't because there were varied exciting events, rather than the same old chase by man, chase by horse. In fact, man doesn't feature in this entry into the series, and it is refreshing for that. We simply have a take of silver brumbies living their lives and learning how the new southern territory works.
May 2, 2019
Re-read.
The Third book in the Silver Brumby series and I think my 2nd favorite overall (behind the first book!) continues the story of Thowra and introduces us to his son Lightning and grandson Baringa.
With the further encroachment of men in their beloved country, Thowra decides that it is time to take his young son and grandson out of his secret valley and away to the south, where they might make their own kingdom.
We get to revisit beloved characters such as Storm, Boon Boon and Kunama and are introduced to many new horses, each with their own feelings and thoughts about the arrival of the silver horses into their domain.
Lightning is Thowra's son with Golden and full brother to Kunama and while he is a silver horse in colour he is not so much one by nature and is more about brute force as opposed to brains.
While Baringa, son of Kunama and Tambo is much more a true descendant of the Silver Brumby. He is thoughtful and calm and learns his lessons well, which enables him to make a different life for himself than the one Lightning makes.
Love love love this book <3
The Third book in the Silver Brumby series and I think my 2nd favorite overall (behind the first book!) continues the story of Thowra and introduces us to his son Lightning and grandson Baringa.
With the further encroachment of men in their beloved country, Thowra decides that it is time to take his young son and grandson out of his secret valley and away to the south, where they might make their own kingdom.
We get to revisit beloved characters such as Storm, Boon Boon and Kunama and are introduced to many new horses, each with their own feelings and thoughts about the arrival of the silver horses into their domain.
Lightning is Thowra's son with Golden and full brother to Kunama and while he is a silver horse in colour he is not so much one by nature and is more about brute force as opposed to brains.
While Baringa, son of Kunama and Tambo is much more a true descendant of the Silver Brumby. He is thoughtful and calm and learns his lessons well, which enables him to make a different life for himself than the one Lightning makes.
Love love love this book <3
June 23, 2009
This has to be my favourite book of the series, and Baringa is undisputably my favourite character along with Thowra. Silver Brumbies of the South is chock full of action, excitement, and even a sprinkling of romance between Baringa and the beautifully white filly, Dawn.
Baringa is extremely intelligent, with speed, cunning and a charisma that makes him almost a smaller version of Thowra. This book is set in the south, far away from Thowra's hidden valley, which allows a new group of characters to appear and new landscape to explore. Baringa's gradual growth, his claiming of Dawn and fight for survival is extremely exciting and guaranteed to captivate with its magic.
Baringa is extremely intelligent, with speed, cunning and a charisma that makes him almost a smaller version of Thowra. This book is set in the south, far away from Thowra's hidden valley, which allows a new group of characters to appear and new landscape to explore. Baringa's gradual growth, his claiming of Dawn and fight for survival is extremely exciting and guaranteed to captivate with its magic.
October 24, 2010
Read all Elyne Mitchell's stories of Brumbies when I was a child. Loved them. Still love them -tend get a bit sappy that way about wild horses..and tend to have flashbacks of her books while photographing horses now.
December 3, 2023
With Silver Brumbies of the South, Elyne Mitchell reaches the peak of her storytelling and character-building abilities. It is my favourite book of the series, and a large part of the reason for that is the character development.
The premise is simple enough. The construction of the Snowy Mountains Highway disturbs the brumbies of the high country, so Thowra and Storm decide to take the main herd south, beyond the Cascades. Thowra also decides to take Lightning, his two year old son from Golden, and Baringa, Kunama's and Tambo's yearling son, with him.
Immediately, the scene is set. His motive for taking Lightning and Baringa is that both are too free-spirited to be kept in the Secret Valley. He even directly compares it to the mistake he made with Kunama, trying to keep her hidden too long. The characters of the two young colts are established within pages of the story beginning. Lightning is arrogant, cocksure, well aware of his own beauty and status as the Silver Brumby's son. Baringa is more shy, reserved, cautious.
This theme continues as the horses move south. Lightning indirectly causes Thowra to have to fight Whiteface, by alerting the other stallion of the herd's presence before Thowra could move them. He nearly loses his first fight because of his arrogance in approaching Goonda first. Even when they arrive at Quambat, he just assumes all of the beautiful fillies there - including Dawn - will want to run with him. In the meantime Baringa has been keeping a low profile, but is the one who is attracting the most attention - including from a chestnut filly who will return in the next book, and from Dawn.
Speaking of Dawn, she is a masterstroke of an introduction and such a breath of fresh air, especially after Kunama's disappointingly lacklustre "damsel-in-distress" characterisation in Silver Brumby's Daughter. Dawn, even though only a yearling when we meet her, is immediately a great character. She's not just beautiful, she's smart, bold, determined; she shows no fear of anything, and makes it quite clear that she will choose her own stallion and not be forced into anyone's herd. The relationship between her and Baringa is a lovely, almost teenage-like romance, built on mutual respect and trust. Dawn follows Baringa, but it's made pretty clear that she could take care of herself, if necessary. Several times she gives Baringa advice or remarks on things that he hasn't noticed yet.
Moon, though a trigger for quite a lot of plot in the story, is a much more ambiguous character, and yet you're not left feeling like anything is lacking because of her lack of development. It is all explained in-story - her backstory, the stallion who was holding her, and then her joy.
Lightning, too, was perfectly done. By the start of this book we have effectively established that all silver horses are noble and wise, able to move soundlessly and printlessly, Bel Bel's legacy carrying on. Lightning enters the story and blows that entire theory out of the water. He has some survival instincts that are better than most horses, but he embodies the teenage spirit of knowing better than the adults, and his arrogance gets him and the horses around him into trouble multiple times, inevitably having to be saved by Baringa, or Thowra, or even Cloud. He is, in large part, rather unlikable as a character; even when he defeats Steel, which could in itself have been a poetic plot point - the son of the Silver Brumby defeating the son of The Brolga - it is still viewed as a not altogether great thing.
Another thing that makes this story one of the better ones is that there is no real overarching antagonist. For the first time in the series, Man is barely mentioned. The construction of the highway is the chief reason for going south, yet the construction workers aren't interested in catching a silver horse. Instead, the antagonists are mostly other horses: Steel and the Ugly One are both stallions that must be defeated by Lightning and Baringa in order to live peacefully.
The other antagonist, if you could call it that, is the weather. Both fire and heavy snow cause major plot developments and problems in this book, and the series is the better for it (most Australians will understand that while Baringa and Dawn never having seen a bushfire is realistic, Thowra not having encountered one at this time of his life is definitely not).
The premise is simple enough. The construction of the Snowy Mountains Highway disturbs the brumbies of the high country, so Thowra and Storm decide to take the main herd south, beyond the Cascades. Thowra also decides to take Lightning, his two year old son from Golden, and Baringa, Kunama's and Tambo's yearling son, with him.
Immediately, the scene is set. His motive for taking Lightning and Baringa is that both are too free-spirited to be kept in the Secret Valley. He even directly compares it to the mistake he made with Kunama, trying to keep her hidden too long. The characters of the two young colts are established within pages of the story beginning. Lightning is arrogant, cocksure, well aware of his own beauty and status as the Silver Brumby's son. Baringa is more shy, reserved, cautious.
This theme continues as the horses move south. Lightning indirectly causes Thowra to have to fight Whiteface, by alerting the other stallion of the herd's presence before Thowra could move them. He nearly loses his first fight because of his arrogance in approaching Goonda first. Even when they arrive at Quambat, he just assumes all of the beautiful fillies there - including Dawn - will want to run with him. In the meantime Baringa has been keeping a low profile, but is the one who is attracting the most attention - including from a chestnut filly who will return in the next book, and from Dawn.
Speaking of Dawn, she is a masterstroke of an introduction and such a breath of fresh air, especially after Kunama's disappointingly lacklustre "damsel-in-distress" characterisation in Silver Brumby's Daughter. Dawn, even though only a yearling when we meet her, is immediately a great character. She's not just beautiful, she's smart, bold, determined; she shows no fear of anything, and makes it quite clear that she will choose her own stallion and not be forced into anyone's herd. The relationship between her and Baringa is a lovely, almost teenage-like romance, built on mutual respect and trust. Dawn follows Baringa, but it's made pretty clear that she could take care of herself, if necessary. Several times she gives Baringa advice or remarks on things that he hasn't noticed yet.
Moon, though a trigger for quite a lot of plot in the story, is a much more ambiguous character, and yet you're not left feeling like anything is lacking because of her lack of development. It is all explained in-story - her backstory, the stallion who was holding her, and then her joy.
Lightning, too, was perfectly done. By the start of this book we have effectively established that all silver horses are noble and wise, able to move soundlessly and printlessly, Bel Bel's legacy carrying on. Lightning enters the story and blows that entire theory out of the water. He has some survival instincts that are better than most horses, but he embodies the teenage spirit of knowing better than the adults, and his arrogance gets him and the horses around him into trouble multiple times, inevitably having to be saved by Baringa, or Thowra, or even Cloud. He is, in large part, rather unlikable as a character; even when he defeats Steel, which could in itself have been a poetic plot point - the son of the Silver Brumby defeating the son of The Brolga - it is still viewed as a not altogether great thing.
Another thing that makes this story one of the better ones is that there is no real overarching antagonist. For the first time in the series, Man is barely mentioned. The construction of the highway is the chief reason for going south, yet the construction workers aren't interested in catching a silver horse. Instead, the antagonists are mostly other horses: Steel and the Ugly One are both stallions that must be defeated by Lightning and Baringa in order to live peacefully.
The other antagonist, if you could call it that, is the weather. Both fire and heavy snow cause major plot developments and problems in this book, and the series is the better for it (most Australians will understand that while Baringa and Dawn never having seen a bushfire is realistic, Thowra not having encountered one at this time of his life is definitely not).
July 29, 2025
Like many of my childhood books, had to rebuy this one after most got lost in a sudden house move.
The Silver Brumby series were a formative part of my early teens, at a time when I had my own silver pony, was riding and also hooked on Black Beauty.
These books are unusual in that they talk of the world from the horse's point of view. Their thoughts, their perspectives, their needs and wants. The wild horse world is very different to our normal view of them from our human perspective and our needs and wants.
Eluyne Mitchell expertly takes us into their world and they come to life as real characters, in a human yet we know not human way. There is talk of spores and cent in the way humans would never write about humans.
If you love Black Beauty, Champion the Wonder Horse or White Horses, you need to read this.
The Silver Brumby series were a formative part of my early teens, at a time when I had my own silver pony, was riding and also hooked on Black Beauty.
These books are unusual in that they talk of the world from the horse's point of view. Their thoughts, their perspectives, their needs and wants. The wild horse world is very different to our normal view of them from our human perspective and our needs and wants.
Eluyne Mitchell expertly takes us into their world and they come to life as real characters, in a human yet we know not human way. There is talk of spores and cent in the way humans would never write about humans.
If you love Black Beauty, Champion the Wonder Horse or White Horses, you need to read this.
October 31, 2023
Amazing. Lightning is best horse <3
August 6, 2021
I am always torn between this book, the silver brumby or silver brumby kingdom as my favourite. I have always had a soft spot for Baringa, and this book in the series has lots of exciting moments. Thowra is such a character and it is funny how Elyne decided to make his first silver son Lightning, such a pain. I can seriously picture the kind of horse he would be, prancing around with his ears back thinking he was the best lol.
I also like how there are no men in this book and it is more about the bush and the horses. Luckily there is less description about how beautiful they are every 5 seconds, my main gripe with these books.
I also like how there are no men in this book and it is more about the bush and the horses. Luckily there is less description about how beautiful they are every 5 seconds, my main gripe with these books.
April 28, 2013
The rail-road has come to the outback, so Thowra and Storm gather their herds and head South. Thowra goes on ahead with his son, Lightening, and his grandson, Baringa. Both young stallions need herds and territory of their own, and he takes them somewhere they can find both. But Lightening never forgives Baringa for enticing the lovely Dawn as his first filly, and a rivalry begins between the two silver horses.
Again, a great story, with lots of heart-stopping moments and beautifully written characters.
Again, a great story, with lots of heart-stopping moments and beautifully written characters.
Read
August 23, 2008isbn,original
April 18, 2009
This book is amazing! I love it!
October 2, 2012
My favorite book in the Silver Brumby series. This is a totally gripping story that you just can't put down!!
May 21, 2013
Chronicles of Han Storm Book Club Read
January 7, 2014
I love her books!
January 17, 2021
4.5 stars
My first time reading this particular installment of the series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Fell in love with Baringa and hoping he features in the next book too.
#MadeForHorseyTweens
My first time reading this particular installment of the series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Fell in love with Baringa and hoping he features in the next book too.
#MadeForHorseyTweens
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews