On Our Selection

by Steele Rudd

On Our Selection by Steele Rudd is a charming and humorous exploration of rural life in Australia, presenting the adventures and misadventures of the Rudd family as they navigate the challenges of farming and family dynamics. Set against the backdrop of the Australian bush, the book captures the essence of pioneering spirit and the unique quirks of rural existence. Through the eyes of the endearing yet hapless character, Dad Rudd, readers are treated to a series of entertaining anecdotes that highlight the trials and triumphs of agricultural life.

180 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 3, 2025

About the author

Rudd was born Arthur Hoey Davis at Drayton, Queensland, and left school early, working on nearby stations before joining the public service in Brisbane. He married Violet Brodie in 1894 and they had four children. The Bulletin published his first sketch of life as a selector in 1895. More stories followed, and their popularity led the Bulletin to publish the collections On Our Selection (1899) and Our New Selection (1903), which were also successfully adapted for the stage. Rudd established Steele Rudd's Magazine in 1903, which continued (with name-changes, lapses and revivals) until 1927. Rudd was prolific, writing six plays and more than twenty books, including the well-received novel, Memoirs of Corporal Keeley (1918). His wife's institutionalisation in a mental hospital, the dissolution of their marriage, problems with alcohol and money, are all considered to have contributed to a decline in the quality of his later work.