We of the Never-Never and The Little Black Princess

by Jeannie Gunn

We of the Never Never is an autobiographical novel by Jeannie Gunn. Although published as a novel, it is an account of the author's experiences in 1902 at Elsey Station near Mataranka, Northern Territory in which she changed the names of people to obscure their identities. She published this book under her married name of Mrs Aeneas Gunn. Over the years newspapers and magazine articles chronicled the fortunes of the Elsey characters; Jeannie outlived all but Bett-Bett.[1] In Melbourne, at the encouragement of friends, Jeannie Gunn began writing the books for which she would become famous. The Little Black a True Tale of life in the Never-Never Land, published in 1905 and revised in 1909, chronicled the childhood of an Indigenous Australian protagonist named Bett-Bett This book contains special condensed versions of both books.

Genres: Australia

229 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2014

About the author

We of the Never Never is an autobiographical novel by Jeannie Gunn. Although published as a novel, it is an account of the author's experiences in 1902 at Elsey Station near Mataranka, Northern Territory in which she changed the names of people to obscure their identities. She published this book under the pen name Mrs Aeneas Gunn.

Mrs Gunn was the first white woman to settle in the area. Her husband was a partner in Elsey cattle station on the Roper River, some 300 miles (483 km) south of Darwin. On 2 January 1902 the couple sailed for Port Darwin so that he could take up his role as the station's new manager. In Palmerston (Darwin), Mrs Gunn was discouraged from accompanying her husband to the station on the basis that as a woman she would be 'out of place' on a station such as the Elsey. However, she travelled south and her book describes the journey and settling in. However on 16 March 1903 Aeneas died of malarial dysentery and Jeannie returned to Melbourne shortly afterwards.

Reviews

[Jenny Kirkby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved both these books. ‘We of the Never Never’ was probably not quite as engaging as ‘The Little Black Princess’ but I loved the journey it took me on into life in the outback. Having lived in Darwin I felt immersed in the country that I had only seen in passing in the territory. I loved everything I learnt about indigenous culture in both books but it was particularly rich in ‘The Little Black Princess’. I flinched at some of the language used that is so unacceptable in society today, but as it wasn’t used in a derogatory manner it didn’t detract from the beautiful journey these books took me on.

[Elizabeth S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can see why this is a classic in Australian literature. Thank goodness I had a friend who lived in Australia for a few years and sent this to me. What an amazing (and true) story. It does help to read the background of the story first, because Mrs. Gunn just jumps right into relating her experiences in the Australian bush in the early 1900s. She doesn't really explain why she was there or give any background. It didn't take me long to adjust, and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing. I was amazed by how someone over 100 years ago was so accepting of and interested in another culture.

[TheMadHatter · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an Australia classic that I have wanted to read for so long. It is autobiographical in nature detailing Ms Gunn's journey to outback Northern Territory in the early 1900s with her husband.

Even though it was less than 200 pages, I found it a really hard read. I hate to say it, but I was just bored the whole time and the writing didn't engage me at all. I hate writing that as I know how much this book is loved by many. However, the only thing I liked in the entire book was the prelude and from there it was all downhill for me:

"Called the Never-Never, the Maluka loved to say, because they who have lived in it Never-Never voluntarily leave it. Sadly enough, there are too many who Never-Never do leave it. Others - the unfitted - will tell you that it is so called because they who succeed in getting out of it swear they will Never-Never return to it. But we who have lived in it, and loved it, and left it, know that our hearts can Never-Never rest away from it"

Reading Challenge
Aussie Readers 2024 Annual Everything is Australian Author Challenge: Crocodile.
There are saltwater crocodiles in the sea and freshwater ones in the rivers but mostly in the Northern Territory. Read a book set in the Northern Territory.
Aussie Readers 2024 Annual A-Z "Real Life" Locations Challenge: Read a book with a location/setting starting with n (Northern Territory)
Aussie Readers 2024 Annual United in Reading Calendar Challenge: October - Day of Rural Women, Oct 15: Read a novel set in rural Australia
Aussie Readers 2024 Annual Genre Challenge: Read a classic book
Aussie Readers 2024 A-Z Authors Challenge: Read a book by an author with an initial of G
Aussie Readers 2024 "Spring Challenge": Opposites Attract - Read a book set overseas and read a book set in Australia

[Kiliyan · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, these are two separate stories and I'm really happy I didn't stop at the first one, because 'We of the Never-Never' was quite boring. Nothing much happened. It's one of those stories that is only fun if you were actually there. Like Cheon, the Chinese fellow Mrs Gunn mentions to be very important beyond his basic function as a cook and gardener, but barely elaborates, so you don't get to know this person that - for some reason unknown - meant so much to her and the entire settlement.
That first book would only be 2 stars for me.

The little black princess on the other hand was more 4 stars, and thus I arrive at 3 stars overall.
The story of the this little aboriginal girl and her people interacting with the settlement was very interesting and what I hoped the whole novel would be like. You learn so much about their culture and beliefs and it's just funny and heartwarming at times. I really struggled with the first story, but adored the second one.

Overall, forcing myself through the first story has paid off in getting to experience the second story, so I might recommend just skipping straight to 'the little black princess' Bett-Bett.

[Alana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miles Franklin meets Jane Austen in an outback setting. Gunn’s style is funny, intelligent and energetic, more quirky than you’d expect of an early C.20th female writer. She writes about her real life experience of living on a remote cattle station in the Northern Territory in 1902.
“We of the Never Never” is about the white people’s perspective. It’s full of memorable characters and interesting insights into how they managed in such isolation. The stories of the mailman and the telegraph lines stand out. At times it’s frustrating because Gunn doesn’t translate when the Chinese cook and the “blackfellows” speak. So it’s fascinating but sometimes hard to understand.
A more enjoyable read is “The Little Black Princess” which is about the indigenous way of life in and around the cattle station. Thanks to Gunn’s curiosity we learn a fair bit about their beliefs, customs, and joyful approach to work. She also translates the “blackfellow” speak much more often, which helps enormously.
Both are worth reading.

[Carol Nichols · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know this is a book of its time, but the way the author treated Aboriginal people was awful. Colonisation has done irreparable harm and this book goes some way to explaining how.

It’s a difficult read, but organs important to understand the history of this place. Deeply discomfiting.

I found the story a little hard to follow, given the large number of characters.

[Bethany Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book, or more accurately, these two books, are an Australian classic, and I can understand why, and I enjoyed her description of the landscape and the bush. I did find that We of the Never Never dragged on for a bit, The Little Black Princess is the far more engaging story of the two.

[Michael Vawser]

USD2.87

[Renay · Rating 2 out of 5]

although we get used to certain styles of writing, and then read with a kind of expectancy, sometimesother styles of writing can be enjoyable as well.
we of the never never is written in an oddly simple manner, no flowerey prose, no waxing poetic.... just a simple story.
sometimes this book was a little hard to read because it does use language that you have to think about (aussie slang circa 1900, northern territory bushman style)
i would be interested to see the movie adaptation of the story.
and towards the end is a real celebration of thankfullness for the blessings the maluka and his missus have been given.
it is nice to be reminded how lucky we are, and how simple life can be if you let it.
i wouldn't recommend the book to read, unless you were really super keen on aussie history or a fan of mrs anneas gunn or something.



the little black princess was a lovely short story, easy to read, and finish in a sitting. ( i like it!)

[Suzesmum · Rating 4 out of 5]

5🇦🇺📖AUSTRALIA: Considered Australian colonial classics, these two novellas are special on two accounts: firstly, they were written by a woman and secondly, Gunn’s attitude towards the Indigenous Australian Aboriginals is a compassionate one. I enjoy “The Little Black Princess” immensely (although the use of ‘nigger’ is confronting). It’s a charming collection of stories about the mischievous Bett-Bett and gives a wonderful insight into the lives, language and culture of her people. The more well-known and regarded “We of The Never Never” was less enjoyable. I found Gunn’s lack of character description or explanation of terms and events frustrating and detracted from my experience. Even so, both novellas give a wonderful insight into life on a cattle station in the Northern Territory in the first decade after Federation.

I’m now inspired to watch the 1982 film adaptation of “We of the Never Never”, starting Angela Punch-Macgregor.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an intriguing book to read and review. To many it's a classic, I suspect to many others it strikes a jarring note. Both accounts, personal memoirs written by Jeannie Gunn, are of their time in terms of both style and content. I found We Of The Never Never difficult to get into, however by the end I was sorry to finish. The use of quirky titles rather than names for the principal characters did not help my engagement.

We may well now have a much better understanding of the damage done to indigenous communities by the rapid spread of European influences throughout Australia, however it is difficult not to be impressed by the resourcefulness and grit of those early pioneers.

There are also passages of genuine historical note such as the work of the mailman. And in The Little Black Princess I felt not only empathy to the indigenous communities but also genuine insights.

[Janet Ramski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an amazing pair of stories about life in the Outback of Australia, in the first decade of the 1900's. It is written rather strangely, much in pidgin 'Blackfellow' English and the complex dialect of the rural cattlemen of that time. It did take me about half the book to start enjoying the story! Mrs Gunn was unusual for an Englishwoman of her era in that, as the only white woman for hundreds of miles, she treated the Aboriginals with great respect and learned from them. A lot of it probably flew over my head, since I'm an American, and am rather ignorant of Australian history but all in all I liked both stories.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book for the Read Around the World Scheme run by the library service. I am enjoying this century-old book and the incongruence between racial attitudes then and now. The author seems to have been a most unusual woman for her time. She explains life on the cattle stations of the Northern Territories of Australia which she experienced as a newly-wed, amusingly and with very effective descriptions. Lovely stories of life in a different place and different time, written effectively and affectionately. Very enjoyable.

[Cai · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book so incredibly hard to push through. In the end I only did it for Book Club. The second story was much easier to read.

*I selected this for a Reading Challenge as a book based on a true story*

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I can recognize that its a good story but it was hard for me to follow, and I got bored very easily.

[Angelina Ballerina]

Chose not to finish reading. Although this is one 'story' it reads like a series of short stories.