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The Silent Frontier
Lachlan, John and Phoebe MacDonald, three young children tragically separated after the massacre at the Ballarat goldfields, try to make their way in a world filled with poverty and war.
John is determined to find his lost siblings and meanwhile works hard to make a name for himself. A business partnership leads to riches and rewards that he never dreamed of.
Lachlan has always known what it is to struggle for survival. But even a life of bare knuckle fighting and destitution cannot prepare him for the war he finds himself in against the Maori of New Zealand, nor the feelings he has for his Commanding Officer's sister.
Phoebe barely remembers what it is to have a family and yearns for a love that will make her feel complete, and a home to call her own.
Three tales of courage, hope and forbidden love set against the backdrop of the New Zealand Maori wars and an emerging Australian nation.
John is determined to find his lost siblings and meanwhile works hard to make a name for himself. A business partnership leads to riches and rewards that he never dreamed of.
Lachlan has always known what it is to struggle for survival. But even a life of bare knuckle fighting and destitution cannot prepare him for the war he finds himself in against the Maori of New Zealand, nor the feelings he has for his Commanding Officer's sister.
Phoebe barely remembers what it is to have a family and yearns for a love that will make her feel complete, and a home to call her own.
Three tales of courage, hope and forbidden love set against the backdrop of the New Zealand Maori wars and an emerging Australian nation.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
369 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
21 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
About the author
Peter Watt
60 books121 followersPeter Watt's life experiences have included time as a soldier, articled clerk to a solicitor, prawn trawler deckhand, builder's labourer, pipe layer, real estate salesman, private investigator, police sergeant and adviser to the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary. He has lived and worked with Aborigines, Islanders, Vietnamese and Papua New Guineans.
He speaks, reads and writes Vietnamese and Pidgin - and has a reasonable grasp of the English language. He currently lives in Maclean, on the Clarence River in Northern NSW.
Good friends, fine food, fishing and the vast open spaces of outback Queensland are his main interests in life. He also enjoys SCUBA diving, military history, crosswords (but not the cryptic kind) and teaching.
He is a member of the Australian Institute of Management, the Australian Institute of Training and Development and the Australian Society of Authors.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree (University of Tasmania), Post Graduate Diploma of Training & Development (University of New England) and an Associate Diploma of Justice Administration (Sturt University).
He speaks, reads and writes Vietnamese and Pidgin - and has a reasonable grasp of the English language. He currently lives in Maclean, on the Clarence River in Northern NSW.
Good friends, fine food, fishing and the vast open spaces of outback Queensland are his main interests in life. He also enjoys SCUBA diving, military history, crosswords (but not the cryptic kind) and teaching.
He is a member of the Australian Institute of Management, the Australian Institute of Training and Development and the Australian Society of Authors.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree (University of Tasmania), Post Graduate Diploma of Training & Development (University of New England) and an Associate Diploma of Justice Administration (Sturt University).
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 24, 2017
I really enjoyed the story. accurate historically and written well
July 16, 2023
When I started reading this book, I was not that impressed and thought that I may not get to the end, but the further I got into it, the more I enjoyed it.
The story starts of in Australia with the massacre at the Eureka Stockade, in Ballarat. The story focuses on the MacDonald family, in particular, the three orphaned children (Lachlan, John and Phoebe), and their separation. John is determined to find his siblings and starts his search looking for Lachlan.
The story follows Lachlan with him eventually joining the militia to fight in the Māori wars in New Zealand, but he has problems with his commander who just so happens to be the brother of the girl Lachlan is secretly in love with.
The story will take you back to Australia where Lachlan does meet up with his brother John, but then moves on to Queensland where Lachlan takes on his goal as an explorer.
This book is well worth a read, especially for the NZ part and its history, but also gives great insight into the challengers for people looking to start a life in Queensland. I am lucky enough to have lived in NZ and now Queensland, so there are great memories in the story of places I have lived, practically in and around the Waikato, NZ.
The story starts of in Australia with the massacre at the Eureka Stockade, in Ballarat. The story focuses on the MacDonald family, in particular, the three orphaned children (Lachlan, John and Phoebe), and their separation. John is determined to find his siblings and starts his search looking for Lachlan.
The story follows Lachlan with him eventually joining the militia to fight in the Māori wars in New Zealand, but he has problems with his commander who just so happens to be the brother of the girl Lachlan is secretly in love with.
The story will take you back to Australia where Lachlan does meet up with his brother John, but then moves on to Queensland where Lachlan takes on his goal as an explorer.
This book is well worth a read, especially for the NZ part and its history, but also gives great insight into the challengers for people looking to start a life in Queensland. I am lucky enough to have lived in NZ and now Queensland, so there are great memories in the story of places I have lived, practically in and around the Waikato, NZ.
October 7, 2020
Each book I read from this author I have thoroughly enjoyed and this is no different. The hardships that people suffer often at the hands of another person are awful. I'm always gladdened that good eventually wins, perhaps I just like a happy ending. Hope he keeps on writing and I've introduced him to some friends and they are now reading some of his books great !!
September 21, 2018
Easily a 4, more like 4.5, I read this in less than a week. Enjoyed the stories running through the book. Peter Watt is a good Australian writer and has placed this In the midst of both Australian and New Zealand history. Well done!
February 15, 2021
True love never disappears
Another great story by this author hence the 5 stars. Having read most if not all of Peter Watts books the stories hold you in suspense with so many twist and turns. A must read author but read them in the correct order.
Another great story by this author hence the 5 stars. Having read most if not all of Peter Watts books the stories hold you in suspense with so many twist and turns. A must read author but read them in the correct order.
June 19, 2021
Finished in a week. I enjoyed the historical part of the story. Regarding the love story and the revenge, however, there are too many coincidences and serendipities that made the story not very convincing.
May 5, 2022
Watt writes consistently great colonial Australian historical fiction, with plenty of foreign battlefield action. 'The Silent Frontier' is another winner, this one touching on the British campaign against the New Zealand Maori.
November 5, 2020
Enjoyed the way some of the characters have been cross referenced with the Duffy series. Just wish the gap between reading them wasn't so far apart I had to rack my brain to remember haha.
May 7, 2012
This is a delightful parallel tale to the epic four part series Peter wrote of the Duffy and MacIntosh families, namely Cry of the Curlew, Shadow of the Osprey, Flight of the Eagle and To Chase the Storm. Both tales begin in the bloody battle of the Eureka Rebellion at the Ballarat goldfields. In this case the lives of three young children Lachlan, John and Phoebe MacDonald are changed forever when their older brother and father are murdered. They are separated to grow into adulthood in three very different ways.
John is determined to be reunited with his siblings and he works at securing enough wealth to find them. He meets his business and life partner and they accrue the means to go on the search and gain more wealth. Lachlan instead has struggled to survive becoming a bare knuckle fighter in Sydney, meeting the town’s famous fighting son Michael Duffy. In a bid to secure a holding of land he signs on as a soldier in the war against the Maori of New Zealand, where again fate allows him to cross paths with Cry of the Curlews main character Michael Duffy.
The social class division causes a blossoming love to flounder as Lachlan falls in love with his commanding officer’s sister. Later the truth John knows about that commanding officer, in his brutal sleighing and robbery of their father, is related to Lachlan when they meet. John and his business partner plan to ruin the soldier while the two brothers set out to find their sister. Meanwhile, life for Phoebe has been hard and she has two children of her own by this time.
Peter is a stickler for historical facts and weaves real details of battles and situations into his stories. His background as soldier, builder’s labourer, private investigator and police sergeant along with adviser to the Royal Papua New Guineas Constabulary among other things has given him a rich source of reality. I know his research is also extensive and his tales show enormous respect for the indigenous Aborigines of Australia and Maori people of PNG. All of his books are thoroughly entertaining page turners. Anyone not having read any of his seven tomes would do well to commence with this one. Having met Peter who is so willing to give time and energy to those learning the writing craft, I can only say, take the plunge – dive into his work!
John is determined to be reunited with his siblings and he works at securing enough wealth to find them. He meets his business and life partner and they accrue the means to go on the search and gain more wealth. Lachlan instead has struggled to survive becoming a bare knuckle fighter in Sydney, meeting the town’s famous fighting son Michael Duffy. In a bid to secure a holding of land he signs on as a soldier in the war against the Maori of New Zealand, where again fate allows him to cross paths with Cry of the Curlews main character Michael Duffy.
The social class division causes a blossoming love to flounder as Lachlan falls in love with his commanding officer’s sister. Later the truth John knows about that commanding officer, in his brutal sleighing and robbery of their father, is related to Lachlan when they meet. John and his business partner plan to ruin the soldier while the two brothers set out to find their sister. Meanwhile, life for Phoebe has been hard and she has two children of her own by this time.
Peter is a stickler for historical facts and weaves real details of battles and situations into his stories. His background as soldier, builder’s labourer, private investigator and police sergeant along with adviser to the Royal Papua New Guineas Constabulary among other things has given him a rich source of reality. I know his research is also extensive and his tales show enormous respect for the indigenous Aborigines of Australia and Maori people of PNG. All of his books are thoroughly entertaining page turners. Anyone not having read any of his seven tomes would do well to commence with this one. Having met Peter who is so willing to give time and energy to those learning the writing craft, I can only say, take the plunge – dive into his work!
July 1, 2015
Young Lachlan McDonald's family is torn apart when his father and older brother, Tom are killed by the unscrupulous Captain Charles Lightfoot at the infamous Australian battle of the Eureka stockade.
Lachlan's siblings John and Phoebe are nowhere to be found and he is taken in and raised by a kind travelling salesman, fellow Scotsman, Duncan Campbell.
When Duncan dies and Lachlan finds himself alone in the world he dreams of becoming a famous explorer in the Colonial State of Queensland. Events lead him to once again cross paths with Charles Lightfoot and to fall for his beautiful sister Amanda Lightfoot. His enchantment with Amanda sees him head to New Zealand as a soldier fighting in the Waikato campaign against the Maori, yet another example of bloody clearances by the British Empire.
Eventually, he is reunited with his brother John and together they exact their revenge on Lightfoot and finally find their little sister Phoebe.
The story of the McDonald siblings is woven around informative and well researched historical facts which made it all the more captivating.
Lachlan's siblings John and Phoebe are nowhere to be found and he is taken in and raised by a kind travelling salesman, fellow Scotsman, Duncan Campbell.
When Duncan dies and Lachlan finds himself alone in the world he dreams of becoming a famous explorer in the Colonial State of Queensland. Events lead him to once again cross paths with Charles Lightfoot and to fall for his beautiful sister Amanda Lightfoot. His enchantment with Amanda sees him head to New Zealand as a soldier fighting in the Waikato campaign against the Maori, yet another example of bloody clearances by the British Empire.
Eventually, he is reunited with his brother John and together they exact their revenge on Lightfoot and finally find their little sister Phoebe.
The story of the McDonald siblings is woven around informative and well researched historical facts which made it all the more captivating.
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June 2, 2016I checked the accuracy of some of the historical points and was impressed. Great to read Australian authors. Easy flowing story but the end was a bit rushed and I felt it could have been made into two books
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April 17, 2013April 30, 2017
Peter Watt is visiting the Library June 18. I have taken on Baby Bounce at work. Went to Sydney for SLNSW seminar during the week.
Brod & I are trying to purchase land & property at Warialda Rail!
Brod & I are trying to purchase land & property at Warialda Rail!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews