Shacks Sheep and Speckled Bastards.png
Shacks Sheep and Speckled Bastards.png

Shacks, Sheep & Speckled Bastards

$35.00
Shacks, Sheep & Speckled Bastards: Life Around the Lakes is a richly detailed portrait of Tasmania�s Central Highlands, told through stories of fishing, weather, people and place. Set across a full year on the plateau, the book follows the changing seasons from early spring through deep winter, capturing the rhythms that define life around the lakes. Each chapter is anchored to a specific waterway � Great Lake, Woods Lake, Arthurs Lake, Little Pine Lagoon, Penstock, Bronte, Lake Echo and beyond � and shaped by moments familiar to anyone who knows this country. There are mornings when everything lines up perfectly, long days when nothing quite works, and quiet drifts that turn into reflections on time, repetition and why people keep coming back. The book moves well beyond fishing stories. Woven through the narrative are accounts of shack life, grazing history, hydro development, fire years, floods and the small, unofficial systems that keep isolated communities connected. Readers meet locals and old-timers whose lives are shaped by wind, water and hard seasons: the woman who kept a weather diary for thirty years, the man who rebuilt his boat every winter, neighbours who check on one another during storms, and families who have shared shacks across generations. Practical knowledge sits naturally alongside storytelling. The book includes notes on reading Highlands weather, thawing frozen rod guides, restarting stubborn generators, drying gear safely, and choosing food that lasts in cold conditions. A naturalist�s guide adds depth with observations on birds, insects, plants and small fish that make up the background of plateau life. Throughout the book, original hand-drawn illustrations provide a quiet visual rhythm, reflecting shacks, lakes, weather and everyday moments without distraction. The result is a book designed to be read slowly, revisited often and kept close at hand. Whether you fish these waters, live in the Highlands, or simply want to understand a remarkable Tasmanian landscape, Shacks, Sheep & Speckled Bastards offers an honest, grounded and deeply local account of life around the lakes.
Shacks, Sheep & Speckled Bastards: Life Around the Lakes is a richly detailed portrait of Tasmania�s Central Highlands, told through stories of fishing, weather, people and place. Set across a full year on the plateau, the book follows the changing seasons from early spring through deep winter, capturing the rhythms that define life around the lakes. Each chapter is anchored to a specific waterway � Great Lake, Woods Lake, Arthurs Lake, Little Pine Lagoon, Penstock, Bronte, Lake Echo and beyond � and shaped by moments familiar to anyone who knows this country. There are mornings when everything lines up perfectly, long days when nothing quite works, and quiet drifts that turn into reflections on time, repetition and why people keep coming back. The book moves well beyond fishing stories. Woven through the narrative are accounts of shack life, grazing history, hydro development, fire years, floods and the small, unofficial systems that keep isolated communities connected. Readers meet locals and old-timers whose lives are shaped by wind, water and hard seasons: the woman who kept a weather diary for thirty years, the man who rebuilt his boat every winter, neighbours who check on one another during storms, and families who have shared shacks across generations. Practical knowledge sits naturally alongside storytelling. The book includes notes on reading Highlands weather, thawing frozen rod guides, restarting stubborn generators, drying gear safely, and choosing food that lasts in cold conditions. A naturalist�s guide adds depth with observations on birds, insects, plants and small fish that make up the background of plateau life. Throughout the book, original hand-drawn illustrations provide a quiet visual rhythm, reflecting shacks, lakes, weather and everyday moments without distraction. The result is a book designed to be read slowly, revisited often and kept close at hand. Whether you fish these waters, live in the Highlands, or simply want to understand a remarkable Tasmanian landscape, Shacks, Sheep & Speckled Bastards offers an honest, grounded and deeply local account of life around the lakes.