I loved my little black cat, Chikko, possessively, and had to learn not to strangle her with affection.
Some of my happiest times at Towong Hill were when Mum took me riding in the paddocks, even if my skewbald Shetland pony, Toby, would put his head down to eat as soon as we stopped.
Swimming lessons began with the fishing rod: a canvas belt attached to a thin pole was placed around my chest and I could paddle for all I was worth without fear of sinking.
Mum’s favourite swimming hole was the scimitar-shaped lagoon below the house. Willows surrounded the lagoon, their shade helping keep the water deliciously cool in summer. Dad was not such a keen swimmer as Mum but he enjoyed rowing his dinghy for exercise and entertaining visitors there.
For my introduction to snow, Dad and Mum put me in a wicker pram on skis. Here, wrapped up against the elements, I resemble a glum, mummified gnome. Dad, Indi and Harry look on.
In the heavy snow year of 1960 we started skiing at Thredbo as a family. Dad never understood that others didn’t necessarily find the sport as easy to master as he did. ‘You’ve got to work hard for your fun,’ he would say. By the end of each day’s skiing I was exhausted and couldn’t understand what Mum and Dad got so excited about.
In 1963 I was one of the youngest members of the New South Wales Junior Ski Squad. While it was nice to have been selected, particularly because it pleased Mum and Dad, I was also becoming aware that my lack of competitiveness meant ski racing didn’t hold the thrill for me that it had for them.
For Mum, nothing could compete with skiing. It was both her obsession and a form of escapism. She believed that ‘it was the key that let you through into unexplored places’.
I went straight from correspondence lessons at Towong Hill, with Mum a sometimes reluctant, distracted supervisor, to boarding school at Toorak College at the age of eleven. I’d had little social contact with other girls my age and at first was desperately lonely and unhappy, as well as being way out of my depth academically.
‘A good talker, a good teacher, an interesting man.’ As a teenager, I thought Dad was one of the most eccentric characters imaginable and found his colourful stories embarrassing. Others enjoyed them, even though they knew he exaggerated a bit. He was a well-liked and respected member of state parliament so some people called him ‘the Hon Tom’, while others nicknamed him ‘Mr History’.
Mum with Winkle, the Australian terrier she bought for the family. He assumed an importance in her life that, as a teenager, I felt none of the family attained. Both Mum and I were inhibited and sensitive to criticism from each other, and did not have an easy relationship during my high school years.
Mum and Dad deeply wanted to rediscover their prewar happiness, but it always seemed in later years that discord far outweighed any enjoyment in each other’s company. Here they have called a momentary truce.
Harry at Geelong Grammar. His cheerfulness, courage and perseverance earned him respect from all members of the school community.
Mum’s face became bronzed and lined with the years; she looked like a wizened walnut and laughed like a kookaburra singing up the sun at dawn.
Notes
Prologue
1 Digest of World Readers, Melbourne, December.
2 ‘Horse stars in her 7th book’, The Sun, 3 October 1958, p. 40 and ‘Authoress writes about Horses and mountains’, Weekly Times, 15 October 1958, p. 63.
3 Elyne Mitchell, The Silver Brumby, pp. 172–3.
2 A Name Like Honor
1 The Herald, 9 June 1953, p. 12.
2 First page of a letter from Elyne Mitchell to Mr White dated 18 May 1953. The rest of the letter is missing.
3 Cranky Ghosts
1 Corryong Courier, 17 May 1894.
2 Albury Daily News and Wodonga Chronicle, 20 September 1917, p. 2.
3 John T. Francis, Lives of Romance, p. 65.
4 ibid.
4 Working in a Wild Museum
1 Elyne Mitchell, Chauvel Country, p. 249.
6 Each Item Had a Story
1 Elyne Mitchell, Chauvel Country, p. 83.
7 Brilliant Times and Places
1 Elyne Mitchell, Chauvel Country, p. 3.
2 Philippe Batters, Prahran’s Heritage: No. 9 Murphy Street Resident, Talks Given at Meetings of the Prahran Historical Society, p. 7.
3 Chauvel Country, p. 245.
8 ‘Like a Wave Lifting Everything’
1 Letter from Elyne Mitchell to Eve Maberly, 6 March 1954.
2 ‘Arrangements for the Queen’s Visit’, Corryong Courier, 7 March 1963, p. 10.
11 The Bittersweet Schoolroom
1 Elyne Mitchell, Black Cockatoos Mean Snow, p. 6.
12 So Many Stories
1 Dad wrote something similar in his local history, Corryong and the Man from Snowy River District, 1981, Wilkinson Printers, Albury, p. 11.
2 Elyne Mitchell, Flow River, Blow Wind, p. 147.
13 The Coming of the Brumbies
1 Elyne Mitchell, The Silver Brumby, pp. 36–37.
2 ibid, p.16.
3 Elyne Mitchell, Australia’s Alps, p. 57.
4 ibid, p. 129.
5 Elyne Mitchell, Black Cockatoos Mean Snow, pp. 23–24.
6 Elyne Mitchell, The Silver Brumby, pp. 17–18.
7 Elyne Mitchell, Silver Brumby’s Daughter, p. 129.
8 Elyne Mitchell, Silver Brumbies of the South, p. 16.
9 ibid, p. 58.
10 Elyne Mitchell, Silver Brumby Whirlwind, p.17.
11 ibid, p. 19.
12 Elyne Mitchell, Towong Hill: Fifty Years on an Upper Murray Cattle Station, p. 98.
13 Elyne Mitchell, Chauvel Country, p. 254.
14 The Silver Brumby, p. 161.
15 Letter from Elyne Mitchell to Paul Hodder-Williams, 15 October 1962.
17 Pushing the Boundaries
1 Elyne Mitchell, Chauvel Country, p. 93.
2 ‘His Suggestion Popped Back’, People, 12 September 1951, p. 37.
20 War Secrets
1 There is a colour photograph of the lily pond at Blowering in the visitor centre in Tumut.
2 ‘Woman Runs Big Fat Stock Station’, 5 February 1944, Pix, p. 8.
3 ibid, p. 8.
21 War Friends and Waterskiing
1 Elyne Mitchell, Chauvel Country, p. 264.
23 Visitors to Our World
1 Elyne Mitchell, Images in Water, p. 32.
2 ibid, p. 32.
24 Typical Upper Murray Fun
1 Elyne Mitchell, ‘Living with Distance’ (unpublished), p. 5.
2 Letter from Elyne Mitchell to Sibyl Chauvel, 26 January 1952.
3 Letter from Lilian Chauvel to Elyne and Tom Mitchell, 13 January 1937.
25 Early Skiing
1 Elva Breen, ‘Roundabout for Women’, The Herald, 11 October 1958, p. 33.
2 People, 12 September 1951, p. 38.
26 Skiing is Serious
1 Elyne Mitchell, A Vision of the Snowy Mountains, p. 25.
2 Jill Craig, ‘Elyne and Her Mountains’, Border Mail, 17 July 1985, p. 4.
27 The Magic of Summer Skiing
1 Elyne Mitchell, Silver Brumby’s Daughter, p. 14.
2 ibid, p. 17.
3 ibid, p. 194.
4 ibid, p. 198.
5 Elyne Mitchell, ‘Once Forgotten Corner’, Riverlander, April 1964, p. 8.
28 Adventures on the Alpine Way
1 Elyne Mitchell, ‘Through Adversity – to the Snow’, The Age Literary Supplement, 3 September 1966, p. 21.
2 Elyne Mitchell, Towong Hill: Fifty Years on an Upper Murray Cattle Station, p. 177.
3 Elyne Mitchell, ‘Through the Australian Alps in a Jeep’, Australian Geographical Magazine Walkabout, 1 April 1949, p. 29.
4 Elyne Mitchell, The Colt from Snowy River, Acknowledgements.
5 ibid.
29 Skiing the World
1 Elyne Mitchell, Travel Journal, 1938.
2 ibid.
3 Elyne Mitchell, Chauvel Country, p. 210
.
4 ibid, p. 215.
5 Letter from Tom Mitchell to Winifred Mitchell, 27 August 1938, p. 11.
6 Thomas Mitchell, ‘Midway Peak’, p. 303.
30 Accident and Intrigue
1 Karl Roesen survived the war; Dad visited him when he was in Europe in 1965. Hannes died in 1955 having never returned to St Anton. I have not been able to discover the fate of Frau Roesen.
2 Tom Mitchell, ‘Skiing the World’, p. 263.
31 Moths in the Lamplight
1 Dad also described this in his unpublished ski memoir, ‘Skiing the World’, p. 13.
2 Elyne Mitchell, Chauvel Country, p. 200.
3 Chauvel Country, p. 200, quoting ‘Skiing the World’, pp. 137–38.
4 ibid.
35 The Time Warp
1 Elyne Mitchell, Speak to the Earth, p. 27.
2 Russell Braddon, The Piddingtons, pp. 104–5.
3 Elyne Mitchell, Flow River, Blow Wind, p. 76.
4 Elyne Mitchell, Black Cockatoos Mean Snow, p. 19.
5 ibid, p. 67.
6 ibid, p. 67.
7 ibid, p. 117.
36 ‘A Man Who Would Have Sons’
1 The Book of Job, Chapter 38, Verse 22, quoted in Elyne Mitchell, Winged Skis, p. 88.
2 Noel Streatfeild, ‘Book Page’, Elizabethan, April 1964.
3 Dorothy Ryman, ‘Winged Skis by Elyne Mitchell’, Ski Australia (August 1964), p. 39.
4 The Corian: The Journal of the Geelong Church of England Grammar School and the Old Geelong Grammarians, April 1973, p. 121.
37 Wings to Find My Life
1 Inquest held on 14 September 1972 by J.H. Power, Coroner for the District of Lithgow.
2 Lieutenant General Victor Paul Hildebrand Stanke was General Officer Commanding Queensland Lines of Communication, 1943–46.
3 John Wyett, Staff Wallah, p. xvi.
4 Elyne Mitchell, Towong Hill: Fifty Years on an Upper Murray Cattle Station, p. 80.
Bibliography
Monographs
Andrews, Dr Arthur, First Settlement of the Upper Murray 1835-1845 with a Short Account of over Two Hundred Runs 1835 – 1880, D. S. Ford Printers, 729 George St Sydney, 1920
Braddon, Russell, The Piddingtons, Werner Laurie, London, 1950
Francis, John T., Lives of Romance, Mitchell & Co, 45 Clerkwell Close, 1914
Hill, A.J. Chauvel of the Light Horse, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1978
Mitchell, Elyne, Australia’s Alps, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1942
Mitchell, Elyne, Speak to the Earth, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1945
Mitchell, Elyne, Soil and Civilization, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1946
Mitchell, Elyne, Images in Water, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1947
Mitchell, Elyne, Flow River, Blow Wind, George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd, London, 1953
Mitchell, Elyne, Black Cockatoos Mean Snow, Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1956
Mitchell, Elyne, The Silver Brumby, Hutchinson, London, 1958
Mitchell, Elyne, Silver Brumby’s Daughter, Hutchinson, London, 1960
Mitchell, Elyne, Kingfisher Feather, Hutchinson & Co, London, 1962
Mitchell, Elyne, Winged Skis, Hutchinson & Co, London, 1964
Mitchell, Elyne, Silver Brumbies of the South, Hutchinson, London, 1965
Mitchell, Elyne, Jinki: Dingo of the Snows, Hutchinson Group (Australia) Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 1970
Mitchell, Elyne, Light Horse to Damascus, Hutchinson of Australia, Melbourne, 1971
Mitchell, Elyne, Silver Brumby Whirlwind, Hutchinson Australia, Melbourne 1973
Mitchell, Elyne, Light Horse: The Story of Australia’s Mounted Troops, Macmillan Australia, 1978
Mitchell, Elyne, The Colt from Snowy River, Hutchinson, London, 1980
Mitchell, Elyne, Chauvel Country, Macmillan Australia, Melbourne, 1983
Mitchell, Elyne, A Vision of the Snowy Mountains, Macmillan, Melbourne, 1988
Mitchell, Elyne, Towong Hill: Fifty Years on an Upper Murray Cattle Station, Macmillan, Melbourne, 1989
Mitchell, T.W., Ski Heil, The Sydney and Melbourne Publishing Company, 1937
Mitchell, Mitchell, the Hon. T. W, C.M.G, Corryong and the “Man from Snowy River District, printed and published by Wilkinson Printers, Albury, NSW, 1981
Peck, Harry, Memoirs of a Stockman, Stock and Land Publishing Company Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 1972
Wyett, John, Staff Wallah, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1996
Newspaper Articles
Albury Daily News and Wodonga Chronicle, Thursday, 20 September 1917
‘Arrangements for the Queen’s Visit’, Corryong Courier, 7 March 1963, p. 10
‘Authoress writes about Horses and Mountains’, Weekly Times, 15 October 1958, p. 63
Breen, Elva, ‘Roundabout for Women’, The Herald, 11 October 1958, p. 33
Corryong Courier, 17 May 1894
Craig, Jill, ‘Elyne and her Mountains’, Border Mail, 17 July 1985, p. 4
The Herald, 9 June 1953, p. 12
‘His Suggestion Popped Back’, People, 12 September 1951, p. 36–39
‘Horse Stars in her 7th Book’, The Sun, 3 Octctober 1958, p. 40
Mitchell, Elyne, ‘Through Adversity – to the Snow’, The Age Literary Supplement, 3 September 1966
‘Noel Streatfeild’s Book Page’, Elizabethan, April 1964
Journal Articles
Mitchell, Elyne, ‘Through the Australian Alps in a Jeep’, Australian Geographical Magazine Walkabout, 1 April 1949
Mitchell, Elyne, ‘Once Forgotten Corner’, Riverlander, April 1964
Journals
Batters, Phillipe, Prahran’s Heritage No. 9 Murphy Street Resident Talks Given at Meetings of the Prahran Historical Society (Prahran Historical Society Inc. 1992)
Ski Australia, August 1964
Snowy Review (House Magazine for the Snowy Mountains Authority)
The Corian: The Journal of the Geelong Church of England Grammar School and the Old Geelong Grammarians, April 1973
‘Woman Runs Big Fat Stock Station’, Pix, 5 February 1944, p. 8
Correspondence
A.C. to Tom and Elyne Mitchell, 28 August 1939
Lilian Chauvel to Elyne and Tom Mitchell, 13 January 1937
Elyne Mitchell to Eve Maberly, 6 March 1954
Elyne Mitchell to Dr Euan Littlejohn, 9 April 1945
Elyne Mitchell to Dr Euan Littlejohn, 5 May 1945
Elyne Mitchell to Dr Euan Littlejohn, 2 June 1945
Elyne Mitchell to Dr Euan Littlejohn, 25 June 1945
Elyne Mitchell to Harry Mitchell (copied to author), March 1968
Elyne Mitchell to Honnor Lodge, 10 November [1944]
Elyne Mitchell to Tom Mitchell, 26 December 1941
Elyne Mitchell to Tom Mitchell, 19 August 1945
Elyne Mitchell to Tom Mitchell, 21 August 1945
Elyne Mitchell to Tom Mitchell, 20 September 1945
Elyne Mitchell to Sibyl Chauvel, 26 January 1952
Elyne Mitchell to Sibyl Chauvel, 2 February 1952
Elyne Mitchell to Sibyl Chauvel, dated 26 January 1952
Elyne Mitchell to Sibyl Chauvel, dated 26 January 1952
Elyne Mitchell to Mr White, 18 May 1953 (the first page only – the rest of the letter is missing)
Lilian Chauvel to Elyne and Tom Mitchell, 13 January 1937
Sibyl Chauvel to Elyne Mitchell, 9 November 1938
Winifred Mitchell to Honnor Mitchell, 8 June 1953
Correspondence with Publishers and Literary Agents
Elyne Mitchell to Dorothy Tomlinson, Editor Children’s Books, Hutchinson and Co London, 11 November 1963
Elyne Mitchell to Paul Hodder-Williams, 15 October 1962
Dorothy Tomlinson, Hutchinson, to Elyne Mitchell, 10 September [no year]
Mr Voss Smith, Australasian Manager of Hutchinson, to Elyne Mitchell, 6 August 1957
Mr Voss Smith, Australasian Manager of Hutchinson, to Elyne Mitchell, 28 September, 1957
T
elegrams
Undated cable to ‘VX43577 Capt T W Mitchell 8th Divn HQ Care 2 Aust POW Reception Group Singapore’
Unpublished Manuscripts
Mitchell, Elyne, ‘Living with Distance’ (1952)
Mitchell T. W., ‘Midway Peak’ (1942-44)
Mitchell, T.W., ‘Skiing the World’ (1938–40) Elyne also contributed to this and typed the manuscript
Travel Journals and Diary Fragment
Elyne Mitchell’s diary fragment, Sunday, 9 August 1942
Mitchell, Elyne, Travel Journal 1938, unpublished
Mitchell, Elyne, ‘Austrian Diary’ (17 December 1938 – 22 March 1939)
Death Certificates
1873 Deaths in the District of West Melbourne in the Colony of Victoria, Schedule B 712
Walter Edward Mitchell (New South Wales Death Certificate 1917/009462)
John F. H. Mitchell (New South Wales Death Certificate 13149/1921)
Inquests
Inquest held on 14 September 1972 by J. H. Power, Coroner for the District of Lithgow
ON THE TRAIL
OF THE
SILVER BRUMBY
Generations of Australians have fallen in love with the silver brumbies of Elyne Mitchell’s classic children’s stories. Now, for the centenary of Elyne’s birth, comes this celebration in words and pictures of the brumby heartland: the glorious Australian Alps that were Elyne’s inspiration and great passion.
Featuring the best of Elyne Mitchell’s non-fiction writing about her beloved high country, On the Trail of the Silver Brumby is lavishly illustrated with archival images and new photography of the Alps by her grandson James Auchinleck. From thrilling accounts of exploring these untamed places on foot, skis and horseback to tales of wild brumby chases and evenings spent yarning round the campfire, Elyne’s words bring the mountains vividly to life.
On the Trail of the Silver Brumby allows readers to follow Elyne and her brumby heroes through their kingdom and discover for themselves a world of snowy alps, secret valleys, sparkling cascades and summer fields of wildflowers.
THE SILVER BRUMBY
CENTENARY EDITION
To many people the name Elyne Mitchell is synonymous with The Silver Brumby, the timeless classic that has captivated the hearts and imaginations of young readers since it was first published in 1958.