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In the 1850s, the long arm of destiny stretched across the oceans and plucked young George Parsons and some rabbits from a village in England and brought them to a grazier's property in south eastern Australia.
The boy, who was ill-treated, made good his escape, as did the rabbits. Both went forth and multiplied. Both cleared the land, one at the bidding of the government, the other because it could. Both changed this ancient land forever. This story follows George Parsons' son and his brood as they and the rabbits independently made their way from east to west Australia. Great-grandson, Alan Parsons, the central figure of this book, was born in the WA Wheatbelt on the eve of the Great Depression. By then the rabbits had become a source of food and cash for rural survival. So began Alan's life of uncharted opportunities in the Golden West.
Julie Lenora Parsons is an artist and designer who has been a closet writer all her life. She is no stranger to imaginings, but it is her work in design for performance where she learnt to apply her investigative principles to the realisation of theatre productions.
Curiosity led to an interest in the history of performance and finally to the completion of a Masters thesis on the Harlequin at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. Not content with hearsay, Julie has researched and debunked apparently misleading family stories. Along the way she found two family historians who were able to assist her in realising the early part of this book. After that she worked solely with her father to bring to life his fascinating and colourful stories.
About the author
Julie Lenora Parsons is a professional arts practitioner and writer based in Fremantle, Western Australia, where she wrote and illustrated Rabbits and Other Immigrants: The Alan Parsons Story, the elegant, full-colour tome documented with original photographs and stories of pioneering in the wheat belt. The beautifully designed history follows her father's family and the spread of rabbits from; Glastonbury (UK), to Victoria and then onto Western Australia, where it shifts from the wheat belt to the coastal regions, where farmers went after the harvest for their holidays.Julie has also written for arts media journal Oz Arts, with printed and online articles. The author's focus on art, history and performance saw her complete a Master's in Creative Arts, with an enquiry into the design history of the harlequin costume which in turn has led to a long association with Fremantle Carnevale. Julie's creative palette is her diversity of practice which reveals an ability to imagine, realise and inspire imagery. Her strong explorative and research skills were developed from a forty-year career as a studio artist working on occasion with complex public art proposals and theatrical production design commissions. Julie's artworks are held in private and public art collections across Australia and internationally. While Julie's artistic career can be traced with achievements appearing on the web, and in art books and magazines alike.
