The Children of the Wind Series | Book III
Children of the Wind is a sweeping Irish-Australian saga made up of Bridie's story, Patricks's story, Colm's story and Maeve's story; four inter-linked novels, beginning with the 1850s and moving right up to the present
A Prayer for Blue Delaney
- The How and Why of A Prayer for Blue Delaney
- What the critics wrote about A Prayer for Blue Delaney
- Links
Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards 2005
Winner –Young Adult Writing
CBCA Notable Book 2006
Book III | A Prayer for Blue Delaney | 1953 - 1956
'Don't worry,' said Bill. 'You can hide out here until you get your strength back. That is, if you don't mind an old man, a dog and a few ghosts for company.
Colm is on the run, determined to escape from the cruelties of Bindoon Boys' Home. He strikes up an unexpected friendship with Billy Dare and his dog Rusty, and together they travel from the goldfields of Kalgoorlie to the rugged north. Whether they're working along the Dog Fence, eluding the police or confronting a wild boar, they're a team. When Bill's life is at risk, it's up to Colm to go in search of the mysterious Blue Delaney and lay to rest the ghosts that haunt them both.
This action packed story, set in the 1950s, continues the richly detailed historical quartet that began with Bridie's Fire and Becoming Billy Dare.
The How and Why of A Prayer for Blue Delaney
Australia has had a long history of child migration schemes. When I was researching the history of the Early Grey Orphan famines, who featured in Bridie's Fire , I came across a book called 'Orphans of the Empire' by Alan Gill. Since early convict days, thousands of orphaned children have come to Australia in different eras and many of them were of Irish descent, even if they had been born in England. After reading Gill's book, I knew I had to include the stories of the orphans who came to Australia after World War II.
British child migrants
Autograph hunters at the
Olympic village 1956
Desert landscapes have a
magic all their own
In the wake of the war, thousands of children were taken from orphanages in the UK and Malta and shipped to Australia, often against their will. They were sent to institutions all over the country. Many of these children suffered unspeakable hardship and cruelty but the stories of the boy's at Bindoon were amongst the most frightening. At the same time as thousands of immigrant children were being sent to Australia, Aboriginal children were being forcibly separated from their families, and they too were institutionalised. Though some were broken by their experiences, others survived and their stories are an important part of Australia's complex history.
Bridie's quest was to find a home. Billy Dare was in search of his vocation, but Colm McCabe longs for a family. With each book in the series, I wanted the themes to reflect the time in which they were set. After two World Wars and the Great Depression of the 1930s, Australians longed for the stability of family life.
Although people remember the 1950s as a peaceful time, like any era, it was complex and full of contrasts. There were so many elements of that time that I wanted to bring to the book. The Cold War, weapons testing, spy scandals, mass migration, royal tours and the Olympic Games were all issues that grabbed the headlines during the decade. Not least of the great changes was the birth of Australian television.
But for all the stories that everyone reads about in the newspapers there are always other stories that run like a quiet back drop to our lives. With the third book in the series, I wanted to explore some less well known aspects of our history.
Apart from the compelling beauty of the central deserts and Northern landscapes, the history of the Northern Territory is rich with amazing stories of great personalities. Reading about the lives of real women like 'Wolfram Queen' May Brown or pioneering Chinese Granny Lum Loy helped me make the characters of Annie Mahoney and Granny Hum Lee come to life.
So many people shared their stories with me about growing up in the 1950s that I had thousands of rich details to work into A Prayer for Blue Delaney . Each scene in the book grew out of stories that other people told me of real episodes in their lives.
I think one of the most important things that the past can teach us is that each person's life touches so many others that even if they don't become rich or famous, they leave their mark on the patterns of history.
Bindoon boys setting out to hunt rabbits
What the critics wrote about A Prayer for Blue Delaney
Children of the Wind is a marvellous series and this book, the third in the quartet, is a strong novel in its own right. With powerful use of language, Murray breathes life into Colm McCabe and Billy Dare.
CBCA Judges Children’s Book of the Year Awards
Notable Australian Children’s Books
The dogged and true character of Colm is heartbreakingly evoked by writer Kirsty Murray. This writer is able to paint vividly the settings and visual landscapes, and the emotional experiences of the characters, particularly Colm. She creates boys so believable you want to save them.
Helen Wilde, SA
Murray’s story is compelling. It movingly depicts the aching loss of a young boy abandoned by his mother and the unspoken love that develops between the two central characters. My son (13) is an avid Murray fan but I had never read her before. I honestly could not stop reading and quickly devoured the preceding books in the quartet, too. This is quality literature for children —vivid characters, good pace and well written —highly recommended for anyone that enjoys a good story!
Kate Lester
Allambie Heights Public School, NSW
I really love this series; the books have so much insight. I recommend this book for people in the early years of high school right up to the age when you start losing your sight; it really is a good read and when you get into it, it is very hard to put down.
Carmel, Year 11, Canberra, ACT
YARA websit
I gave myself a treat yesterday. I sat down after lunch thinking I would read Blue Delaney for half an hour, and instead of going back to work I finished it a few hours later. The story line is so strong that one wants to keep reading; the landscape and sense of history equally so.
Brenda Niall
Biographer and Historian
Links
Like Rosie Malloy, thousands of aboriginal children were taken from their families throughout the 20th century. When I wrote my book Tough Stuff, I interviewed the singer and songwriter Ruby Hunter, an inspirational Ngarrindjeri woman who had been taken from her family as a child and her story inspired me to connect Rosie’s story with Colm’s. There are so many moving stories about what these kids went through in Bringing them Home: the ‘Stolen Children’ report. You can find out more about the stolen generations by exploring this terrific website:
www.hreoc.gov.au/bth/index.htm
In the end of the book, Colm attends a performance at the Tivoli Theatre. For decades,
the Tivoli theatres around Australia were amongst the most popular performance venues in the country. There really was a show called 'Olympic Follies' staged there in 1956 and a live-to-air version was telecast in the first few months of Australia's television era. To find out more about the Tivoli theatre check out:
http://www.caths.org.au/tivoli.htm
Click here to check out extracts from A Prayer for Blue Delaney