Daughter of the Territory

During that first wet when vegetables were a memory from the past, we resorted to cooking and eating pigweed—not the most delicious of vegetables. Later we made do with leaves of the sweet potato vine and even the new shoots of pumpkin vines. Daughter of the Territory is the amazing true story of Jacqueline Hammar, who spent most of her adult life in the remotest reaches of Australia's Northern Territory. In 1919, Jacqueline's father rode into the Territory on the back of a camel to take up a job on the famous Overland Telegraph Line. Later he became a mounted policeman, working in a succession of wild towns and chasing down murderers and cattle thieves. Jacqueline's early childhood was spent in Brocks Creek, where her parents bought a pub. After living in various bush settlements she was sent to board at a convent school in Darwin. With the outbreak of World War II and the bombing of Darwin Harbour, she moved to Brisbane to finish her education. After completing school Jacqueline enjoyed a carefree life on an island off Queensland before returning to the Territory, where she eventually married cattleman and adventurer, Ken Hammar. Together they moved to one of the most inaccessible areas in the Territory, hoping to turn vast tracts of rugged land into a working cattle station. At first Jacqueline and Ken lived in a bark hut, with just a kerosene oven, a basic bed, and scant other furniture or possessions. During the years that followed their fortitude and hard work saw them prosper, progressing to a comfortable home on more than a million acres with their two children, Dominique and Kurt. An epic tale of adventure, survival, and love in some of Australia's most isolated country, this memoir zips along at a cracking pace, with one entertaining yarn after another.