Pioneer women of the bush and outback. Jennifer Isaacs. 1995.

Pioneer Women Of the Bush and Outback explores the history and influence of ordinary women in the bush and in country towns during the last century and well into the present century.

It looks at how women set up and ran a home in the bush, describing their techniques for preparing and preserving food, the approach of early cookbooks, and their methods of coping during hard times. Most women provided many of their own household needs, making clothing, furniture and other necessities such as soap, candles, butter and cheese. They also developed treatments for common ailments, as they were often isolated and at a great distance from medical treatment. Many women coped with extreme isolation and deprivation. They became experts in ‘making do’, and showed tremendous fortitude in coming to terms with such natural disasters as plagues of rabbits or dust.