PublishedAbc Books, May 2012 |
ISBN9780733329173 |
FormatSoftcover, 320 pages |
Dimensions20.8cm × 13.5cm × 2.4cm |
In 1893, Australian journalist William Lane enlisted 238 followers and convinced them to sail across the Pacific with him to Paraguay, intending to create a paradise where brotherhood would be the order of the day and hard work would reap its own rewards.
And then reality set in. Expecting green and fertile fields, the New Australians found instead a dustbowl; expecting wine, women and song, they realised that their leader wanted them to remain abstemious and monogamous. Lane faced open rebellion from his followers. In 2010, Australian travel writer Ben Stubbs made his own trek to the wilds of central Paraguay to discover the remnants of New Australia and to search out the stories of those who stayed behind.