Cirrus@Austlit

'Kerenza isn’t sure about leaving her village in Cornwall and taking a ship to Australia, but she can be brave for her da’s sake. Where he sees a farm, she and her mam see endless bush and flies — millions of them — and hard work from dawn to dusk.

'It’s almost too much to bear, but the Mallee has its own beauty, and family and new-found friends might just make it her home.' (Publication summary)

'Bridget's family has been turned out of their home during the Irish potato famine and their only refuge is the workhouse where living conditions are hard and freezing and the food sparse. There is one chance for Bridget and her sister - to take a ship to a new country and become Australians. But will they survive the journey, let alone the challenges that await them in a far away land?' (Publication summary)

'Sian is the unlucky thirteenth child in a Welsh coalminer's family. Life is hard; her mother died after giving birth to her and her father is grief-stricken. Sian's eldest sister hatches a plan to take them both far away, to find a better life. It will be a long voyage across the ocean, but Sian is looking forward to a new start in a country where the sun shines and she can go to school every day instead of picking coal scraps for pennies. The only problem is, no one must know about the great journey they are about to take.' (Publication summary)

'Teresa and her family survived the bombing of their home and went hungry during the long siege of their island during the war. Life in peace time is still hard. Her parents want a better life, and so apply to migrate to Australia to find it. But after the long voyage to Sydney, there are more testing times ahead for Teresa as she tries to learn Australian ways, avoid the bullies and do well at school. She is not about to let anything stop her from making her family and her nanna back in Malta proud of her.' (Publication summary)

'Born in the Year of the Snake, May Tang is like flowing water when she should have more fire. A dreamer, she will never be sensible and obedient like her elder sister Jie Jie or clever like her brother Peter, studying in Australia. But her parents are worried by rumoured events in China, and May finds herself on her way to a new life in Australia. It is so different that May wonders if she will ever be able to love this new country.' (Publication summary)