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* Contents derived from the Melbourne,Victoria,:Dolphin Publications,1946 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
'There were three of us, Dougald M'Alister, Jack Thwaries and myself. The place was called in the grandiloquent languae of the bush, "The Dinkledoodledum Station...' (205)
The narrator remembers how his father would be visited by old mates and how they sit together talking about their days on the Ballarat and Bendigo goldfields.
Bill Anderson, a rough-spoken larrikin, visits Jones's Alley to tell eleven-year-old Arvie Aspinall that he will lose his job if he doesn't turn up at work at Grinder Brothers. When he learns Arvie died the night before he shows another side to his character.
Editors' Preface: In naming our selection of short stories 'Great Stories', we are not suggesting that these are the greatest stories that have been written by Australian authors. But we do believe that they are great stories. ...Sentimentality, banality, insincerity and jingoism have been barred from admission; only an uncompromising realism to nature and life will be found in these pages. ... We are proud to include two hitherto unpublished stories by Joseph Furphy. ... We have been fortunate to receive the most cordial co-operation from many writers, and particularly we wish to thank Vance and Nettie Palmer for their advice and assistance. (5-6).
