'Sir Hal Colebatch, the son of poor immigrants, left school at the age of eleven, survived typhoid epidemics in South Australia and New South Wales, and after the discovery of gold in Kalgoorlie, journeyed to the goldfields, walking the last 80 kilometres across the desert. There, although too poor to own a typewriter, he worked as a journalist. Within a few years, he had become a champion chess player and Premier of Western Australia. This is his story.' (Publication summary)
