Physical description

Hard cover book. Jimmy of Murrumbar
Author: E D Oakley (Edward Daniel Oakley)
Publisher: Osboldstone & Co, Pty Ltd
Date: 1938
Further Information: Pictorial paper-covered boards or wrappers over a stiff paper binding Illustrated title/contents material and a frontispiece or inserted plate. The spine has a Library label with an inscription.

Publication type

fiction

Inscriptions & markings

The label on the spine with typed text R.A. 823 OAK
The front loose end paper has a sticker from Warrnambool Children’s Library

Summary

The story is a children's adventure story in which Jimmy works as a police tracker, following criminals through the Victorian bush and mountain ranges. The emphasis is on his "amazing ability" and "fidelity" that is, his loyalty, reliability and skill in serving the police.
The plot appears to belong to the tradition of Australian juvenile bush fiction with a pursuit over difficult terrain, danger, endurance and the demonstration of specialised bush knowledge. It should not automatically be treated as a documentary account of a particular historical tracker. Unless the text contains an author's note or identifiable historical references, Jimmy is best regarded as a fictional or fictionalised character. The book is therefore both an adventure narrative and a period document revealing how Aboriginal ability was represented through a predominantly settler-colonial publishing culture.