"Not Just the Wife of the General Manager" by Sally Warriner - Book Launch

Not Just the Wife of the General Manager is a celebration of life in this

tough environment writ large. It was the 1970s and Sally was in her early 20s when she returned

from a four year backpacking adventure overseas and hitchhiked to

Australia’s far north. But instead of moving back to Canberra as

planned, she stayed. After marrying a cattle station manager, Sally

lived and worked with him on various stations until she was 50,

ingraining herself into the lives of the characters who inhabited

these isolated places.

With wit and sass, Sally tells this very Australian story of how she

was so much more than just a wife of a station manager (despite

what some of the top end blokes thought). Among other things, she

was a nurse (dealing with local accidents, assisting the Flying

Doctor service and making emergency 400 km round trips through

the outback with sick children), a mother (bringing up several

children, not all her own), a travel agent, a social secretary, a host

and an organiser (including of Kerry Packer’s New Year’s Eve

parties).

Not Just the Wife of the General Manager is a story about

adventure, resilience, the unexpected journeys we need to go on to

find ourselves, and having the courage to do something for yourself. In Sally's words: 'Life’s like that, fellas.

You may spend a lifetime trying to find yourself but, at the end of the day, you've been there all along.'

Host or Publisher The Book Room at Byron