On Panther Hill

About the Book

Eric and Ross are thirteen-year-old conjoined (Siamese) twins living in a remote corner of north-western N.S.W. The year is 1958. The district, once a productive mining area, is in decline, and isolated families find it increasingly difficult to make a living from the sheep that graze among the rocks and disused shafts of the half-wild farms.

Eric and Ross live with their gran and grandfather - a bitter, drunken man with a violent past. Their life is a mixture of the joys and freedoms of the bush, fantasy fuelled by flying saucer comics and the fists and furies of their grandfather.

Further along the Gully Road lives their friend, Jess, and her family - the Hardys. The Hardys are newcomers to the area, having chosen to make a fresh start in the country in a world where cold-war uncertainties have fallen over the cities. Jess, hungry for knowledge and frustrated by her isolation, still yearns for the opportunities of city-life.

Cliff, a shy son of a neighbour, tells them of a terrifying attack by a panther-like beast. Something dangerous is lurking in the bush. Stories of the mysterious beast excite the locals, attract strangers and bring new life to the ghost town of Mudagundra.

As spring turns into summer, the twins and Jess experience their own close encounters with the beast, face floodwaters, fire, and a day in a real school. Sadie, Cliff's 'rough-as-guts', but kind and bush-wise mother, inadvertently tells the twins about Boyd, their uncle who disappeared as a ten year old boy and the murder sentence their grandfather has kept secret. And then, into their lives comes Smith, an odd-looking stranger with a box full of bones and a fear of the authorities. He says he has come to find the panther but seems to have a hidden agenda all his own.

About the Author

Charlotte Samiec is an Australian currently living and working in Europe. She is interested in almost everything and has completed post-graduate studies in the fields of theology and gifted education. Recent jobs have included advisory positions in gifted education, science and technology. She was a member of the Australian Broadcasting Commission's National Advisory Council from 1997 - 2000 and convenor of their Youth Subcommittee.

Charlotte is the author of two teacher-resource books - Team Challenges - 40 Divergent Thinking Activities and Independent Science Challenges - Fascinating science projects to challenge and extend able students and a travelling book for creative kids - Explore, Dream, Discover.