Plorn

"Plorn" so often mentioned), started for Australia, to join his brother

The Letters of Charles Dickens Vol. 2 (of 3), 1857-1870 Charles Dickens 1841

And in December 1872, four months before his inheritance would be released to him, Plorn and two partners took a lease on Yanda, a relatively modest station of 120,000 hectares along the banks of the Darling on the road from Bourke to Wilcannia.

Travel: Dickens down under Thomas Keneally 2010

On the day before his death in 1870, Charles Dickens addressed a letter to Alfred, and the subject was in large part Plorn.

Travel: Dickens down under Thomas Keneally 2010

In 1888, a new electorate of Wilcannia, 550,000 sq km in extent, had been established to elect a member of the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales in Sydney, and Plorn was asked to stand as candidate.

Travel: Dickens down under Thomas Keneally 2010

Bereft of income, Plorn sought appointments from old parliamentary friends.

Travel: Dickens down under Thomas Keneally 2010

Plorn came to Melbourne and the brothers ran the company as partners.

Travel: Dickens down under Thomas Keneally 2010

When he was elected as member for Wilcannia to the New South Wales parliament, Dickens's youngest son Plorn born 1852 gave his fellow legislators a rundown on the erratic rains in the towns of the region he represented.

Travel: Dickens down under Thomas Keneally 2010

Plorn was so persistent he heard members cry, "Hang the rabbits, we are sick of rabbits!"

Travel: Dickens down under Thomas Keneally 2010

For some reason, these days, the Darling and the region beyond is captivating country to me, in a different sense than the enchantment that possessed Plorn.

Travel: Dickens down under Thomas Keneally 2010

It would be June 1900 before Plorn got another job – as an inspector in the Moree Land District, around the Gwydir River.

Travel: Dickens down under Thomas Keneally 2010