Description
When Pa buys a stake in a gold mine at Hill End, Alfie knows his life is about to change. A golden future is just within reach, and fortune favours the bold ... but in Hill End, fortunes are lost as fast as they are made.
It’s 1872 and Alfie Wilson’s pa has sold the farm. He’s moving the family to Hill End to make their fortune and secure their Golden Future. Pa has gold fever – and so has Alfie – and they are convinced that it won’t be long before they'll be the Wealthy Wilsons.
Not everything is golden in this mining town though. Alfie soon discovers that life in Hill End is hard and, at times, dangerous. But fortune favours the bold, and Alfie is determined he and his pa will overcome the many hardships and risks to strike it rich.
But are there things in life more precious than gold?
The third book in the Our History series, set in the famous gold rush town of Hill End. Written by acclaimed Australian author Sue Whiting.
Review
Alfie and his family are on the way to Hill End to strike it rich - and Alfie and his dad definitely have gold fever!
It’s 1872 and Alfie’s dad has sold the farm to follow the gold rush, but Hill End is a hard place to live and work. Luckily they have a good cottage to live in, but the stake his dad bought in a gold mine was a scam, and there doesn’t seem to be any gold in the mine. So his dad goes to work underground for a mining company, and Alfie and his siblings go to school.
Alfie spends his spare time fossicking for gold with his friend, Joe. They find a few small nuggets and some loose gold, but Alfie longs to strike it rich and make his family's dreams come true.
When his dad helps find the biggest piece of gold ever, Alfie decides that he is going to have a really good look at his dad’s mine to see if he can find any gold. But when the ladder breaks, and he is stranded at the bottom of the mine shaft, he realises that gold fever is not that great, and that family means more then all the gold in the world.
This is a great historic novel that shows how dangerous life on the gold fields really was. It was hard for everyone, and kids were expected to help out as much as possible to make sure the family could survive. Alfie is a great character and you will love his adventures. It also highlights the importance of family and friends helping each other, and how much they all relied on being a part of the community. This will be thoroughly enjoyed by those who like historical tales, and is ideal for those in upper primary.
