The book
Pure Galena
Riverside Sanctuary presents the book “Pure Galena – a story of settlement in Outback Australia” by Bob Porter. The story of Bob’s life, family and history – “Pure Galena” is a journey of the heart, a march of generations, a parade of characters and a return to a relationship with the land.
Front cover: (Top left): The fifth generation at Riverside – April Porter, grand daughter of the author, releasing a blue-tongue lizard on the yellow sandplain forming part of the farm. (Below left): Floyd the Australian Kelpie sheepdog.
About this book
This story is about a journey of the heart over five generations of the Porter family extending into the transformation of the landscape and the community. It includes the local Aborigines of this time and the stone records of their ancestors. The story begins with the chance discovery of the first substantial mineral deposit in Western Australia, which occurred in 1848 adjacent to what would become the Porters property. The characters and the mining and rural settlement adventures that followed make up the bulk of this book, as seen through the eyes of the author, Bob Porter.
This book is dedicated to Bob’s wife, Dawn, and was produced to commemorate the “Year of the Outback” – 2002.
Bob was born in 1941 to a farming family who settled a small land-holding in 1911 within a few kilometres of that first mineral discovery. Bob’s grandfather acquired more land in 1927 and this family farm became known as Riverside, now Riverside Sanctuary, as it includes full farmstay facilities for tourists.
Apart from two years away at high school, Bob lived his whole life on the farm and took a keen interest in stories handed down from grandfather Fred, father Roy, other relatives, friends, contractors and employees. His bush upbringing, schooling and way of living speak volumes of the simple life in tune with nature, its seasons and the colourful bush characters that wandered in and out of Riverside. Bob’s sense of kinship with nature was recognised in the 1990s when he won two Landcare Awards and one River Care Award in Western Australia for his efforts in sustainable agriculture and remnant bush protection. Bob writes in the style he speaks and what he says comes from the heart without letting the facts escape scrutiny.
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