Books published by Sid Harta Publishers

Life in Plymouth, England is a simple one where time goes by with the townsfolk crossing paths with each other.Anna seems to have the perfect life, she is well known in the community as her husband, Peter, is the town’s ferry master. She goes about her days looking after their son Adrian, who dreams about advancing his studies.While visiting their tenants, the Prescott family, Anna meets their son Sam who has come home for the holidays from his University studies.Anna starts to become infatuated with Sam and makes every attempt to see him. She starts thinking about a life with Sam.Unbeknown to Anna, Peter invites Sam to a family picnic where his sister, Elena, also attends. Peter’s main aim is to match-make the two together as he knows Elena deserves a man like Sam.Seeing Sam and Elena together sparks off Anna’s jealousy, this sets off a series of events that will change everyone’s life forever.

In 1902, three Australian volunteers who served with the British Army during the Anglo Boer War were tried and sentenced for executing Boer combatants. Lieutenants Harry ‘Breaker’ Morant and Peter Handcock were executed and George Witton sentenced to life imprisonment.The manner in which these men were treated remains controversial, shrouded in protest that they were scapegoated for the war crimes of their British superiors.The book is dedicated to the memory of Major James Francis Thomas who was relegated to history without an understanding of who he was and the part he played in the dynamic development of the town of Tenterfield in New South Wales, Australia, as a property owner, solicitor, newspaper proprietor, historian, poet, proponent for Australian nationalism, volunteer soldier.  This book also tells how he came to serve in the Boer War, yet was destined to die alone from malnutrition, destitute having suffered from the stress of what he experienced in representing Morant, Handcock and Witton as their trial lawyer.This book acknowledges the sacrifice Thomas made in acting for his clients, a task that took a terrible toll on his mental and physical health and his life in Tenterfield.

In the 1860s in the Colony of Victoria, Tabu an aborigine goes 'walkabout' after a violent tribal fight during which his brother is killed. He rescues the wife of a drover/farmer - Michael, who is an escaped convict. He hires Tabu to help him drove sheep into the mainly unexplored northern districts of Victoria to the Murray River. Only a few hardy explorers and drovers had previously been through this country when bringing stock overland from Sydney to Melbourne.Their droving encounters many difficulties - crossing several rivers, bushfires, floods, theft of sheep and aborigine conflict. Parallel family stories involve an aboriginal battle, wild dog attacks, water rights and attempted piracy. The novel also includes other tales involving their family's trials and tribulations, bordering on truth and fiction.The author's knowledge of Australian history has helped him interweave tales of early settlers and aboriginal lifestyles to bring together significant events that occurred within Michael's and Tabu's family. The Colony's scenery and unique animals are also vividly described, together with a surprising conclusion for Michael. Collectively these descriptions have helped to complete an exciting must-read story 'of days gone by' and will be of interest to all readers, and will increase the knowledge of students of Australian history.