Karanja Run

A sweeping outback family drama set in Queensland’s Channel Country — a story of resilience, identity, aviation, and the future of a legendary cattle station.

The novel opens with a crisis: Allison Fitzsimmons is abruptly expelled from St. Florence’s School after being found naked with another girl. The school labels the behaviour “immoral,” but Allison explains it was innocent curiosity:

“She showed me hers and then she looked at mine… That is all that was happening.”

The expulsion triggers a chain of decisions that reshape the futures of all three Fitzsimmons children. Gloria, the eldest, refuses to remain at a school that shames her sister and arranges a transfer to St. Mary’s. Giles, the twin brother, learns that similar incidents at his school were handled with compassion — highlighting the injustice Allison faced.

Allison returns home to Karanja Run, the family’s vast 10,000‑square‑kilometre cattle station north of Birdsville. The station is a world unto itself: red earth, bores and waterholes, road trains, RFDS flights, and a tight-knit community of workers and families. It is here that Allison discovers her future — aviation.

A dramatic Christmas incident, when Aboriginal elder Billy collapses and the Royal Flying Doctor Service rushes to save him, inspires Gloria’s calling:

“Gloria was able to help the nurse… she helped strap him into the stretcher.”

Gloria decides she will become a flight nurse. Giles begins agricultural studies to prepare for eventually managing Karanja Run. Allison enrols in a demanding helicopter pilot training program, excelling academically and bonding with her classmates as she learns to fly.

The novel blends family loyalty, rural life, aviation training, Indigenous relationships, and the challenges of running a massive cattle station. It is a story about finding purpose, overcoming shame, and embracing the future — whether in the skies, in medicine, or on the land.

Karanja Run is heartfelt, grounded, and deeply Australian — a celebration of outback life and the young people who will carry it forward.

Available in ebook, Audiobook and Paperback from Amazon