Download an Order form now

On A Shake of the Hand Whether you enjoy personal success stories, or outback saga, or the history of outback Australia, the story of Arthur Earle, O.A.M. is a book which delivers all those ingredients, plus the inevitable dash of humour from author Sandy Thorne. The title, "On the Shake of a Hand" refers to the way this self-made multi millionaire and true country gent did all his deals, whether it was for a thousand head of sheep or a $13 million dollar property.

From a Dalby dairy-farming childhood, fighting the prickly pear invasion, to swinging an axe, and facing incredible hardships as a brigalow block settler, this amazing man pioneered cotton near Moura, tobacco at Texas, wheat at Dalby and went on to become..... One of Australia's biggest livestock dealers in the 1960's (based at Charleville with up to 40,000 sheep on the road at a time); Queensland's biggest private owner of pastoral properties in the 1990's including the famous 'Malvern Hills Merino Stud, Blackall' The 'King' of rural residential real estate development in the Gold Coast hinterland, including the development of the city of Robina. Covering most of the 20th Century, the inspiring story is of a man's extraordinary determination and contains gems of wisdom and advice for someone who started out with an old Buick truck, an axe, a few sheets of iron, and turned that into an $85 million empire. 'The Gold Chapter' with tips on how to invest money, purchase property, and generally improve your life, is worth the cost of the book alone. Every aspiring land baron, every Australia child, should read this story. It is a substantial, handsomely produced hardback book. ORDER FORM