'The gap's gone!' There's a sheer cliff of stone smack in front of them!
'It can't be.' Shane pushes the rock, not believing his eyes - it's solid.
He spins around, looking at the ground.
We must have taken the wrong path.
But there's only one path.

Shane and Red have both spent all their lives on the station. Red's grandfather, Lofty, was once the head stockman, and still lives in the humpy he built himself in the fifties. Shane's family once owned the station and now run it for the big corporation that took it over and now seeks to make maximum profit.

Both families' tenure on the station is threatened. The corporation, not happy with its profit margins, is reducing the staffing levels of the stations they own. Shane's father must compete with other managers for one job, whilst Lofty is told he must leave immediately. The teens combine to try to fight for their right to stay.

There is plenty of action and suspense in this story, with wild horses, musters and the two main characters getting lost, but The Last Muster is about much more. It shows the clash of two cultures - Aboriginal and European-Australian - and the complexities of land rights. Whilst Shane and Red's families have lived together for three generations, the problems faced in the book bring to the fore issues of ownership and respect which have been hidden until now. Shane's father is forced to confront the issue of Aboriginal ownership of the land before white man's arrival, and of continuing rights to the land.

There is also an issue of ownership of stories. Both families know the story of Jandamarra (a real story used by Norrington in the book with the permission of the Banuba people), an Aboriginal fugitive who hid out on the station a century before. For the white family, the man was a threat and an outlaw - to the Aboriginal family he was a victim. When the teens find a book about Jandamarra, old Lofty is shocked to find that 'his' story has been written down for anyone to read.

This is Norrington's third novel exploring the complexities of the coexistence and clashes of European and Aboriginal culutures. Each new title reveals more of her storyweaving skills. The Last Muster is at once an exciting tale and a moving exploration of complex issues.

The Last Muster, by Leonie Norrington
Scholastic, 2004

Also by Leonie Norrington

The Spirit of Barrumbi (2003)
Barrumbi Kids (2002)