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an image by Australian artist Gauvin illustrating characters from her novel Conlan's Luck - An Epic Story of the Shearers' War
The military unit now famed as the 2nd/14th Light Horse was formed out of the Queensland Mounted Infantry in February 1860. The famous emu plume decoration was, according to legend, adopted by infantrymen serving in the rural crisis of the 1890s, and officially allowed by the Queensland government after the ending of the Strikes.
This time of violent unrest became known as Australia's 'Secret Civil War'and is the backdrop to the action of my novel Conlan's Luck. It was also the inspiration for the words of Waltzing Matilda, best-loved unofficial anthem of Australia.
Illustration The Light Horse
Artist Dorothy Gauvin
Medium Oil on Linen Canvas
Dimensions 91.5 x 122 cms(36 x 48 ins)
Painting status Sold - in a private collection
Published Plate 32 inside Banjo Patersons People pub. 1987,1996
This painting illustrates a scene in The Painted Swagman - A Tribute to Waltzing Matilda, with paintings and an original story by Dorothy Gauvin
return to Conlan's Luck - an Aussie Novel
