Dark Southern Sun: a novel

Dark Southern Sun is a story about love, friendship, and honor in the goldfields of old Australia. It accurately portrays the cultural details and historical events of Australia’s formative years between 1845 and 1855—displacement of the Aboriginal people, the world’s largest alluvial gold rush and the country’s biggest armed uprising. The pictures here, both old and new, help illustrate the story. This 2014 sequel to Counter Currents is available at Amazon in paperback and ebook.

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10y

Shaun J. McLaughlin

an oil painting of cattle grazing in a hilly landscape

This painting by Eugene Von Guerard shows the view of Geelong in the mid 19th century, much as it looked to the novel's protagonist as he drove a wool wagon to the harbor and met Ellen.

a painting of people dancing around a fire pit in the middle of an open field

This 2012 painting by Wathaurung elder, Marlene Gilson, graces the cover of the novel. The image shows a corroboree and depicts an early scene in the novel when the protagonist, Ryan, is living with the Wathaurung family that saved his life.

some trees in the middle of a grassy area

This picture by the author shows a glade of gums trees west of Ballarat. The novel includes many scenes set in locations like this one, when the Wathaurung moved to winter territory.

a koala bear sitting in a tree looking up

This picture by the author shows a koala in the coastal forest of Victoria.

This image shows the Criterion store in old Ballarat. This dry goods emporium and its owner, David Jones, play minor roles in the novel.

the cover of dark southern sun love, friendship and honor in the goldfields of old australia

This is the cover of the novel.

Many early scenes in the novel, while Ryan is with the Wathaurung, occur in thick forested glades such as this one near the south coast of Victoria, Australia. (Photo by the author.)

a mountain covered in lots of green trees

An early scene in the novel describes a ridge near the sea thick with gum trees. This is what it looked like when author Shaun J. McLaughlin researched locations in 2012. (Photo by the author.)

Many places on the Victoria south coast can be quite lush. This picture by the author shows fern trees, like those behind which young Alinga sometimes hid.

an ostrich and some other animals in a field

This picture by the author shows a flock of emus in the Pyrenees, west of Ballarat. The novel includes an aboriginal hunting trip for emus.

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This picture by the author shows a gray kangaroo in the Pyrenees, west of Ballarat. The location and the beast both play roles in the novel.

an old drawing of a building in the middle of town

This 1854 sketch shows the Charlie Napier hotel in old Ballarat. Several scenes in the novel are set in or near this establishment.

the coast is surrounded by rocky cliffs and blue water

High cliffs like these line the south coast of Victoria, Australia. One dramatic scene in chapter 19 of the novel references these cliffs.

an old wooden wagon with two large bags on it's back and the front wheels

This photo by the author shows a wool wagon in Sovereign Hill loaded with bales of wool. The novel references these wagons often. Ryan drove one to Geelong and met Ellen, one of the novel's two female leads.

an old black and white photo of a building

This damaged sketch shows the Duchess of Kent Hotel and its restaurant adjunct, Café de l’Europe in Ballarat. The novel uses these establishments and their proprietors in several scenes.