Bush Schooling

At last, fortune seems to smile on young Bert. He goes to work for the Phillips, a childless couple who treat him as one of the family. It's hard work—clearing and burning off the bush, putting up fences, ploughing the soil, planting crops, looking after the domestic animals. But Bert doesn't mind, because "I wanted to please and stay with these people." The Phillips decide to adopt Bert, but his mother won't give them permission. This refusal changes the attitude of the Phillips towards him and so, bitterly disappointed, Bert decides to leave. At the age of 13, never having spent a day at school, Bert goes to work for another couple, the Bibbys. Then, at Bert's 14th birthday, he receives an invitation from the mother he hasn't seen for twelve years, asking him to visit her in Perth.