The Longest Drive is written by Tom Guthrie and tells the story of his great grandfather Thomas Guthrie after he arrived in Australia as a 14 year old and his life as one of Australia’s early pastoral pioneers.

In his early years in Australia, Thomas endured many adventures with his three brothers, however each time they ended in despair. They tried transporting stock to New Zealand but were shipwrecked, they opened a store in Melbourne and were flooded and finally they set up a shop on the Ballarat gold-fields but the shop burnt down.

Having decided doing business with his brother was jinxed, Thomas found a new business partner in a stock and station business in Geelong and his fortunes improved so dramatically he was able to invest in rural property. From that time, his future was with sheep, firstly in Victoria and South Australia and later in the Northern Territory. It was 1882 when the then governing South Australia opened up the Barkly Tableland in the Northern Territory for settlement. Thomas purchased 760,000 acres, soon to be doubled, and named his new venture Avon Downs. Deciding to stock his new investment with sheep he organised a droving team to walk 11,000 sheep to Avon Downs. It is recorded as the longest ever droving journey with sheep and provided the title of the book The Longest Drive.

The book covers a wide range of topics during what was the golden age of wool, 150 years during which Australia ‘rode on the sheep’s back.’ Droving trips, the Birdsville Track, the history of the Corriedale, politics, outback station life, Waltzing Matilda and the shearing strikes are all ingredients of our rich pastoral history.

Tom has conducted book launches at Donald, Great Western, Melbourne, Ballarat, Hamilton, Longreach (Stockman’s Hall of Fame), Camooweal (near Mt Isa) and Geelong (Wool Museum). The initial book launch at Donald in July 2014 coincided with the family’s celebration of 150 years of ownership of the family property Rich Avon purchased by Thomas in 1864.

The final launch at the Wool Museum in Geelong was an appropriate finale given the family’s long involvement in the wool industry beginning with Thomas’s role in establishing the first wool sales in Geelong in 1858.