KIDMAN: The Extraordinary Life of Sir Sydney Kidman

A beautifully illustrated hardback that celebrates the life of the man they called 'the cattle king', Australia's greatest ever rural entrepreneur.

In the late 19th century, 13-year-old Sidney Kidman left home on a horse to make his fortune; over the next 50 years - and with single-minded determination - he would create a pastoral empire the size of France - the largest privately controlled pastoral empire the world has ever known.

He built this empire in the three rivers area of central Australia. He bought up holdings and established a system of seasonal droving, which could hold out against the drought and deliver well-fed livestock to the markets of southern Australia.

Christo Reid, a great-grandchild of Kidman, has uncovered never-before-published photographs and letters, and assembled them in this lavishly produced book, alongside text by Kidman biographer Jill Bowen. The result is a fascinating record of the development of one of Australia's backbone industries and the life of a great Australian.