This book made history in the sphere of juvenile literature. It is an imaginative presentation of Australian wonders wherein each fancy, however magical, is the "Spirit" of an actual fact.
It is when nine-year-old Del meets golden-brown Bushbo that "all the wonderful things begin to happen". The climax is when Australia herself, "Magnificent and ancient one", speaks yearningly to Bushbo her vegetation, and Del her "mortal youth".
Adventuring through the length and breadth of our continent--in forest, desert, underground, undersea and upper air--Del and Bushbo are everywhere greeted by some quaint, lovable, or fearsome personality of Australian geography: Willie-willie the town-lifting hurricane; Broome, sitting on the edge of the map, bedecked in poinciana and pearls; Spinifex, wiry-haired friend of animals and man; Macdonnell Ranges, the green giant of fabulous wealth; Desert Pea; Water the artesian Basin, imprisoned below earth level by tyrannical Desert and the sand imps; Finke the dragon-faced, most ancient of all rivers; ghosts of the inland sea and Lake Eyre; Nullarbor the under-ground mystery; Opal, elusive, bewitching; Coral, vivid spirit of the Great Barrier Reef; the tree Elders; Daly the impetuous torrent; and many others.
By the same author and artist as Australian Wild Flower Fairies and The Little Grammar People, Magic Australia is more than a story of marvel and adventure with sound educational value. It is the voice of a great country uttering a great message that has become an Australian juvenile classic.