George Goyder was the first European explorer to see great salt lakes in the inland in flood and to witness the amazing transformation that follows the breaking of drought. His experience put him decades ahead of his contemporaries - who satirised him as the discoverer of the inland sea - in understanding the Australian climate. When he attempted to adapt the pattern of settlement to climatic reality by defining the border of the zone of reliable rainfall, his repeated warnings about the threat of drought were scorned. Shortlisted for the Ernest Scott Prize and the Queensland Literary Awards