Ann Martin releases 'Dancing in the Dust' book about three nurses' misadventures in the Australian outback

It was a trip of a life time for all three young women, traveling right across the outback, working at the Quilpie, Cloncurry, and Derby Hospitals, and in between.

Having all trained as a nurse, completing their general training at the Brisbane Mater and their mid in Sydney, Ann Martin, along with her friends Margaret Johnson and Patricia Mahony all agreed they wanted to gain nursing experience in rural Australia.

The three midwifes' took off in their kombi on February 1967 and arrived home on September, 1968.

Ms Martin said it was a once in a lifetime experience, which they all look back on with joy.

"Naive and unprepared for what was to follow, we found Kombi totally unsuitable for the dirt road and consequently suffered never-ending breakdowns," she said.

"We relied on the generosity of the people in the bush to fix our vehicle and drag us out of bogs.

"During those times, people in the bush had to be resilient to cope with the isolation and lack of facilities.

"The hospitals were basic, but every hospital had an operating theatre and a midwifery section.

"It was such an adventure and it's something that's really stuck to the three of us and we relive it all the time."

Ms Martin wrote home religiously every week to her parents, relating to their journey in detail and how each day went.

When her mother died years later, she found the letters tucked away in an old suitcase.

After reminiscing the great times they shared on the road, Ms Martin, along with Margret and Patricia, decided they wanted to share their misadventures in the bush with the public, releasing a book called 'Dancing in the the Dust'.

"I wrote the letters in diary form just about every day, so there was quite a bit of information from our time there," Ms Martin said.

"I wouldn't have remembered certain events if it wasn't for these letters, it was fifty odd years ago.

"The book has been on the burner for a long time, and I've sort of fiddled with it for a while and wondered if it was really worth it, but I really felt that I needed to show how great country people were and how willing they were to help back in those days.

"I thought it was really important that I get it out there."

Ms Martin described her book as 'funny', 'irreverent', and 'heartbreaking', while revealing the horrific medical cases they attended to on their journey.

"It tells of the highs and lows of nursing in the bush, the old aboriginal woman admitted with her wounds crawling with maggots; the tiny baby surviving tetanus; the Leprosarium in the Kimberly; and the children dying from gastro and pneumonia," she said.

"It's also the story of the wonderful bush people who helped us on our way.

"It was absolutely astonishing the amount of help that we got and we wouldn't have made it without strangers helping us."

Since their book was published three months ago, the women have seen a great interest and demand in their story, selling over 100 books nation-wide.

Ms Martin said she was 'overwhelmed' by the response the book has gotten so far.

"We really didn't think people would react to it the way they have," she said.

"So many people have come up to me and told me that it's brought back so many memories of places they've been, things they've done, which was really quite something I didn't expect.

"The story has really appealed to country people because they understand it more than people from Adelaide for instance."

Margaret Finger, formerly Johnston, also edited the book, and is now based on her family's cattle property near Clermont.

Dancing in the Dust is available to buy on Amazon.