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McMicking yarn brings the Kimberley to life

Kimberley’s true characters – John McMicking – will hit the shelves in coming weeks.

Bigajie: Johnny Mac’s Kimberley, written in the first person by McMicking, was in parts also co-authored by his partner Katy Vickers, who added things like poems he had written.

“John couldn’t write when I first met him — and when he retired from the agricultural department he asked if I could help him,” she said.

“It is all in the first person as his story, and John actually used to tell people ‘it’s my story and Katy just puts the commas in it’.”

The couple met “on the ridges” about 20 years ago and documented McMicking’s life and memories from the 1950s through until his passing in September.

McMicking, who spent many years working as a stock drover and inspector in the Kimberley, grew up in the North West and was schooled on the land.

He moved to the Kimberley as a young man and went on to spend almost all his life there.

The book will be available for purchase from Kimberley Vet Clinic and other tourist centres, as well as through the publisher Hesperian Press.