Reginald Ottley (1909-1985) was born in London.  He left London at the age of fourteen to go to sea, and after travelling the world working as a deck boy, cook and fireman’s peggy, settled in Australia in 1924.  There he worked on a grazing property in New South Wales, where he set his books.  Alhtough he did move to Fiji to manage a large cattle station, he returned to Sydney after the start of the Second World War.  He was drafted to the Remount Squadron, and supervised the breaking in of 5000 horses (after which writing must have seemed like a walk in the park.)  During the 1960s he moved again, living and writing in England and Ireland before he returned to Australia in1970.

Most of his books were pubished in England as well as in Australia, so are reasonably easy to find.

Sources:
Reginald Leslie Ottley by Belle Alderman (Reading Time, no. 95, April 1995)
Austlit

Reginald Ottley

Stampede
T Werner Laurie, London, 1961

Bibliography - horse stories only

By the Sandhills of Yamboorah
Andre Deutsh, London, 1965, illus Clyde Pearson
As Boy Alone, Harcourt, Brace & World, New York, 1966
Die Jong Seun van Yamboorah, Cape Town, 1967
Armada, London, pb, 1971
Macmillan, South Melbourne, 1988
Queensland University Press, 2003

Set on a cattle station:  the boy hero is alone apart from his dog and her puppy, but Kanga, the
dog man, wants to take Rags and train him.  The boy has to deal with hardships and dangers, but
wonders only if he can keep the puppy.

The Roan Colt of Yamboorah
Andre Deutsh, London, 1966, illus David Perry
as The Roan Colt, Harcourt, Brace & World, New York, 1967
Armada, London, pb, 1971

The boy likes his life on the Yamboorah cattle-station well enough - he has his dog Rags for
company, but he can’t see the point of the boss giving him a saddle when he can’t even ride.
He does learn to ride, and starts to become a cattle man.  Then he finds a lame roan colt which
he is told must be culled, but he is desperate to save it.

The Yamboorah Series

By the Sandhills of Yamboorah

The Roan Colt of Yamboorah

Rain Comes to Yamboorah

Rain Comes to Yamboorah
Andre Deutsch, London, 1967, jacket Jillian Willett
Harcourt, Brace & World, New York, 1968

Kanga cured Roany’s hoof, and at last he could ride again, but there was a terrible drought
afflicting the country.

Brumbie Dust: A Selection of Stories
Collins, London, 1969
Harcourt, Brace & World, New York, 1969

A Word About Horses
Collins, London, 1973

“These stories give a vivid insight into a vast country of great contrasts.  There are men like Bog-eye Clancy, the
rabbit trapper; and the eccentric “hatter” with his curious collection of pets.  There are kangaroo hunts, camel
hunts and even an hilarious Outback cricket match.”

Mum’s Place
Collins, London, 1974

Black Sorrow
Hutchinson, Melbourne, 1980, illus John  van Loon
Beaver, New South Wales, 1989

“15 year old Jody Windum has been crippled as a reslut of a ar accident in which her mother was killed.  She is able
to walk with the aid of callipers, but she can no longer ride her beloved horses and help with the mustering on her
father’s property.  Her life takes on a new meaning, however, when her father buys a brumby stallion for the rode.  The
horse, which has been cruelly treated, is fierce and untameable and only Jody can pacify him.  A bond develops
between the two, and when a wild bull escapes, it is Black Sorrow who saves Jody’s life.”

Other books

Giselle
Collins, London, 1968

The Bates Family
Collins, London, 1969

Jim Grey of Moonbah
Collins, London, 1970

The War on William Street
Collins, London, 1974

No More Tomorrow
Collins, London, 1972