Paddle Steamer Pearl - Neridah McMullin & Jessica Corkran

Hardback

Pearl and her family live on the paddle steamer Alpha. All day long, they paddle up and down the Darling and Murray rivers, trading everything from flour and tea to jewellery and wood. As summer arrives, the water levels suddenly drop.

The Alpha is stranded!

How will the family survive months on the dry riverbed? What can Pearl do to help? Will it ever rain?

Based on the true story of Pearl Wallace, Australia’s first female river boat captain!

This narrative non-fiction picture books follows Pearl, who went on to become the first woman river boat captain in Australia and, for many years, the only female skipper on the Darling and Murray rivers. In particular, a true incident where their boat became stuck for six months mid-river until the rains came. The story is exciting, educational and features a brave girl character.

Educational endmatter will share Pearl’s story, who was the inspiration for Nancy Cato’s beloved classic All The Rivers Run, as well as look at the important of the paddle steamers for the Murray-Darling region and beyond. Paddle steamers covered some 12,000km of Australian waterways around South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland from the 1850s to the 1930s.

Published November 1, 2026