posted on 06 Aug 2023

Evie and the Rhino by Neridah McMullin

In 1891, a ship heading from Calcutta to the Royal Melbourne Zoo carrying a cargo of exotic animals – a baby elephant, six rhesus monkeys, two white cranes, six green parrots and a rhinoceros – ran aground on a reef. The animals were saved and taken onto the zoo but, sadly, the rhino died shortly after from the injuries it sustained. Author, Neridah McMullin read the story of the wreck and found it so deeply affecting that it inspired her to write this story which gives the rhino a very different – albeit – fictional existence. 

Orphaned Evie lives with her ornithologist grandpa, Charlie following the tragic drowning of her parents in an accident off Cape Otway. The trauma of the loss has resulted in Evie refusing to speak for two years and she no longer goes to school – spending her time scouring the coast and building relationships with animals who she understands better than anything else.

Evie stumbles on rhino who has fought his way to the shore following the sinking of the ship he was on but is so exhausted that Evie has to ferry fresh water to him before he can even get back on his feet. It seems that rhino has been hand-reared by humans before he found himself washed up on this beach and he’s naturally good-natured and gentle of heart which allows him and Evie to bond and, almost instantly, become dedicated to each other.

Back at Grandpa’s house Evie and rhino establish a routine and his gentle nature wins over the trust of all the other animals – and humans – who live there. But it’s a situation that can’t last forever because as soon as the flooding abates, Evie knows that the zoo will have to be informed of rhino’s whereabouts.

Then, one day, the inevitable happens and Evie fears the worst – a telegram arrives to say a man and cart have been sent to retrieve rhino. When the rather flustered George Henley of the Royal Melbourne Zoo arrives, Evie discovers that he’s younger than she expected and that his father has some history with her Grandpa.

So what will happen to Evie and rhino who have become inseparable? Will young George Henley turn out to be a friend or foe? Will rhino be taken away to the dubious surroundings of a concrete enclosure in the zoo?

Well, obviously, I’m not going to tell you because you’ll want to find out for yourself. Suffice it to say, there are plenty of ups and downs to go through before everything gets settled – and Evie has to find her voice again.

The book also has some useful additional material at the back – the story of the true history of the ship’s sinking, a note on the author and a recipe for apple pie that is the speciality of Cook, who lives with Evie and Grandpa.

There’s also some excellent additional illustrative work from Astred Hicks, who provides drawings and graphics throughout.

Available now from Walker Books, you will be able to get the book from your local independent bookshop – who will be happy to order it if they don’t have it on the shelf.

 

Terry Potter

August 2023