The ‘Ajax’ series (AUSTRALIAN)

[Jomo]

This series by Mary Elwyn Patchett had me enthralled as a 9-10 year old.
Adventures of all kinds, dealing with cattle duffers (rustlers) and other villains as well as the dangers of the outback! The protagonist is a girl who lives a very free life on her family’s vast cattle station (ranch) in outback Queensland, with occasional holiday to the tropical seas of the Great Barrier Reef. The real star of the stories however is her dog, Ajax, which I recall was either a full or part Dingo (wild native dog). She also had a couple of brilliantly smart horses, who could be relied on to help with all sorts of escapes from unpleasant circumstances. I’m racking my brain but I can’t remember the protagonists name. She had many adventures, well worth a look if the Australian outback, dogs, horses and adventure appeal to you!

Here is a complete listing of the Ajax series:

Ajax the Warrior
Tam the Untamed
Treasure of the Reef
Return to the Reef
Outback Adventure
The Call of the Bush
The End of the Outlaws
The Golden Wolf
Ajax and the Drovers
Ajax and the Haunted Mountain

https://janebadgerbooks.co.uk/product/ajax-the-warrior/

[Kate Mary]

If I remember rightly the girl's name was Mary. She had many pets including a couple of dogs (perhaps more) apart from Ajax; Algy the bulldog, Ben the terrier, a cuscus (name forgotten), a monkey called Kiko and a kangaroo named Matilda. She also had a silver horse called Tam. I only read a couple of the books one of which was 'The Golden Wolf', the other might have been the first in the series. I also read Mary Elwyn Patchett's 'The Brumby' and 'Tiger in the Dark' about hunting for the Tasmanian tiger.

[Jomo]

Yes, Mary had lots of other animals - it’s been a long time since I read them, so the details are a bit fuzzy, I just remember that series as being liberating and compelling reading. I never read the Brumby books.

[dsr]

"Tam the Untamed" was the horse, star of the second book where Ajax took a back seat. After that Ajax was back as the star.

The notion was that the books were autobiographical, but apparently not. which becomes fairly obvious after a dozen or so books when apparently no-one is getting any older, not even mary's parents after she has a near-fatal adventure in every book!

They are entertaining, though. Especially the first two, which are very well written and believable.

[Courtenay]

Gosh, I've never heard of those! They sound like something I would have loved as a child. I might have to look out for them (though maybe they'd be easier to find in Australia)...

[Jomo]

There are a couple of Puffin paperbacks of Ajax the Warrior available for £4 through World of Books in the UK.
The original hardcovers of the series are few and are quite expensive.
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDe ... -bsk-_-bdp