In 1822 a young James Webber, recently arrived in the Colony, took up his land grant on the Paterson River. In that one act of possession, the landscape, managed and maintained by Aboriginal people for many centuries, was changed forever. James and his convict crew carved out a European-style agricultural enterprise by exploiting the rich diversity of the land. In a nod to the earlier custodians, he named his estate ‘Tocal’, an aboriginal word for ‘plenty’. Through toil and enterprise, successive owners grew rich on the Tocal lands, until, in 1965, private ownership ceased, and a new agricultural college was born on the site. That college, now retaining the name given to the land by its original custodians, grew into a thriving educational centre, with tentacles of training reaching throughout the nation. 2022 marks a significant milestone in the history of the land. This brief overview of its story—including the millennia before dispossession—has been compiled by four authors with over 170 years of combined memories associated with Tocal College and recording its agriculture and its history. Over its history, Tocal has touched many families and many lives, and it continues to expand its reach, including to the descendants of its original peoples who cared for and respected its resources. This book in a small way pays homage to all of those lives.

本書は、トカルという一帯の土地が辿った数千年の記憶を呼び覚ます、魂の年代記です。単なる開拓史の枠を超え、先住民が育んだ自然が入植という転換点によって変貌していく様を、著述家たちは深い敬意を持って描き出しています。土地の名に刻まれた「豊穣」という響きが、時代の荒波の中でいかに守られ、変容してきたのか。その筆致からは、大地に刻まれた無数の人生の鼓動が聞こえてくるようです。 四人の著者が紡ぐ百七十年分もの膨大な記憶は、過去の傷跡を癒やし、未来へ繋ぐ希望の叙事詩へと昇華されています。この一冊は、大地に根ざした人々の情熱に触れ、私たちと自然との関わり方を根本から問い直す、鮮烈な読書体験となるでしょう。