Dead Man's Head by Jack Lasenby audio book
Set in the depression of 1930, Dead Man’s Head tells of the lively exploits of a gang of children in a small rural town as they fill their summer school holidays.
Playlist
We meet the Seddon Street Gang — a group of children living in a small rural Waikato town, Waharua, in 1930.
Mr Welsh the teacher, warns the children not to get into trouble in the holidays and the gang decides what they're going to do over the summer.
The Seddon Street Gang outwit Mr Whistler, the Station Master who they all call the Gorilla.
The rest of the gang have to go home after the serial but Denny stays on at the Saturday night flicks.
The gang see smoke from Clark's house on Saturday night. They've been forbidden to go to the pictures and race to the hall for help.
Denny rescues the Clark's cat and clock in the fire. A bucket brigade and blankets try to stop it spreading.
Bob leads the gang to the cheese factory to fly their gliders and Mr Shepherd sees their footprints…
The Seddon Street Gang reach the top of the factory and carve their initials in the rail.
The gang watch a truck take away a dead cow and then go to Johnny Johannsen's orchard for apples.
Johnny Johannsen takes the gang to shoot at birds and lets them help themselves to apples.
The gang all make trolleys and ride them on Pedlar's Hill. Mr Clark drives into the bamboo castle they've put at the bottom and is very angry.
Wrongly accused of breaking the insulation cups on the telegraph poles, the gang work out it could have been Catherine Campbell…
The gang ride the railway jigger in the moonlight and bombard Mrs Pedlar's roof with acorns.
The jigger gets hit by the late goods train.
Denny gets up in the night and goes to the peach tree. He hears 'the Murderer', Mr Clark, go into his shed.
The gang discover that Mr Clark has hanged himself in the shed.
Polly and Denny watch a mob of cattle go past. The drover frees a bull stuck by Mr Clark's lorry.
The gang come upon a couple of swaggers and the younger one offers them some Juno Cut Plug tobacco in a pipe.
The gang go to Mr Silver's sawdust heap and hide in Old Man Wilson's maize.
Pete's mother bandages his foot and Denny copies the way Mr Casey hops and breathes as if he has a gas mask.
Denny's father has a serious accident and his mother goes to be with him in Waikato hospital.
Denny escapes to the back shed and the gang give him food. Aunty Joyce tricks him into coming out and thrashes him.
Uncle Ted gives Denny some Dead Man's Head pudding and Denny talks to his mother on the neighbour's phone.
Denny goes home to his mother in Waharua. Lots of children have got infantile paralysis and the gang get to stay at Uncle Ted's for summer.