Violet and her sister venture out at dusk in a tiny boat, only to find themselves tossed by enormous waves in a huge storm off the coast of Grantham’s. Suddenly, something terrifying and magical happens, saving them from drowning.
The story begins when Violet’s Mother dies in childbirth at the age of 32. Violet is the baby, her seventh child. Their father deserts them all and they are left in the care of Georgina Bond Husdon, their extraordinary grandmother and her $20 a month senior pension.
Hospital for Injured Snakes features long time Gibsons resident Violet Winegarden in the 1930s adventuring through her rural childhood on The Sunshine Coast with her five sisters, her white kittens, wandering cows, insects, and snakes.
This story features The Union Steampship, (The Daddy Boat); it details adventures with tugs and log booms, with rabbits and dogs and cows lying on the hot dirt roads on lazy summer days.
Violet is a well-known personality on the coast. She founded Happy Cat Haven, and ran the shelter for years.
B & white photo by Helen McCall
