Book 1 - Bessie's Ute, Australia's Ute
Written and published by Maxwell A. Jefferies
A Novel in Four Parts
Inspired by the True Story Behind a National Icon
In the heart of drought-stricken Victoria, Bessie Grady manages a farm, a household, and a family with grit, faith, and a quiet kind of courage. It’s 1933, and the world feels worn thin - the crops are struggling, the dam is low, and the family car smells of pigs more than petrol. Tired of choosing between hauling crates to market and riding to church in dignity, Bessie picks up a pencil and sketches something different. A vehicle that doesn’t yet exist. Not a car. Not a truck. Something that could do both.
She posts her drawing - and her hopes - to the Ford Motor Company of Australia. Her letter lands on the desk of a young engineer named Lewis Bandt, who sees in Bessie’s sketch a vision for something revolutionary: a car that carries like a truck, drives like a coupe, and belongs to the working heart of the country. With Bessie’s words echoing in his mind - “something that can take me to church on Sunday and the pigs to market on Monday” - Bandt begins designing what would become the first ute.
Told in four sweeping parts, this is the fictionalized but deeply researched story of three lives - one on the land, one in the design office, one on the factory floor - whose paths are interwoven and share a part in the creation that gave Australia a machine that would endure for generations. Bessie’s Ute, Australia’s Ute is a moving, richly detailed novel about invention, determination, and the quiet power of being heard.
For fans of historical fiction, rural women’s stories, and tales of innovation born from the dust.
In Part One: Something Grows on the Farm, we meet Bessie Grady, a practical and quietly determined woman navigating life on an Australian wheat and pig farm during the hard years of the early 1930s. The days are long, the machinery is failing, and the only vehicle they own-used to haul feed during the week and drive to church on Sundays-has become a daily symbol of frustration. Yet something begins to stir beneath the surface: an idea, born not of ambition, but necessity.
In Part Two: Design and Prototype, the story shifts from paddocks to production as Bessie’s quiet sketch makes its way into the heart of the Ford Motor Company in Geelong. A young engineer named Lewis Bandt-intelligent, practical, and quietly visionary-recognises not just a good idea, but the voice of someone who truly understands the land. As blueprints replace ink sketches and welding sparks begin to fly, the first threads of the utility vehicle take form.
In Part Three: Line Production, follows a worker on the production line making the ute a reality, and how it impacted the workers and change a town forever. The ute leaves the factory floor and hits the back roads, paddocks, and small-town country dealerships, streets of Australia. Meanwhile, Bessie hears fragments of her idea echo back across the country, never knowing just how far her influence has travelled.
In Part Four: Distribution and Presentation, a young shearer finds love in his ute, a ute is trucked up to Darwin over dusty bush tracks, a community buys the country nurse a ute to replaces her motorcycle. Meanwhile, Bessie hears fragments of her idea echo back across the country, never knowing just how far her influence has travelled.. As production ramps up and the vehicle rolls out across rural Australia, Ford sends one directly to Bessie-not as a gift, but as recognition. With the tray still clean and the paint barely dry, the ute parks in the same yard where its concept was born. For Bessie, it’s not about pride or credit; it’s about usefulness, dignity, and being heard.
Written and published by Maxwell A. Jefferies
A Novel in Four Parts
Inspired by the True Story Behind a National Icon
In the heart of drought-stricken Victoria, Bessie Grady manages a farm, a household, and a family with grit, faith, and a quiet kind of courage. It’s 1933, and the world feels worn thin - the crops are struggling, the dam is low, and the family car smells of pigs more than petrol. Tired of choosing between hauling crates to market and riding to church in dignity, Bessie picks up a pencil and sketches something different. A vehicle that doesn’t yet exist. Not a car. Not a truck. Something that could do both.
She posts her drawing - and her hopes - to the Ford Motor Company of Australia. Her letter lands on the desk of a young engineer named Lewis Bandt, who sees in Bessie’s sketch a vision for something revolutionary: a car that carries like a truck, drives like a coupe, and belongs to the working heart of the country. With Bessie’s words echoing in his mind - “something that can take me to church on Sunday and the pigs to market on Monday” - Bandt begins designing what would become the first ute.
Told in four sweeping parts, this is the fictionalized but deeply researched story of three lives - one on the land, one in the design office, one on the factory floor - whose paths are interwoven and share a part in the creation that gave Australia a machine that would endure for generations. Bessie’s Ute, Australia’s Ute is a moving, richly detailed novel about invention, determination, and the quiet power of being heard.
For fans of historical fiction, rural women’s stories, and tales of innovation born from the dust.
In Part One: Something Grows on the Farm, we meet Bessie Grady, a practical and quietly determined woman navigating life on an Australian wheat and pig farm during the hard years of the early 1930s. The days are long, the machinery is failing, and the only vehicle they own-used to haul feed during the week and drive to church on Sundays-has become a daily symbol of frustration. Yet something begins to stir beneath the surface: an idea, born not of ambition, but necessity.
In Part Two: Design and Prototype, the story shifts from paddocks to production as Bessie’s quiet sketch makes its way into the heart of the Ford Motor Company in Geelong. A young engineer named Lewis Bandt-intelligent, practical, and quietly visionary-recognises not just a good idea, but the voice of someone who truly understands the land. As blueprints replace ink sketches and welding sparks begin to fly, the first threads of the utility vehicle take form.
In Part Three: Line Production, follows a worker on the production line making the ute a reality, and how it impacted the workers and change a town forever. The ute leaves the factory floor and hits the back roads, paddocks, and small-town country dealerships, streets of Australia. Meanwhile, Bessie hears fragments of her idea echo back across the country, never knowing just how far her influence has travelled.
In Part Four: Distribution and Presentation, a young shearer finds love in his ute, a ute is trucked up to Darwin over dusty bush tracks, a community buys the country nurse a ute to replaces her motorcycle. Meanwhile, Bessie hears fragments of her idea echo back across the country, never knowing just how far her influence has travelled.. As production ramps up and the vehicle rolls out across rural Australia, Ford sends one directly to Bessie-not as a gift, but as recognition. With the tray still clean and the paint barely dry, the ute parks in the same yard where its concept was born. For Bessie, it’s not about pride or credit; it’s about usefulness, dignity, and being heard.
RevitArt.com
& DustyBooks Publications
& DustyBooks Publications
Book 1 - Times of Change Series
Historical Fiction Novels - Events That Changed Australia
Historical Fiction Novels - Events That Changed Australia
Bessie's Ute,
Australia's Ute
275 pages - gloss cover paperback
$ 21.00 AU
$12.00 USA
£ 9.00 UK
See Amazon for other countries
Australia's Ute
275 pages - gloss cover paperback
$ 21.00 AU
$12.00 USA
£ 9.00 UK
See Amazon for other countries
Book 3
Book 2
See also the other books in this series
BESSIE'S UTE, AUSTRALIA'S UTE
Website designed by Maxwell A Jefferies - Copyright 2025
Website designed by Maxwell A Jefferies - Copyright 2025
.
Website designed by Maxwell A Jefferies - Copyright 2025
Website designed by Maxwell A Jefferies - Copyright 2025
.
My Photography Website of Australia
Local Pickup (Harvey WA) or Direct Funds Transfer - contact Admin@RevitArt.com
Read for FREE on E-book KINDLE
Click Link Here
Elvie M. - Paperback * * * * *
I was so engrossed in the story I missed the first quarter of my football game. I am not that interested in cars but still enjoyed the story of Australia's (and the worlds) first trayback ute.
I was so engrossed in the story I missed the first quarter of my football game. I am not that interested in cars but still enjoyed the story of Australia's (and the worlds) first trayback ute.
BOOK REVIEWS / COMMENTS:
ePUB book
DOWNLOAD
ePUB book
DOWNLOAD
ePUB book
DOWNLOAD
ePUB book
DOWNLOAD
ePUB book
DOWNLOAD