这简直是澳大利亚的土改
Men were returning home in thousands upon thousands, shedding their khaki uniforms and slouch hats for civvies. And the Labor government, still in office, took a long, hard look at the great properties of the western plains, some of the bigger stations closer in. It wasn’t right that so much land should belong to one family, when men who had done their bit for Australia needed room for their belongings and the country needed more intensive working of its land. Six million people to fill an area as big as the United States of America, but a mere handful of those six million holding vast tracts in a handful of names. The biggest properties would have to be subdivided, yield up some of their acreages to the war veterans.
成千上万的男人回到家中，脱下了卡其布制服，摘下帽子而成为平民。坐在办公室中的劳动党政府，用他们高瞻远瞩斩钉截铁的目光看着西部平原上这些巨大的产业，以及稍近的较大的庄园——这实在不合理，这么多的土地，只属于一个家庭？现在对澳大利亚做出贡献的人需要有他们的资产，国家也需要对它的土地进行更深入的耕种。在面积如美国大小的土地上，只居住了600万人，这些土地只被寥寥可数的几个名字所占有。最大的产业必须被分割，让出他们的土地给从战场上退下来的老兵。
Bugela went from 150,000 acres to 70,000; two returned soldiers got 40,000 acres each off Martin King. Rudna Hunish had 120,000 acres, therefore Ross MacQueen lost 60,000 acres and two more returned soldiers were endowed. So it went. Of course the government compensated the graziers, though at lower figures than the open market would have given. And it hurt. Oh, it hurt. No amount of argument prevailed with Canberra; properties as large as Bugela and Rudna Hunish would be partitioned. It was selfevident no man needed so much,since the Gilly district had manythriving stations of less than 50,000 acres.
布格利农场的面积从150，000英亩缩减到70，000；两个退役的士兵从马丁.金处得到了40，000英亩。罗纳.汉尼斯农场占地120，000英亩，所以它的主人，罗素.马克金失去了60,000英亩，这又被另外两个退役士兵所得。依此类推。政府当然也对农场主进行了补偿，但是数额却比市价低。这是伤痛，伤痛！与堪培拉的争议没有一例成功。像布格利和罗纳.汉尼斯这样的大产业都被分割。这是不言而喻的，没有人需要这么大的农场，因为在基利地区，很多农场不足50,000都很兴旺。
What hurt the most was the knowledge that this time it seemed the returned soldiers would persevere. After the First World War most of the big stations had gone through the same partial resumption,but it had been poorly done, the fledgling graziers without training or experience; gradually the squatters bought their filched acres back at rock-bottom prices from discouraged veterans. This time the government was prepared to train and educate the new settlers at its own expense.
最让农场主觉得悲痛的是，这次退役士兵会坚持保留土地的所有权——在第一次世界大战之后，大多数大庄园也经历过被分割的命运，但基本都不成功。当时那些初出茅庐的士兵缺少必要的训练，不谙稼穑，最后农场主都从那些泄气了的老兵手中，以超低价买回了他们被分割出去的土地。这次，政府打算用自己的经费来培训这些新的业务。
Almost all the squatters were avid members of the Country Party, and on principle loathed a Labor government, identifying it with blue-collar workers in industrial cities, trade unions and feckless Marxist intellectuals. The unkindest cut of all was to find that the Clearys, who were known Labor voters, were not to see a single acre pared from the formidable bulk of Drogheda. Since the Catholic Church owned it, naturally it was subdivision-exempt. The howl was heard in Canberra, but ignored. It came very hard to the squatters, who always thought of themselves as the most powerful lobby group in the nation, to find that he who wields the Canberra whip does pretty much as he likes. Australia was heavily federal,its state governments virtually powerless.Thus, like a giant in a Lilliputian world, Drogheda carried on,
all quarter of a million acres of it.
几乎所有的农场主都是贪婪的国土党成员，出于本能走憎恶劳动党政府，认为他们都是工业城市中的蓝领阶层、工会和百无一用的马克思主义知识分子。那些受到无情伤害的人们发现克里利一家，劳动党的投票者，他们那大得可怕的农场佐荷达一英亩也不会被分割出去，因为农场的产权属于天主教教堂，所以自然就被豁免了。农场主的哀嚎堪培拉是听到的，但被忽略了。这些农场主，一下自认为对于这个国家的议员有着巨大的影响力，这次却发现堪培拉并不受他们的鞭子所指挥。澳大利亚是典型的联邦制，它的州政府实际上是无力的（很可疑，应该说，只是在这种全国一致的事情上无力而已吧？）。因此，佐荷达农场就像小人国里的巨人一样，以它那250，000英亩的面积继续存在着。
《荆棘鸟》(the thorn birds)中的内容
成千上万的男人回到家中，脱下了卡其布制服，摘下帽子而成为平民。坐在办公室中的劳动党政府，用他们高瞻远瞩斩钉截铁的目光看着西部平原上这些巨大的产业，以及稍近的较大的庄园——这实在不合理，这么多的土地，只属于一个家庭？现在对澳大利亚做出贡献的人需要有他们的资产，国家也需要对它的土地进行更深入的耕种。在面积如美国大小的土地上，只居住了600万人，这些土地只被寥寥可数的几个名字所占有。最大的产业必须被分割，让出他们的土地给从战场上退下来的老兵。
Bugela went from 150,000 acres to 70,000; two returned soldiers got 40,000 acres each off Martin King. Rudna Hunish had 120,000 acres, therefore Ross MacQueen lost 60,000 acres and two more returned soldiers were endowed. So it went. Of course the government compensated the graziers, though at lower figures than the open market would have given. And it hurt. Oh, it hurt. No amount of argument prevailed with Canberra; properties as large as Bugela and Rudna Hunish would be partitioned. It was selfevident no man needed so much,since the Gilly district had manythriving stations of less than 50,000 acres.
布格利农场的面积从150，000英亩缩减到70，000；两个退役的士兵从马丁.金处得到了40，000英亩。罗纳.汉尼斯农场占地120，000英亩，所以它的主人，罗素.马克金失去了60,000英亩，这又被另外两个退役士兵所得。依此类推。政府当然也对农场主进行了补偿，但是数额却比市价低。这是伤痛，伤痛！与堪培拉的争议没有一例成功。像布格利和罗纳.汉尼斯这样的大产业都被分割。这是不言而喻的，没有人需要这么大的农场，因为在基利地区，很多农场不足50,000都很兴旺。
What hurt the most was the knowledge that this time it seemed the returned soldiers would persevere. After the First World War most of the big stations had gone through the same partial resumption,but it had been poorly done, the fledgling graziers without training or experience; gradually the squatters bought their filched acres back at rock-bottom prices from discouraged veterans. This time the government was prepared to train and educate the new settlers at its own expense.
最让农场主觉得悲痛的是，这次退役士兵会坚持保留土地的所有权——在第一次世界大战之后，大多数大庄园也经历过被分割的命运，但基本都不成功。当时那些初出茅庐的士兵缺少必要的训练，不谙稼穑，最后农场主都从那些泄气了的老兵手中，以超低价买回了他们被分割出去的土地。这次，政府打算用自己的经费来培训这些新的业务。
Almost all the squatters were avid members of the Country Party, and on principle loathed a Labor government, identifying it with blue-collar workers in industrial cities, trade unions and feckless Marxist intellectuals. The unkindest cut of all was to find that the Clearys, who were known Labor voters, were not to see a single acre pared from the formidable bulk of Drogheda. Since the Catholic Church owned it, naturally it was subdivision-exempt. The howl was heard in Canberra, but ignored. It came very hard to the squatters, who always thought of themselves as the most powerful lobby group in the nation, to find that he who wields the Canberra whip does pretty much as he likes. Australia was heavily federal,its state governments virtually powerless.Thus, like a giant in a Lilliputian world, Drogheda carried on,
all quarter of a million acres of it.
几乎所有的农场主都是贪婪的国土党成员，出于本能走憎恶劳动党政府，认为他们都是工业城市中的蓝领阶层、工会和百无一用的马克思主义知识分子。那些受到无情伤害的人们发现克里利一家，劳动党的投票者，他们那大得可怕的农场佐荷达一英亩也不会被分割出去，因为农场的产权属于天主教教堂，所以自然就被豁免了。农场主的哀嚎堪培拉是听到的，但被忽略了。这些农场主，一下自认为对于这个国家的议员有着巨大的影响力，这次却发现堪培拉并不受他们的鞭子所指挥。澳大利亚是典型的联邦制，它的州政府实际上是无力的（很可疑，应该说，只是在这种全国一致的事情上无力而已吧？）。因此，佐荷达农场就像小人国里的巨人一样，以它那250，000英亩的面积继续存在着。
《荆棘鸟》(the thorn birds)中的内容
