But since having sold the farm and moved into Ballarat, Rosemary has pursued another career as a novelist.

Her first book, Adaptation, is the story of three generations of a Western Districts grazing family coping with changes in farming, losses and love.

“A lot of this book was written in the 1970s”, says Ms Holmes.

“I went back through my father’s farm diaries, but it is a work of fiction. However my parents did decide to run a rural tourism industry, and it was the first one in Victoria.”

Ms Holmes said she first wrote the book when she was nursing in Melbourne. She would spread her notes on the double bed in her flat, sit there and write all through her spare time.

Adaptation is available through Collins Booksellers in Ballarat.