[3][4] Pattison claimed his strict father's remarriage to Susan Stephenson[1] during his adolescence contributed to his own rebellious behaviour[2] and his decision to leave home as a teenager.
[2] Pattison then secured work with The Morning Bulletin and The Capricornian as a travelling rural reporter in the 1920s, beginning a series called On The Track in 1923, where he would find stories by driving a horse sulky to remote properties in the Rockhampton district.
[2] After acquiring a motor vehicle, Pattison would travel further west[2] enabling the western districts of Central Queensland to feature more prominently in the On The Track series.
[9] Pattison continued writing as a freelancer in his retirement, regularly contributing articles to The Pastoral Gazette, Brisbane Courier, The Queenslander and The Australian.
The reviewer also stated that the book's chief quality was the human interest and the anecdotal method Pattison employed, written as if he was telling a friend.