Ethel Turner's Seven Little Australians is a well-known work of Australian children's literature. The title's seven children reside in 1880s Sydney with their father, an army captain who lacks parental empathy, and their 20-year-old stepmother Esther, who has limited control over them. As a result, they cause trouble wherever they can, such as by interrupting their parents while they are hosting visitors and requesting part of their meal. Captain Woolcot orders Judy, the ringleader, to be sent away to boarding school in the Blue Mountains after a joke by Judy and Pip humiliates him in his military quarters. Meg attempts to enhance her beauty under the influence of an older girl named Aldith. She thinks she has a crush on one of Aldith's pals' elder brothers. Meg is uncomfortable after a note goes missing when Aldith and Meg make plans to meet the young guys for a walk. Esther's parents ask her and the kids to stay at their sheep ranch, Yarrahappini, to aid Judy's recovery. Although things appear to be unchanged, each character is slightly altered by their experience. Captain Woolcot regrets in particular that he never really comprehended Judy.