A Different Earth: Cornish Pioneer Miners to Australia - Couverture souple

Beck, Max C. S.

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 1904880347 ISBN 13 : 9781904880349

Editeur : Cornwall Editions Limited, 2016

Synopsis

A heroic story of suffering, hope and survival. When the potato blight hits Cornwall in 1847, Jane Dunstan (born in Wendron in 1814) rescues her large family, first by the long suffocating passage to South Australia, then 100 miles by bullock wagon to Burra's copper mines and finally by a 350-mile trek to the goldfields of Victoria. On the threshold of starvation when the potato blight hits Cornwall, Jane Dunstan (born in Wendron in 1814) decides to rescue her family from desperate poverty and her husband, Richard, from the dreadful conditions in the mines. She successfully applies for a 'free passage' to migrate to South Australia with their seven children aged from one to twelve. After suffering appalling living conditions in the cramped steerage quarters of the ship and the challenges of the sea during the three-month journey the family, on arrival in South Australia in 1849, travel 100 miles north of Adelaide by bullock wagon to the Burra copper mines. At Burra they live in an underground dugout in the banks of the Burra Creek and Richard, with his three eldest boys, works in the mine. For Jane, it's a dramatic time, with floods, a new baby born underground and the tragic loss of her husband and two daughters. On the discovery of gold in Victoria in 1851, Jane hires a bullock dray and driver to take her remaining six children on a courageous six-week, 350-mile overland trek to the Victorian goldfields. The story describes the difficulties of locating and travelling the trail, the working and the idiosyncrasies of the bullock team and its driver, Red. Jane has to adapt to living in the bush, foraging for bush tucker and dealing with pests and hazards along the way. On arriving at the diggings Jane is horrified by what she sees but ultimately she remarries, has three more children, bringing her total issue to eleven, and eventually finds a measure of peace. A Different Earth is based on the experiences of the author's great-great grandparents, Richard and Jane Dunstan.

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

After graduating from Monash University with the degrees of Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Jurisprudence, Max C.S. Beck practised as a barrister and solicitor for 22 years. He was appointed a Magistrate and Coroner for the state of Victoria where he served on the bench for 15 years. As a lawyer, much of this time was devoted to work as a defence counsel in country Magistrate and County Courts dealing with all sorts of people and issues. Experience gained in the law developing skills to determine relevance, research authorities and weigh and fairly assess evidence has served him well as an investigative write of historical fiction. Max was raised in a country hotel where his father was licensee. He worked as a labourer on the Snowy Mountains scheme, was a truck driver in the Mallee and still has his truck licence. He has travelled to 20 different countries and is comfortable in the company of people from all walks of life. A Different Life is his first novel.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Cornwall Editions Limited
• Date d'édition: 2016
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1904880347
• ISBN 13: 9781904880349
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 384
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: GPSR Kontakt; gpsr@libri.de; ; Europaallee 1; Bad Hersfeld; 36244; Allemagne