The Luck of the Irish

 The Luck of the Irish

Reviewed By  Grasshopper2       September 16, 2014

 

Author  Babette Smith

Distributor:     
ISBN:                 9781742378121
Publisher:         Allen & Unwin
Release Date:    

Website:    http://www.allenandunwin.com 

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(how a ship load of convicts survived the wreck of the “Hive” to make a new life in Australia.)

This is an intensely researched history of early Australian settlement, focussing on a group of Irish convicts.  The 250 Irish prisoners, who were transported to New South Wales in 1835, were shipwrecked off the coast of Booderee National Park, New South Wales.  All the convicts survived, and were escorted to the Colony by Aboriginal people.

The author has been able to trace the convicts back to Ireland, and recounts their story of poverty, hardship, misdemeanour and Court sentencing.  This adds greatly to the long-term view of how their cultural beliefs and backgrounds helped shape society in Australia.

Again with the help of careful research, the author has traced the movements of the convicts in the Colony.  She has recorded written reports about them, where they worked, who they worked for and their absolute determination not to be treated as underdogs.  It was evident there many times the community needed to work “co-operatively, regardless of rank” and gradually convicts became known more as Government men.

The English, however, had retained their social structure in the new country.  The Assistant Surveyor Granville William Chetwynd Stapylton, reported one of the shepherds who had been acknowledged for heroism.  The Assistant Surveyor reported as saying, “Took him down a peg this morning for thinking it fit and proper to give an opinion.”

Not only is this fascinating because of the individual view of people in society, and how their lives were lived, but also the changes that occur as some of the population reject the notion of a class ridden society.

You can be sure of the accuracy of the Author’s writing and marvel at the cultural blending as it progresses in the early days of our Nation.

Non Fiction