Women Pioneers on the NSW Goldfields

The Hill End & Tambaroora Gathering Group are proud to announce the publication of their new book "Hill End Heroines & Tambaroora Treasures" by Daphne Shead & Members of the Gathering Group. Edited & Compiled by Lorraine Purcell this work is an inspiring anthology of mothers, daughters, granddaughters, family, children, homes and the hopes and joys of outback life. In this eclectic volume Daphne Shead weaves together a valuable narrative on women’s lives. It is the connections that can be drawn between women, between families and within this vibrant early community that provide a rich and compelling story of women and their struggles in early 19th century New South Wales. Hill End Heroines and Tambaroora Treasures is a timely reminder that writing women’s history is a worthwhile endeavour and these stories paint pictures of Australian life and of women whose stories tell us much about whom we all are and where we have all come from.

Hill End Heroines and Tambaroora Treasures

In a fitting tribute to the women of the goldfields Daphne Shead, a family historian from Hill End has gathered together a variety of material about the journeys and lifestyles of these women. They were amongst the early arrivals in the goldfields of the central west of NSW These are the women that followed their husbands and menfolk into this unknown world very far from the support of their families and the commercial infrastructure that they had been used to. Many of these women would certainly have been considered "Demeter's Daughters" as they were struggled to provide fresh food and sustenance to their families in a very new and often hostile environment....in so many ways different from the fertile green fields of the British Isles or the lush farmlands of Europe and the Mediterranean, or even the coastal areas of the new colonies in Australia.

Members of the Hill End & Tambaroora Gathering Group have complimented her narrative with their own stories that have been handed down within their family circles or researched from original sources. They have included biographical details and have illustrated their tales with precious family portraits and put real meaning into some of the Holtermann Collection of goldfield portraits held by the State Library of NSW.

Throughout the book the reader is presented with sketches by local Hill End artist Monique Erismann who was commissioned to illustrate the text. Rex Backhaus-Smith also provided a number of graphics from his publication Into the Golden West (published in 1979).

A small collection of original recipes is included for the gastronomically inclined…or just the curious. The book is well supported by a select bibliography, a glossary of place names referred to in the text and all individuals mentioned are listed in the comprehensive index of names.

The book is $30 plus $6 p+p anywhere in Australia.
Copies of the book may be obtained from
Lorraine Purcell
12 Grantham St
Carlton NSW 2218
phone 02 95870352
or email heatgg@yahoo.com.au
for full ordering details plus direct deposit details for purchases.