|
The story begins in England at the dawn of the Twentieth Century, when Lily Bates is born into a large family that lives in a basement level home, in Hornsey, a suburb of London. She grows up in poverty and like many children of the times, begins her working life at twelve. At sixteen, she meets her sweetheart, William, but soon their innocent courtship is interrupted by World War I. When Will joins the Middlesex Regiment, Lily waits and hopes through four tumultuous years for the return of her soldier.
When he returns wounded from the war the couple marry, but face a bleak future in the post-war economy. With few opportunities in London they make the brave decision to emigrate to Western Australia.
In their new land the young couple take odd jobs in the city and country before joining a clearing team destined for an isolated campsite in the South West. When the opportunity arises to join the Group Settlement Scheme they grasp it and settle into a small wooden cottage on Group No 4. at Kudardup. Determined to make a life for themselves they face incredible hardships to forge a dairy farm out of heavily timbered forest.
A simple wooden cottage, carved from the bushland, sat on the forest fringe. . .
"Not quite an English estate, but it's ours,"
Will said,
looking over their expanse of land.
"This is why we came to Australia!" |
 |
Book Description
Light in the Distance is steeped in historical fact. Part I reflects the social history of life in England prior to, during and post World War I.
Part II offers an informative window into the state's economic and social history during the 1920s, particularly of the Group Settlement Scheme.
* softcover, 238 pages, black and white photographs, maps and bibliography.
Readership - for people interested in . . .
- family histories
- stories of migration to Western Australia
- pioneering sagas related to the Group Settlement Scheme.
|
THE
STORY
BUY
THIS BOOK
HOME
PAGE