 | ABOUT THE BOOK Churchill Island is a small island of 50.7 hectares, surrounded by mudflats exposed at low tide, and almost connected by mangroves to the north eastern shore of Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia. This small island has a rich history, being visited seasonally by Aboriginal people for throusands of years, then colonised from mid-nineteenth century to be occupied and farmed by successive owners until purchased by the Victorian Government for the public in 1976. Fascinated by this rich history, author Patricia Baird sought to relate not just the factual history, but to also write imagined lives of women who lived there over the centuries. Today Churchill Island’s serene farm pastures, ancient coastal Moonah trees, more recent forest and farm shelter trees and heritage buildings and garden, evoke the many layers of the island’s past. The stories of dispossession, sorrows, joys, isolation, friendships, ambitions, loyalty and exhileration found in this book tell us much about how one small island can mean so much to so many. Third edition fully revised by Christine Grayden and David Maunders, 2021. |
