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Book Cover
Book
Author Townsend, Helen, 1947-

Title Above the starry frame / Helen Townsend
Published Sydney : Pan Macmillan Australia, 2007

Copies

Location Call no. Vol. Availability
 W'PONDS  994.031092 Irwin Tow/Ats  AVAILABLE
Description viii, 370 pages ; 24 cm
Contents Pt 1. Days of the Rush, 1849-53 -- Pt 2. Dreams and despair, 1861-68 -- Pt 3. The golden city, 1878-93
Summary William Irwin was an Irish farm boy who came to Australia alone in 1849, aged 18. As a refugee from Ireland's Potato Famine, he left behind a world of hunger and poverty, and a culture steeped in oppressive tradition. Young and adventurous, and with the will to make something of his life, William set himself up in the heart of gold rush Ballarat, one of the wealthiest 19th century cities in the world. A digger and publican, he was swept up in the events leading to the Eureka Stockade, both as a witness and a player in this landmark event that shaped colonial society. William's family were left behind in Ireland. He never returned home, though his family continued to write to him. His great grand-daughter, Helen Townsend, recovered 54 of these letters which span 40 years, and it is from them that she draws powerful inspiration for this book. Above the Starry Frame re-imagines the life of William Irwin. It was inspired by those letters, as well as painstaking archival research. It is also a biography of one of the first truly modern cities, and a moving examination of the impact of migration on those who leave and those who stay behind--publisher
Notes "A true story of migration and enduring love from the Irish potato famine to the Australian goldfields in the time of the Eureka Stockade"--Cover
Subject Irwin, William, 1831-1893.
Irwin, William, 1831-1893 -- Fiction.
Irwin, William, 1831-1893 -- Correspondence.
Irwin, William, 1970-
Gold mines and mining -- Australia -- Ballarat (Vic.) -- History -- 19th century.
Gold mines and mining -- Australia -- Victoria -- Ballarat
Gold mines and mining -- Australia -- Victoria -- Ballarat -- Fiction
Immigrants -- Australia -- Biography.
Immigrants -- Australia -- Biography -- Fiction.
Immigrants -- Australia -- Ballarat (Vic.) -- Biography.
Immigrants -- Australia.
Irish -- Australia -- Biography -- Fiction.
Irish -- Australia -- Biography.
Irish -- Australia -- Ballarat (Vic.) -- Biography.
Irish -- Australia.
Pioneers -- Australia -- Ballarat (Vic.) -- Biography.
SUBJECT Ballarat (Vic.) http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79089345 -- Biography. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh99001237
Ballarat (Vic.) http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79089345 -- Gold discoveries. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh00005926
Ballarat (Vic.) http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79089345 -- History http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh99005024 -- 1851-1901 -- Fiction
Ballarat (Vic.) http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79089345 -- History http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh99005024 -- 1851-1901
Ballarat (Vic.) http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79089345 -- History -- 19th century. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2002006167
Eureka Stockade (Ballarat, Vic.) http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh86004544
Genre/Form Biographies.
Personal correspondence.
Fiction.
Author Greenslade, Francis. (narrator)
LC no. 2007408413
ISBN 9781405038034 (paperback)