Alan Atkinson will be going over his book at the Echuca Library.
Former journalist and author Alan Atkinson will be hosting a book talk at the Echuca library.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
His book, The Trials of Billy Freeman, details the story of Mr Atkinson’s newly discovered ancestor, convict Billy Freeman.
The story is one of a controversial and colourful pioneer who lived in the background behind more famous names in history, like Colonel Light, Charles Sturt and Edward Stirling.
Billy was a child convict, who was brought to Australia for stealing cheese.
He gained freedom and came to South Australia on a remarkable journey, driving cattle with Charles Sturt.
The Trials of Billy Freeman.
“After marrying the daughter of a free settler, Billy battled droughts, economic downturns, and bushfires, eventually buying his own plots of land, where he worked as a wheat farmer and mail carrier in the hills,” Mr Atkinson said.
“But in a terrible twist, both he and his wife Sarah were sent to Adelaide Gaol, accused of arson after their daughter’s house burned down.”
Mr Atkinson said the stigma of ‘convictism’ lived large in early Australian society, especially in free-colonies like South Australia.
“These are little-told stories in the history of our state, lives forged in the dust and dirt of the Adelaide Hills,” he said.
“Billy and,, his ilk, were the great survivors of the colony and in their own way, the gritty founders of our society.”
You can catch Mr Atkinson at the Echuca library on June 16 at 2.30pm.
There will be books available to purchase and have signed.
14°C