Historical information

ESCAPE TO ELTHAM traces the family of John and Anna Lane who lived in Shanagolden in County Limerick during the early and middle parts of the 1800s. They lived during a time of conflict and famine. This story follows the movements of their son, Richard, and daughter, Anne, who migrated to Australia. The marriage of Anne to Tobias Butler and Richard's life establishing his farm on the Yarra River in the 1850s are explored. Marriage, children, deaths and a murder in 1861 are changes forced on the family. Richard's son, Patrick, marries a young Bridget Carrucan but when the global recession of the 1890s decimates Patrick's businesses he heads to the arid Western Australian goldfields to 'make his fortune'. The large family follows and settles in Boulder where the behaviour of a couple of the boys gets them into scapes with the law. This story celebrates the tenacity of a family whose members left adversity in Ireland hoping for a kinder life in Australia.

Physical description

Softback; 118 pages; illust., maps, appendices