Publication type

non-fiction

Summary

NOT ONLY IN STONE is the story of Polly Thomas, a woman of strength, courage and compassion, whose life is intimately tied to the pioneering era of South Australia.
Polly arrives in Adelaide from Cornwall in 1865 with her husband Nathan, a miner, Richard, her baby son, and Ellen, her young sister. The baby had been born on the long and arduous voyage to Australia.
Polly and Nathan move to the copper mining towns on the Yorke Penjnsula. Tragedy and death haunt Polly's life. Her sister dies in childbirth; Polly has four children but only two survive; a son is drowned; her beloved daughter dies of croup; Nathan is crippled; and a crooked lawyer swindles Polly of her life savings.
Although tragedy robs Polly's life of joy, her independent spirit is never quelled. After Nathan's death, she moves to Adelaide and for many years lives in North Adelaide close to her son, who succeeds in business, and his family.
The sorrow in the life of Polly Thomas is overwhelming, but never is it mawkish. This is history with a human face.
A family life chronicle full of the stuff of the pioneers... a closely woven tapestry of the humour and pathos of life.
Shirley Stott Despoja, Adelaide Advertiser (book jacket notes)