Ironbark is a meld of fiction against an historical background. My creation of the villages of Ironbark, Tagalong, Bolthole Valley, Gideon Park and Ogden Park was inspired by bush hamlets now ghost towns. My travels linked me to many helpful historical sources including Berrima, Gunning, Goulburn, Bathurst, Carcoar, Gulgong, Lithgow and Parramatta.
In hindsight I can trace one link between Ironbark and childhood stories told by my father, Fred Parsons, about bushranger Captain Moonlite who bailed up gold coaches around Blackwood, Victoria. My mother’s tales about her mysterious ancestor led to my discovery of his identity, a young Romani violinist who inspired the character of Gabriel Stanley.
All Ironbark’s characters are fictional but I want to acknowledge my character Will Martens was inspired by the tragic young life of bushranger William Westwood. I am grateful to Denise Quintal, the Norfolk Island Historical Society and residents who made my research trip to their magical island memorable when I placed his memorial plaque in their convict cemetery. In creating Will Martens I tried to give William Westwood the true mates he did not have in life but deserved – Jake, Keziah and Daniel. Their passionate radical views don’t always align with mine. They speak for their times, their world. I simply gave them a voice.
The choices I made from conflicting historical sources and any errors are my responsibility, not those of historians living or dead. But many historians, authors and experts who freely gave of their time and knowledge deserve my special thanks, including:
Professor John Pearn, Dept. of Pediatrics and Child Health, Royal Children’s Hospital, Brisbane, for his encouragement and for steering me to important medical sources.
Alison Dalby and Maryann O’Harae, Librarians of the Australian Medical Association, for the use of their library and the discussion of the diverse effects of laudanum.
Independent Scholars Association of Australia members who gave me invaluable feedback during a writer’s work-in-progress.
Historian Walter Stackpool for his wide knowledge of bushrangers and firearms.
Colin Gelling, CEO of Berrima Courthouse Museum, for historical background of Berrima’s courthouse, prison and the transcript of Lucretia Dunkley’s trial for murder.
Suzanne Rutland, Associate Professor, Dept. of Hebrew, Biblical and Jewish Studies, University of Sydney, for her fascinating Melton series on the history of Jews in Australia.
For the background of my German character Joseph Bloom my sincere thanks to historian and author Rabbi John Levi for his insight and suggestions; Peta Jones Pellach, Sophie Caplan, Helen Bersten, the Australian Jewish Historical Society, Shmuel and Greta Abrahams; Russell Stern for important suggestions concerning the trial scenes; Dr Michael Abrahams-Spod for his clarification of nineteenth-century European history.
My sincere thanks to Warwick Harvey, Fellow of the National Herbalists Association of Australia; Dr Nick Lomb, Curator of Astronomy and Time, Sydney Observatory, for details of the Great Comet of 1843; Jim Kohen, Associate Professor, Dept. of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, for his help in research areas; artist Charles Gosford for his insight into English artists’ response to Australian landscape; Rev. Marcia Quinten for help during my psychic research; the Spiritualist Church of Enmore. Archival help from Fabian LoSchiavo, State Records NSW; Wendy Borchers, Archives Researcher, Australian Broadcasting Corporation; State Library of NSW; Art Gallery of NSW; Power House Museum; Justice and Police Museum; Elizabeth Bay House; Old Government House, Parramatta; Sydney Maritime Museum. Special thanks to Balmain Library for tracking rare books and material on Gypsies in Australia; Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office for fascinating penal colony documents; Lancashire and Cheshire Records Office and the British High Commission, Canberra – for their speedy response to my research queries.
© Niki Owen
Johanna Nicholls is a former magazine feature writer and fashion editor. She has worked in television production for the Seven Network as a researcher/writer and for many years was Head Script Editor for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Television Drama department. She has worked on many memorable miniseries including Love is a Four Letter Word and Changi.
Johanna lives in an 1830s convict-built sandstone cottage in Balmain, Sydney, and is currently writing her second Australian novel.