NSW Premier’s Award winning author Babette Smith will give the author’s talk at Thirroul District Library and Community Centre on 17 February.
Ms Smith won the 2015 NSW Premier’s History Award for her book, The Luck of the Irish, which looks at the history of Irish immigrants to Australia. It is an original and sophisticated analysis of the Irish in parts of NSW during the 19th century. The book begins with the 1835 wreck of the ship, Hive, carrying convicts. Ms Smith contends that the convict Irish brought a culture with them that helped shape and reinforce Australian egalitarianism.
Ms Smith’s first book, A Cargo of Women: Susannah Watson & the Convicts of the Princess Royal, is a study of 100 female convicts transported to Australia.
Ms Smith will speak at Thirroul Library on Wednesday 17 February from 5pm. Bookings are essential or on 02 4227 8191.
The Author’s Talk is sponsored by the State Library of NSW and Wollongong City Council.
Photo thanks to SMH
