Set in the year of 1879, it is the secret journal of a young orphan girl Olivia, sent to the harsh confines of Biloela, an Industrial school on Cockatoo Island in the heart of Sydney Harbour.
Life was harsh for the girls at Biloela, put to labour all day long, sewing and washing, with no belongings, not even shoes and made to sleep on the cold stone floors at night.
Olivia dreamt of escaping the horrible island and having a family of her own, It felt like she has been sent to a prison even though she did nothing wrong and there was a very good reason she felt that way...
Cockatoo Island was established as a convict settlement in 1839, The convicts were set to hard labour, quarrying stone to build the very prison they were confined in, The accommodation was appalling, crammed into small overcrowded cells, the stench of human waste and sickness overcame them.
There was little hope of escape. Even though they could see the shores of Sydney cove within reach none of the Englishmen could swim and feared the shark infested waters that surrounded the island.
There was only one man; Fred Britten, who did escape in 1863. With the help of his part-aboriginal wife he had the tools to break free, survived the swim across the treacherous waters and went on to became the famous bush ranger Thunderbolt until police shot him in 1870.
The convict prison was closed in 1869 and became the Industrial school for orphan girls, they worked and slept in the very cells where the convicts had been, so it was little surprise why Olivia had felt she was in prison.
But it was the following chapter in the history of Cockatoo island that is of important significance to me.
I had mentioned the book I was reading to my mother when she said to me "Do you know if it wasn't for Cockatoo Island you wouldn't be here today?" I was surprised and intrigued because I had never heard of the island before, so she explained the story to me...
In 1888 the Industrial school closed and prisoners returned to the island, this time to build docks for the repair of Naval ships and the maritime history of Cockatoo Island began.
Construction continued and the island became the official dockyard of the Royal Australian Navy in 1913. With the approach of WW11 the need for naval ships heightened and ship building increased tenfold. Many immigrants came from England to work on the island and one of these men was my Grandfather.
My Grandfather was born in 1912 in England. In his adult life he became a Draftsman (a ship architect who creates technical drawings). In 1938 he immigrated to Australia to become a Naval Architect on Cockatoo Island.
But my Grandfather was lonely, as he had come out on his own and had no family here in Sydney. His overseer at the time felt a little sorry for him so invited him home for dinner. That was the night he met this man's daughter, he immediately fell for this dashing young woman, they were married in 1940 and history was made! My mother was born and grew up in Sydney as my Grandfather continued to work on Cockatoo Island.
I have now returned to Sydney and to Cockatoo Island where I traced the steps of my heritage.
I wandered around the ship drawing offices where he would have worked and scoured the old fading photographs on the wall, looking for him, marvelling at the thought of it all.
My Grandfather, 1938
Grandparents wedding day, 1940
By Bronzebrew, August, 2015.
References; Escape from Cockatoo Island, Yvette Poshoglian; http://www.booktopia.com.au/escape-from-cockatoo-island-yvette-poshoglian/prod9781742832456.html
Cockatoo Island history; http://www.cockatooisland.gov.au/about/history
