Pioneer Daughter The Diary Of Frances Louisa (Fanny) Brockman (Née Bussell)

Description

The diary of Frances Louisa (Fanny) Brockman (née Bussell) is inthe J S Battye Library of West Australian History, where a copyis available to researchers on microfilm. The one volume ledgerwas donated to the library from the estate of Bussell descendantAthole Fergusson Stewart. A journalist, Stewart drew upon hisgreat-aunt's record for articles about his family in the 1940s,and he described Fanny's diary then as 'a skeleton history of theMargaret awaiting someone to put flesh upon its bones'.Begun in 1872, Fanny's diary spans more than three decades.Her entries touch on the establishment of the South West timberindustry, the development of the pearling and cattle industriesof the North West, the discovery of gold, the rise in caves tourismand political change that led to Federation. With the researchfacilities now available, it is possible to fill in some of the missingdetail regarding these and other events, and to profile manyof the characters to whom Fanny referred. The advances intechnology that enable this have distanced our present age evenfurther from Fanny's than when Athole Stewart was writing 70years ago, making her entries on purely domestic and farmingmatters valuable social history.Fanny's diary is more than a social history. It is a story of sisterlylove and loyalty, and resilience in the face of adversity from acompassionate and indefatigable woman. It is time it came out ofthe archives and onto our bookshelves.

Promotion info

Gillian Lilleyman has produced a truly magnificent book, doing more than justice to her subject, the pioneer daughter Fanny. It is a heavy book, with high-quality paper which enhances the many black and white photographs. Gillian has used both footnotes to source her entries and boxed comments to expand and clarify certain diary entries. These annotations are illuminating and reveal an immense amount of painstaking research" (Pamela Statham Drew. History West, December 2018) "If anyone has relatives among the southwest pioneers then this is the book for you as all the comings and goings are detailed and Gillian follows up with extensive notes" (Pamela Statham Drew. History West, December 2018)

 

Awards

Winner of the 2018 Biannual Royal Western Australian History Society's A W Williams Western Australian History Prize.