This picture shows the landscape as Emma would have first seen it.
by Linda Fisher
This short story I wrote is a ‘faction’ piece…fiction written around basic facts, about my great, great grandmother arriving here with her 7 children to join their father, her husband LC Holmes who had travelled here a year earlier to purchase land and begin building their home.
It was May 1878, and 29 year old Emma had arrived at their final destination with her 7 children. The land her husband Lawrence had begun to clear for their new family home.
When Lawrence Holmes had to leave New Zealand in a hurry due to a ‘problem’, he took the advice of his brother Ed and headed for Australia. To the newly settled area of South Gippsland, Victoria, soon to be known as Poowong.
Now, a year later, the family were all together again.
It had been a long journey, first by ship to Melbourne. Then 3 days travelling, the last day on foot. With the track only wide enough for the horse carrying their belongings, the family walked in single file.
Exhausted after the long walk on the muddy track, Emma’s heart sank as she looked past her children to the clearing that was her new home.
A small area of the enormous forest had been cleared, but the only building was a 4ft high wall made of rocks. Unfortunately Lawrence hadn’t progressed very far with their house, the priority had been on the chopping down of trees and clearing the undergrowth of ferns and sword grass away.
‘Come on children, Will and Edward unpack the blankets from the horse.
We need to make a tent, it will be dark soon.’ encouraged Emma, trying to sound positive. ‘Rob, take John and Percy and try and find dry kindling, we must get a fire started. Dolly, please hold the baby and amuse her.’
Lawrence looked at his wife with admiring eyes.
And so began life at ‘Castle Comfort’.
0 Comments