This book has exciting new material about Australias beginnings, and in particular about the third mainland settlement which grew at the River Hawkesbury. It tackles controversial themes, including the meeting of European and Indigenous cultures, and delves into the local results of the influence of the French Revolution. The popular myth of military supremacy is firmly debunked, particularly with the patterns of land granting in the district showing that Acting Governor Grove deliberately manufactured the Hawkesbury to be a low socio-economic area. There is a specific focus on womens lives highlighting their varied roles, which extended far beyond domesticity. At least eleven women at Hawkesbury between 1797 and 1802 were granted their own title to land, and eight of these were ex-convicts.
