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Reaching Through Time
By Shauna Bostock
Published by Allen & Unwin
ISBN 9781760879884
Bundjalung* woman Shauna Bostock's family story is certainly an interesting one. It is no wonder that when she began delving into the history of her ancestors she couldn't stop and continued until she gained a PhD in Aboriginal history.
To her great surprise and amazement she found out from her Uncle that their family are descendants of two generations of English slave traders, with the surname of Bostock. As her Uncle exclaimed when he phoned her, imagine if they knew that some of their descendants are Aboriginal and mixed race.
The way this is described one can only conjure up their shocked and horrified look on their faces in the mind's eye, especially as there is a hint of a third generation who described in writing to another family member that his life and the way in which he treats the indigenous people who work for him, could be akin to slavery.
Interestingly some of the thoughts of appropriate propriety by clergy and other members of society which they sought to impose at the time, were clearly not in agreement with all the British and Irish settlers.
Reading the complexities of this family can be confusing at times, but then when families had eleven or more children in some generations it's not surprising, especially when one son had what appears to be two Aboriginal wives perhaps a wife and a mistress with children born from both relationships and their descendants.
Shauna Bostock's research has been extensive and meticulously carried out as she describes not only the generations but their off spring and their often congenial relationships with local Aboriginal communities in Northern NSW, Tasmania and other regions.
It is rather amusing reading the anecdotes and interaction with a few local historians and museums.. All were eager and happy to help share their knowledge with her. One instance that made me smile was when an historian referred to a colleague, a well-informed researcher that could have been of great help that the author was told she had just missed, When she asked for his phone number, was told oh, no he died two weeks ago. It was quite understandable that it seemed the deceased colleague had just popped out or gone home for the day.
Intertwined with a detailed personal family history we read about the story of the settlements in the colony, removal and resettlement of the original population in areas that is not generally known.
For anyone who loves Australian history and genealogy, particularly across the racial divide, they are likely to find this an interesting book to read. However, remember this is a personal family story as opposed to the general history of early life in Australia which may not be as enthralling to outsiders looking in.
* The Bundjalung country is on the southern border region of Queensland and in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales.
The Author
Shauna Bostock is a former primary school teacher, Her curiosity about her ancestors led her to further studying all the way to a PhD in Aboriginal history.
This is independent review, I am not paid by the publishers, so.If you
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