Tasmania : Women, History, Books and Places

In 1792 Louise Girardin ¿ disguised as a French sailor ¿ was the first white woman in the waters of Van Diemens Land (Tasmania). She was followed by Martha Hayes who stepped ashore in 1803 among the first British settlers and convicts; she was the pregnant 16 year-old mistress of their leader. But Aboriginal women had already lived there for perhaps 40,000 years. The first to be named in exploration literature is Ouray-Ouray; the best known is Truganini, erroneously called the last Tasmanian when she died in 1876. In the 1960s, Aboriginal rights became a live issue, often with women in the forefront, as they were, too, in conservation. This book gathers together these strands, and that of a vibrant women¿s literature, linking them to place an island of still unspoilt beauty and unique flora and fauna.Hoe, Susanna is the author of 'Tasmania : Women, History, Books and Places', published 2010 under ISBN 9780954405663 and ISBN 0954405668.