'Rose Isabella Paterson gave birth to a boy, Barty, in 1864. That child became the famous balladeer, Andrew Barton 'Banjo' Paterson. Barty was the first of seven children who lived on Illalong station, a property near the New South Wales township of Binalong, where Rose spent most of her married life.
'In this book, we enter into the rustic world of late nineteenth-century pioneers, where women endured continuous cycles of pregnancy, childbirth and recovery, and the constraints of strict social codes. Rose faced the isolation of Illalong - 'this poor old prison of a habitation' - with resolute determination and an incisive wit. Her candid letters, written throughout the 1870s and 1880s, to her younger sister, Nora Murray-Prior, reveal a woman who found comfort in the shared confidences of correspondence and who did not lack for opinions on women's rights, health and education. Here we see a devoted sister, a loyal wife battling domestic drudgery with scarce resources, and an affectionate mother whose parenting approach embraced 'a little judicious neglect & occasional scrubbing'.
''Looking for Rose' recreates the world of Rose Paterson and, within the rhythm of her life, the bush childhood of 'Banjo' Paterson, which ultimately found a place in some of Australia's best-known verses. ' (Publication summary)
'In April 1873, at Illalong near Binalong in New South Wales, Rose Paterson felt her isolation desperately, writing to her sister Nora in Queensland: 'I am in a state of semi-starvation for want of news. We might as well be on a desert island as here for all we know of the doings of the rest of the world or even our own family.' (Introduction)
'In April 1873, at Illalong near Binalong in New South Wales, Rose Paterson felt her isolation desperately, writing to her sister Nora in Queensland: 'I am in a state of semi-starvation for want of news. We might as well be on a desert island as here for all we know of the doings of the rest of the world or even our own family.' (Introduction)
