Read at the Meeting of the Rovers, March 6, 1884, Bellegarde, Hobart. (Prologue)
Dedication: I dedicate this truthful narrative to My Brother Rovers past and present; whose many good qualities and sterling worth I have proved; whose friendship I prize; and whose unbounded charity has covered the multitude of faults, borne with the thousand failings of The Author. Hobart, 6th March, 1884.
The 'Rovers' came into existence in January 1859, since when, with but few breaks, they have annually spent their fortnight's holiday in sailing barge or in Frank Rush's fishing boat, coasting all the way to Cloudy Bay in the south to Maria Island on the east. The personality as well as the numbers of the 'Rovers' were a changing quantity, but there was no change in their bond of brotherhood. It will certainly be of interest to the reader to know who the 'Seven Rovers' of the following narrative were, so I append their names:- Rev. George Clarke, John Mitchell, R.M. Johnston, Fred J. Salier, Tom Whitesides, P. Oakley Fysh, Charles E. Walch. The three brothers of the crew, Fred., Tas., and Val., bore the surname Johnson. (1908): 67.
