D.M. Sadleir, OAM, is closely connected with the Royal Australian Navy and is a past Chair of ANTaR, Armidale, a local community group involved with the Anãwan Aboriginal People. The research for this book was extensive, talking over five years of searching, not only for the answer to Who the Hell is Phyllis?, but finding the correct Aboriginal place names on which the protagonists walked, including the Aboriginal servants who worked for the Wheatleys. The author’s first book, Jewels of New England, Vol 1 was published in 2017; Vol 2 will come out next year. In the meantime, NED will be launched in mid-2024, and Emma Eugenia – Bride Ship will be launched in 2025.
Vivienne’s diary delves deep into the societal intricacies of the early 1900s, where the newly minted Royal Australian Navy drew its cultural moorings from the upper echelons of the Royal Navy. In 1916, a heart-wrenching tragedy shatters the façade when Vivienne, the Headmaster’s elder daughte...