The city of Portland is the oldest European settlement in what is now the
state of Victoria, Australia. The bay was named in 1800 by the British navigator
James Grant, who sailed in the Lady Nelson along the Victorian coast. "I also
distinguished the Bay by the name of Portland Bay, in honour of His Grace the
Duke of Portland," wrote Grant.
In historical publications we often find the pioneering men mentioned, this
publication is about the early pioneer women of the region. Published in 1934 to
commemorate the Portland Bay's centenary, this book brings to life the life of
these early pioneers, firstly with a few articles on various pioneers together
with extended biographical details, secondly with a "Roll of Pioneer Women of
the Portland Bay District", arranges alphabetically by married name, usually
with maiden name, and sometime with a year and ship, or occupation. A number of
portrait photographs are also included.
Some of those included are: Mrs Stephen George Henty; Mrs George Godwin
Crouch; “Worthy Pioneers: Mrs Alexander Laurie”; a dozen or so names in a group
chapter, including Sarah Jane Wadmore; Mrs Charlton Hedditch.
While not a large publication, this is certainly an important one in
recording the early female pioneers in the district together with a history of
the time.
High quality scanned images of the whole of the original book. This CD has
been bookmarked for easy navigation, and pages can be searched, browsed,
enlarged and printed out if required.
