by Téa Cooper
Not so strangely, nineteenth-century maps led me to Ludwig Leichhardt and the many other explorers who disappeared during that time. Imagine my excitement when I discovered that Ludwig Leichhardt had spent time exploring the Hunter before he set out on his ill-fated expedition to cross Australia from east to west.
Local historical sources informed me that many people in the Hunter had sponsored Leichhardt’s various expeditions and not only that – a copy of the map he made of his Essington expedition was in the local museum!
Off I went on my own journey of exploration. I tracked down Leichhardt’s diaries (available through the Mitchell Library and online via The University of Queensland) and sure enough Leichhardt had visited the Hunter and the Broken Back Ranges, an area I know and love, and more importantly he’d climbed Yellow Rock.
The property, Yellow Rock, does exist, though not in the manner I have portrayed. I was unable to gain access or contact the current owners, and then in that wonderful, serendipitous fashion that seems to haunt my research I was put in touch with a member of the family who had originally owned the property.
The Ludgrove and Maynard families are figments of my imagination, and I have woven their early story through Leichhardt’s travels in the Hunter.
And then there’s Andrew Hume and the Leichhardt relics. Andrew Hume is not a fictional character. He arrived in Australia as a child, his father worked as a stockman on the Halls’ property at Dartbrook, NSW and he spent many years exploring the interior. His parents did own a shop in Maitland and then moved to Largs and they are buried in the area (although for fiction’s sake I moved their resting place a few miles down the road). After that things get a little vague and varied. Was Andrew Hume ‘a rogue and a scoundrel’ or was he telling the truth about the Leichhardt relics? We’ll never know because he died before he could prove his claims. I stuck to the reported facts until almost the very end when I took the liberty of offering a totally imaginative ending.
And so to Evie’s fictional map—for the sake of continuity between the two timelines I have used the modern spelling, for example the 1883 map of NSW shows Muswellbrook as ‘Muscle Brook’. Leichhardt’s journals also include many and varied spellings and I have also standardised those.
Perhaps most importantly, I learnt from researching The Cartographer’s Secret that fact truly is stranger than fiction!
Acknowledgements
Firstly I would like to acknowledge the Wonnarua People as the Traditional Owners of the land on which this story is set and pay my respects to Elders both past and present.
As always there are so many people I must thank, not only for their help in turning a very confused first draft into a book but also for their interest and willingness to share snippets of information which became integral to the plot along the way.
Carl Hoipo, Chief Historian, for introducing me to the map of Leichhardt’s expedition to Port Essington; Denis Brown, Chief Engineer, for his advice and extensive knowledge of all things mechanical, including the Model T; Lynda Marsh for tracking down Andrew Hume’s parents; Luke Russell, Cultural Director, Wylaa Buuranliyn for advising me on the story of Lizard Rock; the Pynes for their advice and assistance with stock routes and snaffle bits; Chief Researcher, who is also my hand holder, plot wrangler and alpha reader; and critique partners Sarah Barrie and Paula Beavan for their support in more ways than I can count. And Jane, whose lurcher, Mouse, inspired Oxley.
The wonderful Alex Craig, my editor and my saviour, who seems to understand my plot better than I do—thank heavens! It is a privilege to work with her and I live in constant awe of her ability.
Jo Mackay, my publisher, who is always there for me and manages somehow to unscramble whatever seems insurmountable, Annabel Blay who keeps me on the straight and narrow when the time comes to turn my manuscript into a book, the fabulous sales team who embrace my stories with such enthusiasm and take them into the world, and, of course, the brilliant Darren Holt and the HarperCollins Design team who continue to produce the best covers an author could wish for. I am truly blessed.
And finally, to my wonderful readers, thank you for all your support, reviews, emails, encouragement and enthusiasm. Without you my stories would languish in some forgotten drawer, a bit like Evie’s map!
ISBN: 9781489299581
TITLE: THE CARTOGRAPHER’S SECRET
First Australian Publication 2020
Copyright © 2020 Tea Cooper
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