Historian Charles Bean described the Leanes as “the most famous family of soldiers in Australian history”, and they were used as a poster family for recruitment in the First World War. But these Aussie diggers were separated by only one generation from humble Cornish farmers, who sought godliness not glory when they sailed to Australia in 1852. When Wendy Frew opened the genealogy cupboard to learn more about her martial ancestors, out fell a bunch of fiery evangelists and women’s suffragists who embraced all the opportunities on offer in the new colony of South Australia. Frew places her family at the crosscurrents of history – mass immigration, colonisation and war – and reveals a complex true story that will resonate with the descendants of Australia’s early free settlers. Leane Times is a vivid account of personal courage, triumph and tragedy. When Wendy Frew opened the genealogy cupboard to learn more about her martial ancestors, the Leanes, out fell a bunch of fiery evangelists and women’s suffragists who embraced all the opportunities on offer in the new colony of South Australia. Leane Times is a vivid account of personal courage, triumph and tragedy.
xii, 194 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, 1 genealogical table, portraits ; 24 cm