Colonial frontiers and family fortunes

Biography & Memoir History Australiana

Colonial Frontiers and Family Fortunes brings together five respected Australian historians—Jane Beer, Charles Fahey, Patricia Grimshaw, Melanie Raymond and Jane Marjorie—to trace how settler families carved livelihoods on Victoria’s colonial edges. Their 1989 illustrated volume blends biography with broader Australian history, revealing the hopes and hardships that shaped the state’s first frontier communities.

The University of Melbourne Press textbook spotlights convicts, free settlers and Indigenous encounters, making it a handy reference for students of Victorian colonialism or anyone curious about true stories from the 1800s. Richly illustrated images amplify personal narratives, grounding national themes in everyday family fortunes won and lost down south.

This vintage 1989 paperback remains clean and tightly bound; only light spotting near the title and a small stain on the inside front cover hint at its age. Pages are unmarked, smoke-free and ready for immediate reading or shelf display.

A solid addition to any Australiana, history or biography collection, Colonial Frontiers and Family Fortunes offers authoritative research without academic jargon—perfect for adult learners, educators or family-history enthusiasts seeking authentic insights into Australia’s colonial past.