A MOORABOOL author will share the story of one of her English ancestors, and the challenges that came with moving to the region, at a free session this weekend.<\/p>\n
Jenny Trewhella has lived in Bacchus Marsh since 1996, but it was at Blackwood where her great grandmother made home in the 1850s, after moving from Cornwall.<\/p>\n
Ms Trewhella said her great grandfather, Ben, had moved to the area in 1854, mining at the Garden of St. Erth, but it wasn\u2019t until 1858 that his wife Betsey and their children came over to join him.<\/p>\n
While Victorian history from the period is full of stories of miners trying to make their fortune striking gold, Ms Trewhella said the wives and children back home are less often talked about.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was common in Cornish history that husbands all did this, because the tin mines had run dry. There was no income coming in, so they started coming over here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot has been recorded about the Trewhella brothers and their mining and engineering achievements, but I wondered about the lives of the women and children.\u201d<\/p>\n