Acknowledgement

Inspired by the non-fictional, historical lives of Sir Joseph Banks, Nicolas Baudin, Captain William Bligh, Matthew Flinders and John Macarthur, this 'coming of age' story is set at the dawn of the nineteenth century. It describes Charlotte, an English orphan, being saved from unimaginable misery by a young Irish Catholic priest, Reverend Sean Simmons. Charlotte cannot dream that she is about to embark on a fantastic journey that will take her from the manored estates of gentrified England to the brutal convict settlement on Terra Australis. Navigating the mire of desperate circumstances and characters she encounters along the way will test her mettle and spirit. Yet, meeting the strange and enigmatic Charlotte will also test every person who encounters her on the journey in unpredictable and uniquely different ways. Charlotte, it appears, brings change; nothing is the same again - least of all, the future Australian colony she longs to call home.