Memories of our important maritime past once sold as a photocopied document, have now been developed into a handsome volume.
Originally written as a university thesis over a decade ago, Gordon de L. Marshall’s work has now been published as a complete volume. Written in conjunction with the late Les Douglas, the third generation of an Albany maritime family, the thesis had once been available to buy in photocopied version from the Albany museum.
After catching the eye of ex-Albany businessman Mr. Tom Saggers, who decided the format did not do the book's content justice, it was reviewed, updated and published. Today both paperback and limited-edition leather-bound hardback copies are available.
With the assistance of Albany residents and former residents, Gordon de L. Marshall’s book covers the era between 1820 and 1939, during which period Albany functioned as the base for a fleet of locally owned steamers.
Written by such a maritime history enthusiast, it is impossible not to become infected with the enthusiasm underwriting Maritime Albany Remembered. Hand drawn maps, double page spreads of a scuttled coal hulk Copeland, and not to mention the particular importance of vessels such as the schooner Grace Darling and the ex-swan river ferry Silver Star. Amongst the wealth of information which provides a unique insight into Western Australian coastal history, Gordon also includes enticing stories of an abandoned whaleboat rumoured to be under a curse and a mysterious inscription found at Esperance believed to be made by survivors of an early Dutch wreck.
Even more sensational is the tale of how research for the book led to an amazing discovery of the wreck of the Sarah Burnyeat in Albany Harbour, since declared to be the best preserved nineteenth century wooden hull in Western Australia.
Maritime Albany remembered is an informative and fascinating account of Albany’s most important industry, extensively illustrated with many previously unpublished photographs from private collections, this book tells just about everything that anyone would want to know about maritime Albany and more.
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