Above the Starry Frame

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Number of Pages: 370

William Irwin was an Irish farm boy who came to Australia alone in 1849, aged 18. As a refugee from Ireland’s Potato Famine, he left behind a world of poverty and set himself up in the heart of gold rush Ballarat, one of the wealthiest 19th century cities in the world. A digger and publican, he was swept up in the events leading to the Eureka Stockade. William’s family was left behind in Ireland. He never returned home, though his family continued to write to him. His great grand-daughter, Helen Townsend, recovered 54 of these letters which span 40 years, and it is from them that she draws powerful inspiration for this book. ‘Above the Starry Frame’ re-imagines the life of William Irwin. It is also a biography of one of the first truly modern cities, and a moving examination of the impact of migration on those who leave and those who stay behind.