ELIZABETH PULLEY SETS SAIL AND OTHER STORIES: INTRODUCTION


 INTRODUCTION

Elizabeth Pulley was one of the approximately 778 convicts transported in the First Fleet to Australia from Britain in 1787, arriving in in Australia in January, 1788.

This series attempts to present the story of Elizabeth Pulley and her husband-to-be Anthony Rope from Elizabeth’s point of view.  It is a mix of documentation and story, with the aim of imagining what life would have been like for them at the time. It first began as The Story of Elizabeth Pulley and her first five years in Australia which I began to write for my family in 1999.  In 2019 I decided to edit and publish it online as a series. .The series also attempts to address the devastating impact this arrival on the First Nations peoples of this country.  With this in mind I have more recently set up a facebook page, Rope-Pulley Descendants for Reconciliation,.

The original family research from birth, marriage, death, church, cemetery and land records. was begun by my mother, Madge Rups (nee Rope) in the 1970’s, 1980’s and 1990’s.  I have extended her research to explore Elizabeth's and Anthony's story in time and place.  Some of the sources, including books and articles, I used for my own initial research can be found in the Bibliography.  Other references can be found in the stories themselves.

In memory of Madge (Rope) Rups (1921-2015) 
at the First Fleet Bicentennial Memorial, Brighton-Le-Sands
G/Kamaygal country
(photo: A. Maie)

Aboriginal peoples need to be aware that this series may contain names of deceased persons and material that is highly upsetting.

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