Island Women

This book, originally written as a PhD thesis, evocatively explores the experiences and memories of a group of women living in the Furneaux Islands, Australia, between 1910 and 1960. The Furneaux Islands, consisting of approximately 70 islands, are located in Bass Strait between mainland Australia and the island state of Tasmania. The book is an oral history, which draws on the women’s voices to tell a story of pioneering, isolation, family and the emergence of a sense of pride and identification with the islands. The book argues that physical and emotional isolation had several results including the development of a close and mutual dependence among women within the family, the evolution of an extensive community social life and, ultimately, active efforts to overcome the potential for cultural isolation. Their lives were lived in an extraordinary location; nevertheless, they remained Australian women typical of their time and class.