When I was young I had no interest in family history. I became an Accountant initially because it was something I was very good at, and it paid the bills. I actually enjoyed it for many years and I worked with some really wonderful people. I started to research my family's history after my parents had passed away. That is when I discovered my convict heritage and the amazing characters who had come to Australia as free settlers. My quest began some 25 years ago, and I am still researching with a thirst to find more. I have written many stories about my convict ancestors and they have been privately published in the newsletters of the Rope Pulley Family Heritage Association. As part of my historical research I have become fascinated by the lifestyle of convicts, their clothing in particular. I have done many presentations about my clothing research. The book I am writing about that will be published later.

Everyone who does family research knows that there are terrible road blocks. In order to escape the frustration of these I would leave one branch and go to work on another. Consequently, I have compiled large family trees. I have started writing books about my research for each line of the family but I will not publish all of them. The books I am publishing are about some of the characters I have found during my explorations of these trees. The people are not necessarily in a direct line back from myself. I find that cousins of my direct ancestors are just as interesting as my ancestors themselves.

I have discovered stories which reveal flamboyant people who did not shy away from life's confrontations. This has inevitably led to many litigious battles. I am so glad it did because these court cases have been reported in newspapers and law journals. All of these records allow me to hear the voices of my ancestral family, and to understand how they felt about things happening in their lives.

There are quite a few relatives who were famous for a short while in their time but most of them have been lost to living memory. They walked alongside some much more famous people who you may recognise as you read. I have attempted to show all of these people as the human beings they once were. People who were simply interacting with others in their family and social sphere. I try not to be too judgemental of any of these folks as I did not walk in their shoes. I recognise that my understanding of the times they lived in is limited to whatever reading material has survived. With those reservations in mind, I present what I find and reveal some of my thoughts about the events and the behaviour of those involved. The reader can judge the characters for themselves and the worth of unveiling this history.