In 1826, partly as a means of curbing disorder and brutality in bush living, Governor Darling established the area known as the 'limits of location' within which colonists could see land grants, but beyond which they could not. The line on the map, however, presented no real restraint. The contributors to this book reveal different approaches to creating a colony. Using the rich collections of the Mitchell Library, the authors go beyond the traditional sources of history, highlighting the personal stories revealed through family letters, and creative interaction with the landscape through poetry and drawings. The roles of Aborigines, missionaries, women and migrant workers are explored, and all stories return to the way the newcomers created a sense of place as they settled in this new world. This publication is supported by the NSW Chapter of the Independent Scholars Association of Australia.

Table of Contents:
List of illustrations Foreword Elizabeth Ellis Why this collection? Acknowledgements Introduction: setting the scene Gretchen Poiner and Sybil Jack Surveyors and the creation of location in New South Wales Sybil Jack Flora in view Helen Hewson Belonging: the meaning of place for women in the early settlement of New South Wales Gretchen Poiner A very benevolent society Marilyn Dodkin Portrait of a family: the lost art of letter writing Audrey Tate and Margaret Bettison Early Indian workers in the Australian colonies Marie de Lepervanche People and place: terms of inclusion in a colony’s history Christine Jennett ‘Make a light’: Aboriginal economic contributions to the emerging nation Gaynor Macdonald Baiami and the Bible: religious encounters in early colonial Australia Ian Keese ‘An other world’: Albert Tissandier at Jenolan Caves Susan Steggall The ethnomania of R.H. Mathews: anthropology and the rage for collecting Martin Thomas Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index About the contributors Timeline