The Dempsters by Rica Erickson

Book Description

Secondhand. Very good condition. Minor wear to book corners and edges. Minor marks on foredges. Dust jacket has wear to the corners, particularly the top right front cover and the top left back cover. Some fading at spine and top back cover. Dust jacket is now in protective cover. Interior and binding are still very good. Signed by Rica Erickson. Rare copy.

In a colony where individual families played a prominent part in its development and history, few can claim to have pioneered in so many diverse fields as the Dempsters. Few can still say that their activities spanned the entire period from the Swan River Colony's founding to the first days of Australian Federation.

The Dempsters' interests ranged from shipping and coastal trading to merchandising, from whaling to farming, from sandalwood to pearling. They explored some of Western Australia's harshest regions and successfully established a pastoral station in the isolated Esperance region. They organised searches for gold and promoted new farming methods.

They were community leaders and active in politics. They built historic homesteads and founded families that carried on their ancestors' work. The partnership of Dempster brothers Edward, Andrew and James, withstood the stresses of vastly different temperaments. (book flap)