February 10, 2019

Chapter 1949 came to completion today as a first draft and I was pleasantly surprised with the result, although it will need a thorough edit. The project has moved to 60,000 words, and I move into 1950.

Completing 1949 required research into the 1949 Melbourne Cup, won by Foxzami on a heavy track. I discovered a film of the race, resources around the racing colours on the day and information on the horses, and several newspaper reports that gave me opportunity to add authenticity to the novel's scene.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/78636127
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I also learned the ship that carried passengers across Bass Strait in 1949 was the SS Taroona and it was interesting to read the history of that particular ship.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Taroona
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At the time of leaving Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital, there was a Hepatitis outbreak among staff and Mum was a victim, but she refused to stay for treatment and boarded the ship to Devonport, I believe in part to escape an engagement with a young man.
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Now, I move into 1950, the year Mum, as a free-wheeling nineteen year old, spent working and cycling and travelling around Tasmania.