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| Jacqui Grantford, Allan Jones (Nancy's grandson) and Tracey displaying the book at the launch- Nov 26th, 2012 |
Hello and welcome to my first blog post.
To begin, I would like to introduce my newest picture book. 'Nancy Bentley, The First Australian Female Sailor' illustrated by Jacqui Grantford, and published by New Frontier Publishing Nov 2011.
This is the beautiful and true story of six year old Nancy Bentley, who was bitten by a whip snake in the penal colony of Port Arthur in 1920. Desperately ill and far from medical help, Nancy's father rowed her out to the H.M.A.S Sydney which fortunately happened to be docked in the harbour. Nancy was
taken on board the ship and treated by the Ship's surgeon. In 1920, the King's Regulations and Admiralty Instructions didn't allow for women to be on board a naval ship. In order for Nancy to remain on the ship and seek medical assistance, she had to be enlisted into the Royal Australian Navy. One month after her 6th birthday, Nancy Bentley became Australia's first female sailor.
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Jacqui and Tracey showing illustrations and photographs that are in the book.
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Tasmanian author Norma Spaulding, joined Jacqui , SophiaWhitfield (New Frontier Publishing) and myself to celebrate the launch.
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| Jacqui, Sophia, and Tracey at lunch after the launch enjoying a wine. |
On the 25th November, 2011, alongside Jacqui Grantford, and Sophia Whitfield (NF Publishing) we celebrated the launch of this wonderful book. Surrounded by a large gathering of Nancy's family, it made for a remarkable launch filled with many stories and memories passed down to the family of Nancy's exceptional 8 days in the Navy.
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