Little Lost Girl

This is a work of fiction.

Balmain is a suburb of Sydney where we lived for seven years. Our house was like the cottage described in this book. We bought it as told here. Our pleasure living in it and in Balmain are real.

However, while many locations and parts of the history of Balmain are true, some locations and most characters are fictitious. For those interested, the factual information behind this story is in the Appendix at the end of the book. More information on Balmain and adjacent parts of Sydney is available from sources such as the Balmain Public Library, the State Library of NSW and the Balmain Association.

The purpose of this novel is not to merge fiction and historical fact, but to use some historical facts from Sydney's early development and a range of geographical locations around Sydney Harbour as a canvas onto which a work of imagination is painted. Parts of the canvas are known facts from my early family history, or the history of the area. These are like occasional dots of paint giving reference points and shadowed outlines. All the intervening layered detail to make this word picture has been created within my mind. If some parts approximate but differ from history or current reality, this is entirely accidental. I apologise if it causes offense through appearing to misrepresent true facts.

The idea which became this novel began soon after we purchased our much loved Balmain cottage. We discovered a sepia photo of a small girl who had lived in the house about 100 years ago. Later, in a writing class, I was shown an ornate perfume bottle, and asked to imagine a story based on it. I pictured it as the treasured possession of the girl whose photo we had found and jotted down headings for a series of scenes which told her story. Those points, imagined over five minutes, are now this novel. It is an imagining that I hope gives pleasure. This is the purpose of this book.

Rodgers Family

Archibald – Great Grandfather of Sophie – came to Australia from Scotland in 1841, builder of the first Balmain house, 'Roisin', in 1842

Hannah – first wife of Archibald – came to Australia in 1841, died in 1849, her children are James, John (deceased before coming to Australia, Archibald (deceased 1849), Alison, Hannah and Alexander

Helen – second wife of Archibald, children are Margaret (deceased 2 weeks after birth) Helen, (grandmother of Edith), Agnes and Anne

Alison – daughter of Archibald and Hannah, grandmother of Sophie, married Charles Buller

Maria – daughter of Alison and Charles Buller, mother of Sophie, wife of Jimmy Williams

Edith – (narrator's aunt), great granddaughter of Archibald Rodgers, through second wife, Helen

McVey Family

Tom McVey– Employer of Archibald and a family friend. Builder of the second Balmain house, 'Ocean View', in 1843

Mary – Wife of Tom, friend of Hannah, surrogate mother to Alison

Buller Family

John Buller – close friend of Archibald, joint business owner of Engineering Works in Sydney

Charles Buller – son of John, husband of Alison Rodgers, father of Maria – mother of Sophie and wife of Jimmy Williams

Williams Family

Michael Williams –Welsh migrant, builder of 1870 Balmain house, 'Casa Ardwyn', father of Jimmy

Rosa –wife of Michael, daughter of Sophia, mother of Jimmy

Sophia –wife of ship's captain, Edward Martin, of Spanish descent from Philippines, mother of Rosa, grandmother of Jimmy

Jimmy – father of Sophie and Rachel, husband of Maria

Sophie –central character to story, born 1900, missing since 1908

Rachel– younger sister of Sophie

Sarah – daughter of Rachel, half cousin to narrator's Aunt Edith

Ruthie –aboriginal friend of Alison

We bought ourselves a new old house – a magical timber cottage

It made us feel most welcome – gave a sense of a loving home

It seemed we belonged here – soon making it into our own

We glimpsed a hidden story – deep buried and held fast

It told about a little girl who lived here in a century past

This child went off to school one day and never did come back

It seemed to all who looked so hard she'd vanished through a crack

For years and years her family searched, seeking her elusive soul

Emptiness was all they found – she'd vanished and left a hole

Loss carried on, down years and years, as generations passed

The memory slowly dwindled, fading out of view at last

We heard her voice call out one day seeking help for her return

We joined the search; it drew us in, new people in this place

Across a century of time and space a presence led us on

At last we found a vital clue, lost story of her grandmother

And as we walked on hidden steps her family became our own

Now, at last, after all that's passed, we've safely brought her home.