Sara Powter worked with her mother, Sheila Hunter researching their family history. They discovered many wonderful Australian Colonial stories from the four Convicts they found in their tree through this research. Sheila thought the stories were too good to forget, so she penned an Australian Colonial Trilogy, which Sara had printed after Sheila’s death in 2002.
Read More
Sara now continues the retelling.
Weaving fact with fiction tells of the amazing and intrepid souls who worked together to make our wonderful country the fabulous place it is today; the convicts turned adversity to advantage! Stolen from their loved ones in England, they worked and were rewarded with ‘Tickets Of Leave’, each becoming some of Parramatta’s and Emu Plains’ leading citizens. Like many untold convict stories, there was often faith behind them. Their strong Christian Faith was taught to each generation.
She writes, “Over 200 years have passed since the first arrival of our family on this beautiful but rugged shore. Each day I come to love it more. Lee Kernaghan’s song “The Odyssey” sums it up! This country’s got a hold on me! I will never regret that they came as convicts! I’m proud of that!” They were ripped from their parents and children’s loving arms, never returning; most were sent for very petty crimes. It made them strong and resilient, and determined to do the best they could for their family!
The retelling of Charles and Sal’s story mirrors John Ellison’s and Sarah Watkins story. They were my GG Grandparents, along with Joseph Huff and Amelia Harlow. They regularly attended St John’s church in Parramatta. Without their faith and example of Christian love, their children and grandchildren may have followed different paths.
Sara is married to Stephen Powter. They have two grown children. Stephen, an Anglican Minister, is recently retired. She loves to fish and he to surf, so you may well see them travelling up and down the Pacific Coast of the Eastern States of Australia in an old caravan with rods and Surfboards boards under their 50 year old tinny! They live on the Central Coast of NSW.
Stores:
Books Included:
- Hands Upon The Anvil (The Locklyeys Of Parramatta Book 1)
- Out Where The Brolgas Dance (The Locklyeys Of Parramatta Book 2)
- Diamonds In The Dirt (The Locklyeys Of Parramatta Book 3)
- The Earl’s Shadow (The Locklyeys Of Parramatta Book 4)
- Once A Jolly Swagman (The Locklyeys Of Parramatta Book 5)
- Jonty’s Journey: A jeweller’s adventure in search of the diamonds in his life. (The Lockleys of Parramatta Book 6)
- Dancing To Her Own Tune (Unlikely Convict Ladies)
- Amelia’s Tears (Unlikely Convict Ladies)
- The Vine Weaver (The Convict Stain Collection)
- Waiting At The Sliprail (The Convict Stain Collection)
- No More, My Love (The Convict Stain Collection)
Hands Upon The Anvil (The Lockleys Of Parramatta Book 1)
A love story, in more ways than one.
Parramatta in the 1830s is a small town where convicts and ruffians abound. But for those who are willing to work for it, there are opportunities around every corner. The Lockley family are determined to embrace every one of them.
Read More
Charles Lockley quickly becomes a trusted member of the community. After helping quell a mutiny on the long journey from England, he is granted a Ticket of Leave and becomes the Government Stores Keeper in Parramatta whilst also running an Inn with his wife Sal.
As their families future, and their faith, is intertwined with their new homeland where the class system of old is almost non- existent, their second son Eddie, a hard working blacksmith and will become the unassuming hero.
Out Where The Brolgas Dance (The Lockleys Of Parramatta Book 2)
GOLD IS FOUND AND SO IS LOVE
How can one simple question change so many people?
It’s the 1840s, and discoveries across the Blue Mountains continue. Major Mitchell’s new road is complete, towns are planned and being built. Abundant land is available for those who want it.
Read More
William “Wills” Lockley, 18, has laid a solid foundation for a respectable career as a blacksmith, but the Lockley lust for adventure flows deeply within his veins. He dreads the monotony of work at the blacksmith’s forge and yearns for adventure in a new frontier.
Wills meets six Englishmen who have the means to make his dreams come true. What they discover change the Colony and their lives forever. Gold fever ensues.
Now on the road West, Wills has to deal with an uncertain romance.
Does she even want him?
Diamonds In The Dirt (The Lockleys Of Parramatta Book 3)
DIAMONDS, LOVE AND MONEY
but there’s much more to life.
Luke, the youngest Lockley son, has completed University, and his life has no direction. No job, no money and no love. Desperately alone, he prays for guidance, and his brother Wills turns up with a suggestion. Reverend William Clarke needs assistance on a Government Mineral Survey. Would Luke be interested in joining the expedition? The challenge, adventure and their finds are life-changing for many. However, it gives Luke meaning, purpose and direction.
Read More
How can Luke trust God has a plan for him if he can’t even work out how to get a job? He does the only thing he can… he prays.
Within a week, life has changed… oh how it has changed! The condition of his heart problems also takes a turn. Can he walk away?
The Earl’s Shadow (The Lockleys Of Parramatta Book 4)
WHAT or WHO IS THE ‘SHADOW’?
How does it affect so many?
Charles & Charlie’s stories
Charles is the Earl of Coxheath, he spends his youth as a convict in Parramatta, only to discover he was an Earl and didn’t know. He had little education and few social skills. Now faced with his own mortality, he has to work out how to live the remainder of his life after a near-death experience. He is called to step way out of his comfort zone in London. His action will change the world for many.
Read More
The echoes from the past still haunt his oldest son, Charlie. London is calling the family, and they can’t put off the trip.
How does Jim, the Cobb and Co coach driver, fit in? And precisely what is the ‘Earl’s Shadow’ that he speaks about? Can handing everything to God be that simple?
What happens if the ‘Shadow’ is gone?
Once A Jolly Swagman (The Lockleys Of Parramatta Book 5)
What mysteries do the black Billy Can hold?
Parramatta 1870s
Rick Lockley is sad that his family has plotted his life for him. He’s only seventeen, and his entire life, including whom he’ll marry, is seemingly taken from his hands. The family won’t listen, so he runs away. Years pass, Rick has worked continually, picking up odd jobs. He is heart sore and returns home to the love of his life, arriving wiser and broke. He has, however, collected some valuable friends, Dylan, Mac and most importantly, Jack, a jolly swagman.
Read More
Rick knows little about Jack, the old swagman, who protected him during his years on the road. Rick understands Jack has secrets, but Rick trusts him. The old man comes to live with them. However, his story is revealed only on his death. Jack leaves Rick his precious Billy Can. Its contents finally reveal who Jack really is, but it contains more than that.
Stunned by the revelations contained in the Billy, Rick knows they must travel to England to finalise Jack’s wishes. He discovers love, betrayal and a tenuous link to his own family. Rick finds there is much more to learn about this enigmatic man.
How can Rick and his family do justice to Jack and the fabulous bequest?
Jonty’s Journey: A Jeweller’s Adventure In Search Of The Diamonds In His Life (The Lockleys of Parramatta Book 6)
What mysteries do the black Billy Can hold?
Parramatta 1870s
Rick Lockley is sad that his family has plotted his life for him. He’s only seventeen, and his entire life, including whom he’ll marry, is seemingly taken from his hands. The family won’t listen, so he runs away. Years pass, Rick has worked continually, picking up odd jobs. He is heart sore and returns home to the love of his life, arriving wiser and broke. He has, however, collected some valuable friends, Dylan, Mac and most importantly, Jack, a jolly swagman.
Read More
Rick knows little about Jack, the old swagman, who protected him during his years on the road. Rick understands Jack has secrets, but Rick trusts him. The old man comes to live with them. However, his story is revealed only on his death. Jack leaves Rick his precious Billy Can. Its contents finally reveal who Jack really is, but it contains more than that.
Stunned by the revelations contained in the Billy, Rick knows they must travel to England to finalise Jack’s wishes. He discovers love, betrayal and a tenuous link to his own family. Rick finds there is much more to learn about this enigmatic man.
How can Rick and his family do justice to Jack and the fabulous bequest?
Dancing To Her Own Tune (Unlikely Convict Ladies)
With deeply scarred hearts Annie and Sam need answers
Sydney 1790s to England 1830s
Annie White, freed after serving her seven years as a convict in Sydney, gets a visitor who will change her life. She starts a baking business, and just as it’s making a profit, she’s then asked to assist another freed convict, named Sam Corbett. Annie nurses him back to health, and they settle into a life together, barely making ends meet; she realises she’s pregnant.
Read More
Sam has his own past laid bare, and he must adjust to the revelations. They both must face their accusers, and they find that the answers to their questions are not what they thought.
Their life experiences seem to cling tightly to them both, unable to shake it; finally, they end up back in England, facing their ghosts and discover they are not who they think they are.
How can they turn their anger and spite into love and forgiveness?
The Dance of Life goes on.
Amelia’s Tears (Unlikely Convict Ladies)
Parramatta 1828 – England 1840s
FEMALE FACTORY PARRAMATTA
In the convict Female Factory, Amelia awaits her assignment. Forced to leave, she must face her worst nightmare. The man’s foul breath and black teeth reflect his soul’s darkness. From the outset, he is violent and abusive. Things get even worse over the next few months when Amelia discovers she is expecting a child.
Read More
A glimmer of hope arises when she hears from her brother, Jim, who has enlisted a friend’s help to contact her. She writes to Jim, pouring out her heart and telling him of the horrors of her new life. He encourages her to stay firm in her faith. All she can do is pray.
When Ned, another of her brother’s friends, comes into her life, things begin to change, yet challenges remain. How can Amelia forge a new life for herself? What man could possibly want her with her background and a child at her side? Can Amelia ever find true love?
The Vine Weaver
Hawkesbury River area 1820s+
In the 1820s, Australia, Joel and Hetty Walker live on a secluded farm on the Hawkesbury River which becomes a healing haven for the protection of young convict women.
Read More
A series of events brings Fran Rea to the attention of Hetty, and she is taken to the farm. Fran and Hetty develop a cottage industry under the compassionate eye of farmhand Hector Macdougal; Hector’s loving words change lives. It is to him that Fran turns when threatened.
The vines now must draw them close to survive the future revelations, and of those, there are many.
Waiting At The Sliprail
The Bathurst Road 1830s
A Convict’s Tale
Bea Dawes’s term of conviction nears an end, and she has few options other than marriage to a stranger or going on the street.
Read More
Jack Barnes, the hired drover, wants a wife. Bea accepts his offer; then she discovers that he could be gone for months, leaving her alone with Billy and Netty, part of the tribe of aborigines who live on his secluded farm. Bea learns to love her husband and also this wonderful aboriginal couple.
Drought ravages the farm, and Jack must hit the long paddock with the flock. In his absence, a visitor arrives, destroying everything she has worked so hard for.
Can Bea cope? Will the drought ever end? And when will Jack return?
No More, My Love
NO MORE, MY LOVE
Hunter Valley, NSW 1820s to England 1840s (NB – New Cover)
Jess Elkin is distraught when tragedy ravages her family. She becomes the victim of a carriage accident and is nursed back to health by the driver, Marcus Ryan.
Read More
Marcus was not expecting to fall in love. Yet, when Jess’s fortunes take a sudden turn for the worse, Marcus must decide how far he will go to pursue her. As time passes in Newcastle, Australia, Marcus must take a business trip and is taken by pirates. Jess is left wondering if her will keep his promise to return to her…
Will she ever see him alive again?