‘Are you sure you want to take your wife and children?’ William asked his older brother. ‘Have you not heard the stories about Hobart Town and the bushrangers that attack people when they journey on the connecting roads? I’ve heard stories of convicts in chain gangs being beaten. And of the bodies of those who’ve been hanged, left to rot on the streets. It is not the town of our childhood, James. And Sadie has only just recovered from the bee attack.’
James Jr shifted position; he took his hands off his hips and relaxed his arms by his side. His face softened and the furrow which seemed permanently glued to his brow disappeared. ‘Perhaps you are right. I did notice some unsavoury changes the last time I was there. The convicts are unruly, and the free settlers are not happy. Besides, the
