Alan Atkinson
Alan Atkinson is a journalist, author, editor who has long lived and worked in South Australia. He began his journalist career on The Scotsman in Edinburgh, followed by the Guardian in London. In Australia he wrote for the Advertiser before joining the ABC as a reporter and then becoming a senior producer in Adelaide. He is now a freelance author and editor. His previous non-fiction book was called Three Weeks in Bali, an eye-witness account of the 2002 terror attacks in Kuta. His work as a journalist has brought several awards, including a Walkley nomination and inaugural Journalist of the Year in SA. The Trials of Billy Freeman is his second book.
History
The Trials of Billy Freeman
The Trials of Billy Freeman is the true story of the author's newly discovered ancestor - a former child convict who was sent to Port Jackson for stealing cheese, then gained his freedom and travelled to South Australia with Charles Sturt. His colourful life included marrying a free-settler called Sarah, having many children, owning land in the Adelaide Hills, farming, butchering and working as a mail main. The whole time he lived under the shadow of "convictism" - and in middle age his world came crashing down when he and Sarah were gaoled in Adelaide for arson. Billy was an unsung battler who helped build South Australia - not in the corridors of power but in the dust and dirt of the Adelaide Hills.
Author's Website
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