Michael Veitch

A terrific insight into life aboard an immigrant ship for those who took the perilous Journey from Ireland, Scotland and England to seek a new life in Australia. I started this and just couldn't put it down, the hardship and conditions these people had to put up with on a 90 day journey was just heartbreaking and we must remember their courage and foresight as they forged better lives for their children and grandchildren and indeed for their families left behind as they sent the money back show more home to better the lives of brother and sisters and the generations yet to come.

I was lucky enjoyed to have been given a gift of this book by a friend who obviously thought very carefully when choosing a gift of a book for me as this is is a story that really floats my boat (pardon the pun).

This is the the true account of the Plague Ship Ticonderoga and one of the most calamitous voyages in Australian history and also a wonderful insight to life in Scotland in the mid 1800s and how these people were drove off their lands by greedy landlords and forced to immigrate. I leaned so much from this book and am so glad I had the opportunity to read it.

The author’s Great- Great - Grandfather was one of the passengers aboard this ship and you can feel his passion as he recounts this heartbreaking but informative true story. Not only was his great great grandfather a passenger but a doctor who put his own life at risk to save and care for so many of the passengers who became ill and It comes across in the story how proud the author is of his great-great-grandfather and I am sure that his ancestor would be just as proud of his great-great-grandson’s re-telling of this amazing story.
A great read and a book that will stay with me a long time from now and another book for my real life book shelf. show less

The strange thing about reading the work of an enthusiast, is that after a while the author becomes more of a puzzle to unlock than the subject matter itself. Veitch comes across as socially awkward for most of the book as he travels and explores the history of the islands of Bass Straight. He attempts to link the various accounts of the many islands together by the consistent retelling of a mythical story he heard as a boy that allegedly took place on Deal Island. However, it never quite show more works. The book is interesting enough, and so is the author, but his anecdotes never quite hit the heights that good travel writing reaches. show less

A strange book to find in a second-hand book shop. It reads like a paid writing assignment from the CSIRO to mark the occasion of the ship's retirement, rather than a book written for commercial success. Interesting read at times... but something made to flick through rather than read cover to cover.