A NEW historical publication is expected to be released in time for Bathurst's 205th birthday next year.
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Dr Robin McLachlan was recently approved to receive $27,000 from Bathurst Regional Council to help cover the design, editing and printing costs of his new book.
The historian has been studying, compiling and publishing Bathurst's history for a number of years and has authored three significant publications on the subject.
READ MORE: Doctor to dig deeper into city's history
He said the new book will essentially be a "consolidation and expansion" of his previous work.
"With the proposed book, I hope to bring all of this previous work together into one substantial book, attractively designed and presented," Dr McLachlan said.
"I have also uncovered new information about the settlement and have new thoughts on some of my earlier interpretations, which I will include in the book.
"As well, my intention is to include a comprehensive collection of original maps, plans and artwork, all dating from the period covered by the book - 1815 to 1840s."
People can expect to read the stories of those who lived, worked in or visited Bathurst in its early years.
In order to gather this information, Dr McLachlan had to utilise both official and private records, as well as newspapers and archives, and piece together fragments of information he uncovered.
"There will be accounts of officials, convicts, soldiers, mounted police, men, women and children, and even a pig or two," he said.
"I will be guided by a quote from an American folklorist, Elbert Hubbard, 'History is gossip well told'."
The book is intended to be launched on Proclamation Day next year, which is officially May 7.
Council expects to recoup its $27,000 contribution in book sales and, once that occurs, it will enter into a 50-50 profit sharing arrangement for any subsequent sales.
Dr McLachlan's interest in Bathurst's history was the result of "a chain of circumstantial connections", which started after he came to Australia in 1972 as a Canada Council Doctoral Fellow.
He studied for a doctorate in Far Eastern History at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra.
From ANU, he moved to Bathurst for a lecturing position at Mitchell College (now Charles Sturt University), offered to him by Theo Barker, who introduced him to Bathurst history.
"Bathurst provided the ideal location for teaching in what was then a new field in Australia, public history," Dr McLachlan said.
"I was soon drawn to the enigma of the first settlement. It was clearly an important site in the history of Australia - the first inland colonial settlement - yet it was seemingly unknown to the wider public."
