A BOOK about Bathurst history will be launched this week.
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The book, 'Fair Delinquents'? Irish Famine Orphans of Colonial Bathurst and Beyond, shines a light on the little-known 185 Irish Famine orphan girls who arrived in Bathurst between 1848 and 1850.
Authors Leonie Glynn Blair and Dr Perry McIntyre collaborated for three years to research and produce it.
The book is said to be provocative and raises the question of why impoverished adolescent Irish girls of the Earl Grey immigration scheme were insulted and treated in such a hostile way by the colonials.
Being part of the first and largest immigrant ethnic minority in Australia, they experienced strong anti-Irish sentiment and colonial prejudice in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.
Most of the 185 girls who came to Bathurst were selected by the authorities, but some were banished to Bathurst by the Sydney courts for misdemeanours in the city.
The book profiles their lives and reveals their resilience and enduring contribution to the community.
The official launch event is invite-only, but the book will be available to buy online from the Eitherside Publications website.
There are also plans for it to be stocked in Books Plus Bathurst.