The Cromartys of Port Stephens

This is an historical novel based on the lives of William and Cecelia (Sissey) Cromarty and their children. William and Sissey are said to be the first free settlers in the Port Stephens area, about 180kn north of Sydney.

William and Sissey were born late in the eighteenth century in South Ronaldsay, one of the Orkney Islands... William arriving in Sydney in September 1822 and Sissey arrived with two children, Elizabeth and William, two years later on the convict ship Phoenix. Three more children were born in New South Wales. My grand-children and I are descendants of their last born, Cecelia.

After a long academic career, Dr Leslie Kilmartin is now a writer living in Melbourne. This is his first venture into biographical writing. William Cromarty is his three times great grandfather.

For a biography of William Cromarty, see his book The Elusive Captain William Cromarty.