Jess McGeachin, South with the Seabirds, A & U Children’s, September 2024, 40 pp., RRP $26.99 (hbk), ISBN 978-1761068645
Short Listed for the 2025 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Eve Pownall Award.
McGeachin introduces the reader to Mary Gillham who from a young age was fascinated by strange plants and animals and went on to become a naturalist. She wanted to visit some of the more isolated places in the world but had to fight societal pressures which thought that kind of adventuring was only for heroes and adventurers, not women. Macquarie Island in the sub-Antarctic was her aim, and through persistence she achieved her wish. Three other women joined her on this initial 1959 voyage with the eyes on the world on their achievements. On the island, they each followed their specialty. Hope Macpherson and Isobel Bennett were marine biologists and studied the coastal waters. Mary Gillham documented the seabirds. Susan Ingham’s interest was in the seals which had been extensively hunted for their fur and oil. Everyone watched the penguins. All four women were disturbed by the damage created by the feral species introduced from 1870. These have now been removed, and Macquarie Island was declared pest-free in 2014. During the nineteenth century the island was a destination for the exploitation of its animals.
McGeachin’s wonderful watercolour illustrations of plant, bird and animal life complement the double-page spreads depicting the island, and tell the reader so much more than just words could achieve. This book is an excellent introduction to early women scientists, who determinedly forged new grounds. There is a brief summary of each woman’s life; there is a timeline of Macquarie Island; and tips for young naturalists to get started in their own backyards. The endpapers show a clearly labelled map of the island: great use of this space.
Highly recommended.
Reviewed by Maureen Mann
