![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() I knew immediately that she would become the character of James Stack’s sister Aileen. She was sentenced to seven years labour and transported as a convict to Van Diemen’s Land, now known as Tasmania. She also found herself circling the character of another Irish immigrant, a soldier who married one of the Finnegan daughters.Īllan found the process of researching this historical fiction fascinating, and says that “real stories showed themselves like gems in a pond, and where I thought they would add to the story as a whole, I included them.” She cites the detail of “a 12-year-old girl arrested for stealing a handkerchief in Dublin. ![]() Unearthing facts about the murders, Allan learned that the Finnegans were attacked in their sleep, and their bodies buried in the back garden of their cottage in Otahuhu. Beside four member's names are the words 'murdered, The Otahuhu Murders 1865', the murderer's name and the date he was sent to the gallows. The book, released to acclaim in May this year, is based on a dark spot in Allan’s family history.Īt the top of Allan’s family tree are eight members of the Finnegan family: the first of her ancestors to arrive in New Zealand from Ireland. English alumna Rosetta Allan has just published her first novel, Purgatory. ![]()
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