International Research Project and Publication

Over the past 72 years my father George Nelson had been researching the life of his Great GrampaThomas Shadrach James. Yes, even as a 7 year old boy, his interest was peeked. However this research was done in a time when there wasn't internet, fast planes, digitised records and telephones -- so his search for Grampa's story was difficult to say the least and brought forth very minimal information.

In 2006 I travelled to Mauritius with my then 73 year old father. This was an opportunity to meet our family there, interview family members. After this visit, my interest was peeked and so I continued on from where dad's research left off here in Australia; but then also took the search across the Indian Ocean to Mauritius and India.

In 2010, in partnership with Professor Heather Goodall of the University of Technology in Sydney, and partly funded by AIATSIS for a 12 month period, our research under the title of Families & Heroes: George Nelson & the International Pathways of an Aboriginal Family History was as opportunity to continue my fathers work. Heather's advice, support, guidance has been invaluable to our journey and we will be eternally grateful to her for her generosity. We also have some wonderful people in Mauritius who have been supporting us with our search for family documentation for the past 6.5 years now (since our 2006 trip there). And others in India providing valuable advice to us.

And now, after three research trips to Mauritius since 2006, and much work over years by our Mauritian friends (archival researchers and academics) well experienced in Mauritian Archival Research, we have completed our research work....and have gathered a vast array of information, historical documents, uncovered mysteries, found stories of great courage against greater adversity, and great tales of adventure.

My father's part-thesis, the materials he collected over 72 years, along with the vast array of documentation and evidence I have gathered over the past 7 years in Australia and internationally, have all been compiled to create a wonderfully rich, uplifting, and powerful story. The resultant book is something we are so very proud of; our work is now complete; and we are sure that Grampa James, our many other family ancestors that have come into this story, including my beautiful mum Brenda Nelson nee Morgan, a wonderful Yorta Yorta woman, would also be very proud of. They will atleast know that they are never forgotten. Their stories live on.