The wearing of the green by Claire Saxby
A beautifully crafted historical novel, The wearing of the green, by well-known author Claire Saxby, is a heart-warming and heart-wrenching story about the arrival of Irish famine orphan girls in Melbourne in 1850. The arrival of our heroine Biddy Blackwell on the Eliza Caroline sits against the backdrop of early colonial Melbourne just after Victoria's separation from New South Wales. This period of history was a time of social and political upheaval with the arrival of overwhelming numbers of immigrants to the new colony of Victoria, the discovery of gold, the opening up of pastoral land and the very real hope of building a new and prosperous life.
The story of Biddy's quest to start a new life and find her brother Ewen is cleverly interwoven with the action, characters and settings shining a light onto aspects of the times including racism, classism and gender expectations. This historical detail is brushstroked across the storyline in an uncontrived manner resulting in a very rich and authentic portrait of the times.
Biddy is a thoroughly likeable, smart and resourceful girl. The third person narrative allows the reader to see the world of the Immigration depot in Williamstown, the miserable farm of the cruel Mr Morrison, the country of the Waddawurrung people west of Melbourne and the markets, streets, canvas-town settlement, courthouse and the beginnings of the suburbs of Melbourne to the then boundary - Richmond through Biddy's observant eyes. The cast of characters include Biddy's fellow Irish girls, Miss Carmichael, their benevolent caretaker, the abusive farmer Mr Morrison, his two miserable wives, the beautiful but doomed child Annie, Kanyul, the aboriginal girl, various minor characters from the market, river and courthouse, Mr Owen, an Irish journalist who becomes her employer and possible future and her brother, the hot tempered Irish activist and his new family.
Fittingly, the cover of The wearing of the green features a photograph, reminiscent of a classic painting in its lights and shadows, of a young girl in the dress of the period with a green ribbon in her hair - a portrait of innocence, serenity and vulnerability. Within the front matter Saxby quotes AJP Taylor, The Trouble Makers: Dissent over Foreign Policy, 1792-1939 , 'All change in history, all advance comes from non-conformity. If there had been no troublemakers, no dissenters, we should still be living in caves.' Biddy is the daughter of a dreamer and a realist. She is a solid combination of both - a rock. Ewen her brother is the activist, who fled Ireland when pursued by bailiffs and continued to be active in Irish civil disobedience and rebellion in Australia. The shamrock and wattle (both full of symbolic meaning) make appearances as breaks within the text. A copy of the lyrics of The wearing of the green, a traditional Irish folksong dating back to the Irish rebellion of 1898, is included in the endpages.
The wearing of the green is highly recommended as a class novel and excellent model text for teaching the genre of historical narrative. It is recommended for Year 5 level as the subject matter is early colonial history as studied in year 5 ACARA. Comprehensive teacher notes are available.
Themes: Colonial Melbourne, Irish immigation, Racism, Classism, Gender expectations, Settler/ Aboriginal peoples relations.
Wendy Jeffrey