A great-aunt’s bequest – a 200-year-old grandfather clock – sends historian Graeme Davison on a journey deep into his father’s family’s past. From their tribal homeland in the Scottish Borders, he follows them to the garrison town of Carlisle, from industrial Birmingham to Edwardian Australia, and from the Great War to his own suburban childhood. This is the story of an ordinary family’s journey from frontier warfare and dispossession through economic turmoil and emigration to modest prosperity. At each step, we are led to reflect on the puzzles of personal identity and the mystery of time. From the family clans in the Border lands to the industrial cities, Graeme traces the history of a family through hundreds of years. As he comments, this type of family history allows us to trace the history of a town, a city or even a country at the same time. Based on a lifetime of creative scholarship, My Grandfather’s Clock: Four Centuries of a British-Australian Family, is a moving testament to the power of family history to illuminate the present.

This event will be held at the Lancefield Mechanics’ Institute, High Street, Lancefield. Doors open at 1.30 pm and Graeme’s talk will begin at 2.00 pm. Cost for the event is $35.00 which includes country style refreshments including tea and coffee, local beers and wines.