Bucasia’s Doug Petersen launches vast Mackay history Salt Air & Sweet Soil
A Queensland historian celebrated the launch of his vast local history book surrounded by the families who helped him write it. Read how he was able to uncover stories ‘they didn’t know themselves’.
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A Mackay man has launched his vast, 800+ page history of the Northern Beaches surrounded by the families who built it.
Hosted by ABC’s Tegan Philpott, the event allowed Mr Petersen to give an overview of his lengthy history to the people who helped him write it.
“It’s their history,” Mr Petersen said.
“There’s about 1500 surnames in the index.
“And I think they’re all happy it’s getting recorded.
“They found out things they didn’t know themselves.
“We were expecting about this many (people, as they’re) a lot of the older families who I’ve got stories from.”
Mr Petersen said his book, created over “countless cups of tea”, was a collection of stories rather than an academic tome.
A sample chapter was distributed, focusing on the life of Father Pierre-Marie Bucas, after whom Bucasia is named.
Father Bucas was a Catholic missionary from Brittany, France described by Archbishop James Duhig as having “the heart of St Vincent de Paul and the courage of Napoleon”.
He travelled to Mackay in 1869 to settle the area for an orphanage, as well as a short-lived reserve for displaced Indigenous peoples.
Salt Air & Sweet Soil includes 366 words and 80 phrases in the Yuibera language, collated by Mr Petersen from settlers like Father Bucas.
A Brittany flag was on show at the event, which Mr Petersen said he had “claimed as the flag of Bucasia”.
Though the book is priced at $75 due to the hundreds of pages and images, its author said they had received around 100 pre-orders already.
Mr Petersen said it was “a relief” to get to celebrate his tribute to the old days and old families of Mackay.
“It’s been a labour, but (I’m) happy to get it done,” he said.
“History hangs on.”
Salt Air & Sweet Soil: A Colloquial History of The Mackay Northern Beaches can be pre-ordered by emailing dougpetersen@bigpond.com
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