In loving memory of my mother-in-law
Anaseini Didrua Barrack
Aids to reading
E-Books have a great ability to be more interactive than paper books although this is at the cost of not being able to curl up with a book on a cold winter's day. To help the reader, a number of devices have been employed.
There are three methods for navigating this site. On the left is a Java Script navigation bar which drills down to sub-topics. Click on the triangle and a sub-menu will drop down. If you do not have a Java enabled browser, there is a drop down navigation dialogue box at the bottom of each page. Finally, there are buttons that will take you between chapters and return you to this page where there is also an index.
Every person mentioned in the story is linked to a brief biography of that person. Because of the availability of information, the length and depth of biographical information varies. If you access this biographical information, you can return back to the text from were you called up the biography. This is so you never lose your place.
Each footnote has both a popout with the information contained within it. In addition, if you click on the footnote number you will be taken to the end of the page with the reference. You can return back to the text by another click.
The chapters relating to Murder and Trial have the original source attached as appendices. Since the original sources were trial transcripts, the information is disjointed. The chapters have placed all the information into a single chronological order which allows you to read the story as it actually unfolded. Footnote references go straight to the newspaper report where the passage is to be found. You can return back to your text with a click.
The appendices contain all the primary source documents upon which this biography is based. There is a complete set of known correspondence between Thomas Adams and the authorities. In addition there are the newspaper reports on the trial of Yates. These items have been included to assist people in locating primary source material should they wish to go to the archives. At least there is a starting point.
If you wish to read the whole book in text form, you can open it by left clicking your mouse on KUDNARTO - TEXT VERSION and or right clicking your mouse and select Save Target As ... on the dialogue box. The whole file will download in a .txt format.
It is hoped that these steps make your reading experience an enjoyble and interesting occasion. Feel free to write your comments. Click on the Webmaster below and you can send an email.
In producing this book, there are many people who have been involved in the production process.
Firstly, I would like to thank all those people from the Adelaide community who assisted and encouraged me in every way to put this work together. More specifically, the good people who make up the Meewee Community Coalition Inc. and especially the calm leadership of Donny Smith.
Next is the support from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. They have generously provided a grant to allow this book to be finished. Also various staff members have been very helpful with their suggestions and this was always greatly appreciated.
Thanks must also be given to the South Australian Archives and the Mortlock Library who gave me complete assistance whenever required. Regardless of their limited resources, the staff have always been happy and cheerful to render any assistance I could possibly require.
Appreciation is also given to Mrs Janette C. Shepherd the Assistant Keeper of Archives at Leicestershire County Council Record Office who was only too happy to assist me from such a great distance in giving me profiles of Leicester as it was last century.
Furthermore, Dr Andrew White, the Curator of Lancaster City Council Museum Services has also rendered useful service.
Additional research on Adams and Yates was made possible by the assistance of the Archives of Tasmania.
The inspiration for the book came from Dr Robert Foster from the History Department at the University of Adelaide. Added to this was the encouragement received from Philip Morrissey, formerly the Director of Aboriginal Programs at the University of Adelaide and now a lecturer in English at Melbourne University.
I must give thanks to Peter Vervoorn whose suggestions were always helpful and very appreciated.
Finally, and most importantly, I must give the greatest thanks to my former wife, Luisa Waqa O'Connor whose untiring encouragement gave me the strength to research and write despite the turmoil of daily life going on around me.