Mark Hutchinson, historian, remarked to me on 26
September 2010; ‘what a fascinating history! It always amazes me the degree to
which Australia has been a page across which the history of the whole world has
been written. Spanish conversos, Atlantic triangle investors, Anglican
remittance men…fascinating stuff! I wouldn’t be too quick to shy away from even
the slave trade involvements – it is all part of the history, and the only
‘good’ in history is whether we have learnt to do better. Most of the English
respectability was heavily implicated in all those less-than-desirable
attachments – it is the nature of human societies. We are all implicated all the
time. I do hope you will go ahead and write that history for your daughters!’