Over the past months I have been working on a book project with my father – Gordon Mayocchi. My great-great Uncle, Edmund Juniper, wrote the story of his early years before he died in 1985. Edmund moved from England to Australia in 1908 with his rather large family. Above there is a photo from ~1918 of him with two of his sisters – Nellie Juniper (dark hair, and also my great Grandmother) and Jessie Juniper. The cover of the book features Jack Snr. and Mary Juniper (my great-great Grandparents). Though the manuscript needed a lot of work to bring it to a publishable state (and we are proofreading for final corrections now), it is a book which made me think. There were two main points of extended thought (though there is a lot more to the book!).
- It demonstrated a degree of community and family unity which seems to have diminished as the world pursued economic and political goals centred on individualistic principles.
- The contrasts in life between England and Australia, and also between the Juniper family’s life and my lifestyle, were thought provoking in too many ways to detail here.
The book project was significant to me because it was shared with my father. I think it special to have been able to do this with him. It has also inspired me in various ways to begin working on a new writing project of my own. What will come from these writings I am yet to discover, for the moment the flow of ideas and research is enjoyable.
The Knotted Thread: A tale of Australian pioneers in the early 1900s
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