Welcome aboard…

Why were two streets in different hemispheres given the same name?

After an unsuccessful visa application brought me back to the UK from Garramilla/Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory, I found myself contemplating a new life in Dundee, Scotland. There I discovered a coincidence of naming that would occupy me thoughts for the next 8 years and counting.

Ellengowan is a dual adventure following the author and a name across the world and back. The historical narrative is populated with missionaries, mill workers, sugar planters, customs officers and quarantine patients and takes place across Norway, Scotland, New Guinea and Australia, following the route of the SS Ellengowan. The personal story is an adventure in (un)learning what it means to belong: to the people and places you love, and to a culture founded on extraction, displacement and exploitation.

Ellengowan Logbook is a way for supporters to keep up with progress on the book. It’s a way to continue some of the conversations I’ve started with the wonderfully helpful, wise and supportive people I’ve met through the journey so far and be a source of accountability and encouragement along the way.

You can expect notes on writing process, little pieces of research that are probably too tangential to make it into the book, and other things I’ve not thought of yet.