I have been blessed in the writing of this book by the help of Wendy Holz, a dear friend of many years’ standing and also—by happy coincidence—a librarian at the State Library of New South Wales who assisted me in negotiating that library’s archives and online systems and left no stone unturned in her pursuit of sources, suggestions and references. Also, my grateful thanks to Caroline Wilkson, historian at the Sydney Hospital, and Rosemary Sempell, parliamentary archivist at New South Wales Parliament House, both of whom so generously shared with me their time, knowledge, resources and enthusiasm. Thanks are due also to the staff of the Mitchell Library and at the Benevolent Society, Sydney; to my publisher, Annette Barlow, and my agent, Clare Forster, for their continuing support, guidance and belief in me; to my editor extraordinaire, Ali Lavau, who always cuts so incisively right to the heart of the matter in ways that challenge me to be a better writer; to my dearest friend and supporter, Tricia Dearborn; and to all the wonderful people at Allen & Unwin and Curtis Brown for their assistance, support, expertise and encouragement during the editing and publication of this book. And, lastly, to that fine institution, the Australia Council for the Arts and its people who continue to provide me with encouragement and inspiration and who—when we are not too busy—allow me the space to write, in particular Carolyn Watts and Michelle Brown.

The following publications, histories, memoirs and online resources proved invaluable in the writing of this book:

Australia’s First Hospital: The First 100 Years by Caroline Wilkinson (Friends of Sydney Hospital, 2005).

Australia in the Victorian Age: Life in the Cities by Michael Cannon (Thomas Nelson, 1975).

Fractured Families: Life on the Margins in Colonial New South Wales by Tanya Evans (UNSW Press, 2015).

Guide to the Records of the Benevolent Society of New South Wales, 1813–1995 by Paul Scifleet (Benevolent Society of New South Wales, 1996).

Hansard: Eighteenth Parliament, Second Session, 21 February to 30 March 1899.

Hansard: Eighteenth Parliament, Third Session, 11 to 21 April 1899.

The History of Parliament House, Sydney by J.R. Stevenson (Royal Australian Historical Society Journal, volume 42, 1957).

‘Parliament House, Sydney’, an address delivered by W.K. Charlton, Clerk of the Parliament, July 1944. Parliamentary Archives reference 97 472.

Shady Acres: Politicians, Developers and Sydney’s Public Transport Scandals 1872–1895 by Lesley Muir (Halstead Press, 2007).

Station Names: Date of Opening, Closing and/or Change of Name, Meaning or Origin of Name by J.H. Forsyth (Sydney State Rail Authority, Archives Section, 1993).

‘The Colony’s First Parliament House’ by Donald Ellsmore, in Australia’s First Parliament (Parliament of NSW, second edition, 1995).

The Icons of Australia’s First Hospital: A Tour of Sydney Hospital by Caroline Wilkinson (Friends of Sydney Hospital, 2008).

I have quoted directly from the following speeches and editorials:

‘Federation from a Woman’s Point of View’, Sydney Morning Herald, 6 June 1899, p. 10.

‘Premier’s Southern Tour’, Sydney Morning Herald, 14 June 1899, p. 7.

‘Proceedings in the Legislative Council’, Sydney Morning Herald, 22 February 1899, p. 7.