Aa Fishburn

Cowper Aa Fishburn

The accident that took his mother and father crushed but did not break him. David Cowper, bereft of parents and inheritance, discontentedly endured living with squabbling relatives throughout his teenage years. He had dreams of better things, but dreams unlikely to be fulfilled where he lived in northern England. Reaching twenty years of age he had to get away, somehow strike out, make a better life for himself. Soon, far-away Australia beckoned. The decision made, now determined, he inveigled his way by cunning aboard ship as husbandman to the livestock it carried and arrived, after an unexpectedly long voyage, at Newcastle, New South Wales. Finding work, he saved hard, bought equipment and eventually purchased a run-down property in the hinterland on which, strong now in both body and mind, he set out to build a farm of his own. Once established and self-sustaining, he expanded his holdings further. Then, with no warning, Eliza Brackenridge burst into his workaday life. Discovering deep, unfamiliar feelings, in very short time he was in love with this lovely young widow. Now he could also build a family. Years of toil rewarded him with a significant estate and good standing in his town but tragedy again found him; after nine children he lost firstly his boy, Freddie, then his beloved Eliza. This almost broke him; she had been the delight of his life. Everything else became a virtual blur. After years of grief, suddenly he found a second love. Out of tragedy, the Cowper enterprise had succeeded. After eventually fathering fourteen children he could approach old age with the satisfaction of having created something special; it had not been easy but those youthful longings had not been in vain. Cowper had indeed a significant legacy to leave.