A history of real tennis (also known as royal tennis) in Australia, beginning with the establishment of Australia's first court on Davey Street, Hobart in 1874 by Samuel Smith Travers — the author's ancestor — who went on to write Australia's first treatise on the sport in 1875. Real tennis is the ancient predecessor of modern lawn tennis, played on an enclosed court with an irregular shape and rules that trace back to medieval France and Henry VIII's England.
One of the most unusual primary sources in Van Diemen's Land history — the first-hand account of William Gates, an American from New York who was transported to Hobart as a political prisoner in 1840. Gates was one of the "Canadian Patriots" — a group of Americans and Canadians who invaded Upper Canada in 1838 in sympathy with the Canadian Rebellions of 1837, supporting those seeking independence from British rule.
Poet and writer Phoebe Wilson reflects on different aspects of Tasmania including Bicheno, Campbell Town, O'Brien's Store, Mervyn Houghton Wright, Ross, Table Cape, the Shell & Antique museum, Lake Dulverton, Oatlands, and Clyde Goldsmith.
Jackee Ashwin tells her personal story of hiding the shame of teenage pregnancy in 1970s Australia, giving up her baby for adoption, and the guilt that accompanied her life thereafter.
Remembering a Tasmanian Hero - the Life of Major Justin Hutchinson is the story of a young Tasmanian from Hamilton who was posted to the 9th and 3rd Light Horse Brigades, serving in Gallipoli, before being transferred to the 58th Battalion; he was killed at Fromelles in July 1916, aged only 21.
![Real Tennis in Hobart – The Pioneers | Richard Travers | 2021 [NEW – SC]](https://onlinestore.bookcellar.com.au/images/T/real-tennis-in-hobart-K1X4Fq.png "Real Tennis in Hobart – The Pioneers | Richard Travers | 2021 [NEW – SC]")
![Recollections of Life in Van Diemen's Land | William Gates (one of the Canadian Patriots) | George Mackaness (Ed.) | 1961 | Numbered 127/135 | Signed [USED – SC – Parts 1 & 2]](https://onlinestore.bookcellar.com.au/images/T/recollections-life-william-gates-TIgsDo.png "Recollections of Life in Van Diemen's Land | William Gates (one of the Canadian Patriots) | George Mackaness (Ed.) | 1961 | Numbered 127/135 | Signed [USED – SC – Parts 1 & 2]")
