Pioneers and Painters
In the years leading up to 1971, the centenary of the Eltham Shire's birth, the Council felt that the publication of a Shire history would fittingly mark the century of achievement. Well known author Alan Marshall, who was an Eltham resident, took on the task and the end result was the wonderful Pioneers and Painters book. As part of his research, Marshall reached out to many people including Peter Cuffley (who was his source for information on Thomas Sweeney) and my uncle Jack Carrucan (who was also very knowledgeable about the early days of the Shire).
Pioneers and Painters
is a wonderful history of the early settlement of Eltham and the
surrounding towns - Kangaroo Ground, Queenstown, Panton Hill,
Christmass Hills, Yarra Glen, Kinglake. It is still generally available
for purchase at second hand bookshops and via online vendors and I
would recommend it to everyone.
This book is also the first
to acknowledge Thomas Sweeney's early footprint in the Eltham district
and his pioneering settlement at Culla Hill.
The following
letter from Marshall to Peter Cuffley, dated 19th November 1970,
acknowledges Peter's contribution to his book and generally discusses
Thomas Sweeney. His letter ends with the words "What you should do is
later on write a book dealing with the Sweeneys. It would be most
interesting."
It took Peter another 55 years to fulfill that request, with The Sweeney Family of Culla Hill Eltham finally published in February 2025.
Note that the planned mutiny was on the 1823 voyage of the Isabella, contrary to what Alan Marshall suggests. He was a friend of my Uncle Jack and so didn't want to mention that Thomas was sentenced to hang.
For completeness, here are the 2 pages in 'Pioneers and Painters' that refer to Thomas Sweeney:
Tim Erickson, Monday 21 July 2025