Two Rivers Press book launch for “The Kind Hosts of Willie Wimmera”, with author Mary Chambers

Two Rivers Press will launch Mary Chambers’ new book “The Kind Hosts of Willie Wimmera” at Watlington House on Saturday 11 July at 2pm, as guests of Reading Civic Society.

Willie Wimmera, an Aboriginal boy, was ten years old when clergyman Lloyd Chase brought him from Melbourne to Reading in 1851. Tragically, he became ill and died only a few months after his arrival. He is buried in Reading Old Cemetery, his grave marked ‘An Australian boy’.

A member of the Wotjobaluk People from the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia, Willie couldn’t have been further from home – or in a place more different. What was he doing here? Who knew him and where did he live?

With information gleaned from the 1851 UK Census and other primary sources, Mary Chambers will paint a fascinating picture of Willie Wimmera - creative, curious, affectionate, and sometimes rebellious – and his ‘kind hosts’, the people closest to him during the short time he spent in England.

There is a connection between Willie and Watlington House, as he dined here as a guest of Captain Edward Purvis soon after his arrival in England. So it is very fitting to be telling Willie’s story here!

Mary Chambers is a proof-reader and copy-editor specialising in linguistics and anthropology, and is a volunteer researcher at the Museum of English Rural Life. She lives in Reading, and has always been fascinated by the histories of the people who lived their lives in the streets around her.

Two Rivers Press publishes poetry (classic and contemporary), local interest (about Reading’s people, history, places and culture), and art (wildlife and botanical) books. The press celebrated its 30th birthday in 2024. About Two Rivers Press – Two Rivers Press