John of the Sirius

by Doris Chadwick

In "John of the Sirius", we are introduced to John and Sue, who depart from England for Australia on the 'First Fleet'! John's father is a Captain of the Marines and the children belong to the small group of marine's children who emigrated to Australia. Along the journey we learn of life on a ship, the diet and monotony. We 'visit' the various places the First fleet 'put into' on the long voyage to Botany Bay. John always manages to become involved in adventures. The book concludes with the Fleet's arrival in Australia and the raising of the flag in Sydney Cove, 26th January 1788.

Genres: Fiction, Australia, Childrens

244 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1955

Reviews

[Christina Baehr · Rating 2 out of 5]

After hearing this book recommended for years, I was thrilled to get a copy and read it to my girls during our history read-aloud time. We read a lot of historical fiction, from people like Rosemary Sutcliff, Geoffrey Trease, Ian Seraillier, and Marguerite d’Angeli. Yes, my expectations were FAR too high. JOHN OF THE SIRIUS provides a child-centred travelogue style narrative of the voyage of the First Fleet and seems to be factually accurate. If that is what you are after, ok. But if you are after stirring prose, well-drawn characters, and a window into the mindset of 18th century humans, you will be quite disappointed.

I do take my hat off to Nora Chadwick for her research. But I feel that a more skilled vintage Australian author due for rediscovery is Nan Chauncey, whose home and property you can still visit in Tasmania today.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

"John of the Sirius" was first published in 1955 and, as with most older books for children, it was brilliant. (The book has been out of print and difficult to find - and even harder to afford - until last year when 'Living Book Press' obtained the rights to republish the series.) The book tells the story of John's journey to Australia on the first fleet of ships in 1788. The story is not told from the perspective of the convicts, but rather John, the son of high ranking marine on the Sirius with Commodore Arthur Phillip. John is placed in the thick of all the key events, which allows the readers to experience the story of Australia's colonisation. I read this story aloud to my children and they thoroughly enjoyed it and are eager to read the next book in the series.

[Ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful living book for children to learn first-hand about the journey from England to Botany Bay from the perspective of a child of a red-coat. My 7 and 9 year old begged me to read this to them every day and cannot wait to read the next one.

[Mariah H · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly recommend this to anyone wanting to know a bit more about the first fleet. I especially recommend this to children, or for parents to read to children. Very entertaining and fun.

[Merinda Van De Kamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read-aloud about the voyage of the first fleet to Australia from a child's perspective. My kids enjoyed it!