They Came in Hope

They Came In Hope is more than simply the EvansCriddle family historyalthough it comprehensively traces the threads of these families of whom the author and his wife are part.More than that, however, it is a socio-economic history of significant worth. In seeking to give substance to the people that comprise these families, Graham Evans has also extensively researched the life and times of each of the main branches from which these two families descend, and the industries in which they worked. As a result this book opens windows onto a wide scope of English and Australian historythe life of the peasants in East Anglia; the mostly forgotten trades of wheelwrights and coachbuilders; framework knitters caught up in the Industrial Revolution; convict transportees and bounty immigrants; the rush to the goldfields to dig or to serve the diggers; various trades and professions in the flourishing colonial years following the goldrush and the early years of the young Australia.Accordingly They Came In Hope is a valuable and interesting story depicting many facets of Australian life from its earliest days to the late twentieth century.