West Australian authors Peggy Holroyde, AM, and Joyce Westrip, OAM, will discuss their new book, Colonial Cousins, and explore some of the intriguing early connections, spicy tales and strange happenings between India and Australia during the past two centuries.
Do you know, for example, that wealthy tycoons in Calcutta, including the Tagore family, formed a syndicate and bought a strip of land along WA’s south-west coast and named it Australind? Their objective was to source timber for the Indian railways and to breed horses here for the Indian army.
Prominent early WA families - such as the Drake-Brockmans, the Foulkes Taylors, the Prinseps and the Morleys – all had India connections.
Both authors have had a long association with India. Joyce Westrip was born in southern India and moved to Perth in 1955. She has presented many radio and television programmes on Indian cooking and culture. Her books include: Moghul Cooking: India’s Courtly Cuisine, An ABC of Indian Food and Fire and Spice: Parsi Cookery.
Peggy spent several years in India in the 1950s with her husband Derek, a BBC representative. She has lectured on Indian history and culture in the UK and Australia and has travelled extensively on the sub-continent, especially since settling in Perth in 1976. Her books include: Indian Music, East Comes West and An ABC of Indian Culture.
Members and their guests are invited to join Peggy and Joyce for an informal Indian meal at the Maharaja Indian Restaurant, corner Stirling Highway and Dalkeith Road, following their talk. Please RSVP (wa.branch@aiia.asn.au) by 21st September 2010 for booking purposes.
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