About

A few years ago, I was flipping through some hundred-year-old newspapers when I stumbled upon a story about a sailor who had been cast up on an island not too far from my home on Queensland’s Capricorn Coast.    The sailor was the only one to survive the sinking of a small schooner during a ferocious cyclone.   His story was remarkable, and I was hooked.

I delved into other shipwrecks and, in the process, learned about Australia’s rich maritime heritage.   From the early discoveries of Dutch and English navigators to the arrival of the First Fleet, and the influx of immigrants through the 19th and 20th centuries, this country’s very fabric has been shaped by the sea.     

In January 2022 I published my first book, A Treacherous Coast: Ten Tales of Shipwreck and Survival from the Queensland Coast. Two years later, in 2024 I finished my second book, Bolters: An Unruly Bunch of Malcontents, which tells the stories of those convicts sent to Australia and sought to escape by sea.

While carrying out my research, I frequently find fascinating stories that don’t relate to what I am working on. They find a home here on Tales from the Quarterdeck. I hope you find them as interesting as I do.

Regards

C.J. Ison.