Dora Minnie

This is an account of a century of challenges and achievements in a family’s life. It begins in England with William Bloomfield and Martha Saffron, who were convicted and transported to Australia. After gaining their freedom, the family fortunes improved with the discovery of gold. One of their sons, John Bloomfield, after leaving home for New Zealand, spent ten years there before returning to Australia. He met and married a girl in the Currajong goldfields, and the couple successfully raised a large family, under very difficult conditions.

After the early death of his father, the young Gerald Sims left England on his first voyage as a seafaring apprentice. He endured many hardships and dangers on the square rig sailing ships, but after several voyages around the world, continued working at sea on the steamships. While in Australia, Gerald met the love of his life. It was during subsequent years, while his wife and youngest daughter were visiting Australia, the First War erupted, stranding them on the other side of the world.

This is an account of a period of about a hundred years in the lives of different members of this family. It involves adventure, romance, danger and courage, and relates how the family coped with major decisions brought on by circumstances and world events.