Marranga-Limga

About the Book

Marranga-Limga is a story set in the early settlement of a gold-mining town in Queensland, Australia. It begins in 1880. It is the story of a young couple’s arrival with their small son and the hardships and heartache they share with the community. It is Nika’s story. Born on the bank of the Mary River she has a unique path to follow. Child of an Irish miner and a proud Aboriginal native woman, it is her story of identity. In the midst of the town’s history of pubs, miners, railway workers, timber carriers, brothels, and conflicts, there is the courage of a people trying to forge not just their present but establish something meaningful for the future. Tom, the travelling evangelist, joins other Christians in this mix of life, living, hardship, and conflict. His story is a journey to find not only a place but his own integrity and purpose. Marranga-Limga is fictional. There is no similarity between any person presently living or now dead. All of the people and even the promise expressed are fiction. The background events have historical accuracy although the flood date was not given because several occurred during a short period. The purpose of the flood event was to bring the story to its climax. Certainly the courage, faith, hope, and tenacity of the Gympie community is truth. Marranga-Limga relates to us all—a common desire to forge a meaningful path and the hope for better.

About the Author

Faye Roots lives with her husband in the quiet rural area of Wolvi near Gympie in Queensland, Australia. They have three children and four grandchildren. Faye has always loved to write and has been successful in the publication of short stories and morning devotionals. She won an essay competition when she was twelve and had winning entries in several short story competitions. Beyond the Ashes was her first novel. “It was an absolute labour of love—the people, though entirely fictitious—were real to me and their story needed to be told.’ Marranga-Limga was birthed from rich appreciation of local history, “A desire to weave this background into a fiction story became a challenge hastened by a health issue in late 2014!” Faye’s desire was to make the early history of Gympie come alive through the lives of characters coming from vastly different backgrounds, showing a positive ongoing promise for the future. This is the promise of Marranga-Limga.