Until she was 11, Roma was the Murray River Girl. She lived in a makeshift tent on the banks of the river with her parents. Her special friends include children of the Baakandji River People and she freely roams the riverbank and bush with them.
Author, Cathy Hope said the true story, captured in her 30th book ‘Murray River Girl’, is set in Australia during the era of the Great Depression, polio epidemic and World War Two.
“This is the story of an adventurous little girl Roma and her faithful companion. It profiles a
child’s love of the natural environment and her friendship with the local Baakandji River
People,” she says.
“Roma is a living treasure, the daughter of a swagman and a shearer’s cook, living her
childhood years in a make shift tent, alongside the Murray River until she was 11 years old – living off the land to survive.”
The Frankston resident has published many educational reference books for both educators and children, two of which have been shortlisted for awards.
Ms Hope said she was rapt to launch her book at Frankston Library, adding: “Murray River
Girl is my 30th book to be published, but my very first novel for children. I plan to continue
writing for children,” she said.
Frankston City Libraries Manager, Laura Antoniak, said: “We’re honoured to host the launch
of Murray River Girl as part of our FrankTALK series. Supporting local authors is fundamental to the library ethos and it was wonderful to see more than 80 people attending the event.”
“The library holds multiple copies of The Murray River Girl available for loan. So what are
you waiting for – grab a copy for your young one to read,” she said.
Frankston City Libraries offers an extensive range of services online 24/7 student support,
language tutorials, Reading Tails, free access to researching family history and digital
magazines available. For more information, please visit https://library.frankston.vic.gov.au
