The AUSTRALIAN IRISH HERITAGE ASSOCIATION presents Annual Mary Durack Lecture

Patrick Durack (1834–1898) was a pastoral pioneer in . His family were struggling tenant farmers from Magherareagh near Scarriff in County Clare, Ireland, who moved to New South Wales in 1853. Two months after arriving, his father, Michael was killed accidentally. He settled his mother and siblings, and moved to Victoria, returning 18 months later with £1000. On 31 July 1862 Durack married Mary Costello, only daughter of Michael Costello, from County Tipperary, and his wife Mary Tully, from County Galway. Patrick and Mary had eight children (two of whom died in infancy), including . Along with his brother Michael and brother-in-law John Costello, they set out to establish a property in South West Queensland in 1863. Drought conditions almost killed the men, but they continued around the country pegging claims to some 44,000 square kilometres. The men established both Kyabra and Thylungra Stations in 1868 with 100 cattle. By 1877 the Duracks had a herd of approximately 30,000 head of cattle.

Durack and his brother Michael trekked across the north of the continent from Thylungra at Coopers Creek in Queensland. They left in 1879 with 7250 breeding cattle and 200 horses, heading for the Kimberley region of Western Australia near Kununurra, arriving in 1882. The 4,800-kilometre journey of cattle to stock and is the longest of its type ever recorded. In 1885, he retired to Brisbane. Later that year he purchased gold-crushing machinery from Sydney and began mining on the Kimberley goldfields. In 1889 he learned that financial disaster had overtaken his Queensland interests. He died in Fremantle on 20 January 1898. Kings in Grass Castles is a 1959 novel based on his life and times by his granddaughter Dame Mary Durack. In 1998 it was the basis of a TV mini-series of the same name. Launched in 1995 the annual Mary Durack Memorial Lecture honours the pioneering work in Australia on many fronts by the Durack family and our founding member and first patron Dame Mary Durack (1913-1994). This year’s lecture will be delivered by the Honourable Alannah MacTiernan, MLC, Minister for Regional Development; Agriculture and Food; Hydrogen Industry in the WA State Labor government. Alannah is of Irish descent and has a long career of public service in Local, State and Federal Government. Her talk will touch on the Durack involvement in history of Horticulture in the North. It also coincides with Naidoc week where this year’s theme Is Heal Country! – which calls for all of us to continue to seek greater protections for our lands, our waters, our sacred sites and our cultural

heritage from exploitation, desecration, and destruction

Venue Irish Club Theatre, Townshend Road Subiaco Time Sunday afternoon 3pm, July 4, 2021 Cost $10 includes Irish afternoon tea and Q&A moderated by Hon Irish Consul Marty Kavanagh. Pay at the door, Open to all Enquiries [email protected] Web Page: https://irishheritage.com.au/. Look us up on Facebook