Quod Island

Young adult historical fiction set on Wadjemup

I've been writing this young adult novel for some time and I've lost track of which draft I'm working on.
It's set on Rottnest Island, Western Australia, in the 1880s. It's the story of Cecelia O’Leary, a naïve sixteen-year-old Irish housemaid who finds work in the Governor’s residence. Although the island offers the Governor and his entourage respite from the summer heat, it's also a prison for up to 170 Aboriginal men. 
Also on the island is a Boy’s Reformatory, where young miscreant settlers from the mainland are sent. Sisi befriends seventeen-year-old inmate Thomas Ferguson. 
The measles are brought to the island  and some of the boys, including Thomas, become very sick. Sisi helps nurse him back to health before the epidemic tears through the prison and prisoners begin to die. 
Sisi’s love of birds is woven through the story and is a connection to her past and gives her hope for the future.
One day soon I'll get back to this important story and finish it!