Look for the Red Umbrella by Geoff McArthur is a historical story of a Scottish family who settled in Ballarat Victoria in the 1850s.
John and Margaret Greig, with their four children, Isabella, Agnes, John, and Maggie, spent three years in Sydney before the lure of the gold rush drew them to Ballarat.
The family witnessed the attack on the Eureka Stockade and many years later Agnes’ recollections were published in The Argus.
Geoff McArthur discovered that Agnes Greig had lived in the house that he and his wife have lived in for many years. He has extensively researched the Greig family to write this book.
There’s a range of characters, both community-minded and those with dubious intentions. Fortunes are made and lost in the goldfields and in the retail industry.
One very interesting character is Agnes’s younger sister Margaret, who married a young German man named Frederick Muller. He was a rather outspoken man who upset other Ballarat business owners.
Frederick opened an umbrella shop and Margaret played a significant role. As a daughter of a tailor, she was a skilled seamstress.
Not all in their marriage went to plan as Fred deserted her and was convicted of fraud.
Margaret is an amazing, strong, courageous woman who ran a successful business at a time when business was dominated by men. Who knew umbrella making could be so competitive!?
It is interesting to learn about the events in Ballarat at that time through the lives of the descendants of John and Margaret Greig. Their children and grandchildren feature in many newspaper articles.
I am sure many people wonder about who lived in and the history surrounding their own house. It is fortunate for Geoff that this prominent and newsworthy family was associated with his.
Thoroughly recommend this informative book which takes you back in time to the early years of Australian history.
A selection of our Beauty and Lace Club members are reading Look for the Red Umbrella by Geoff McArthur. You can read their comments below, or add your own review.
I love to read, any book on any topic. I now love ebooks as they are easier to store, I was running out of bookshelves! My other interests are family, gardening and our beautiful King Charles spaniel dog who is my reading companion.
Look for the Red Umbrella by Geoff McArthur (Shawline Publishing Group) describes Ballarat during and after the 1850s gold rush. It recounts the story of the Muller family, who became prominent members of the Ballarat community.
During its peak Ballarat was considered the world’s richest alluvial goldfield, and many people from across the world came to the Australian goldfields hoping to make their fortunes.
The lucky ones found gold, while the smart ones took advantage of the mass migration of people to the area and set up businesses. Resourceful people like the Muller family, were an example. Starting off doing hairdressing then turning to the manufacture of umbrellas, the Mullers became firmly enmeshed in Ballarat’s development. However their good fortune did not last.
Look for the Red Umbrella is a well researched, very fact-heavy account (with a lot of information taken from letters to the editor and newspaper articles of the time)which would likely appeal to those with an interest in Ballarat’s history.
Thank you Lyn. 🙂 I appreciate you reading the book and your comments.
Geoff
Look for the Red Umbrella by Geoff McArthur is a recounting of Australian gold rush history based around the Muller/Greig families. Geoff McArthur has a connection to the family as both he and the Greig’s lived in the same home, although many years had passed in between.
The lives came alive through research, letters to the editor and newspaper articles to highlight what was important at the time, the struggles that occurred and how events in history affected and created opportunities for enterprising people.
The information presented created a richness and colour to history that I had not already known and for this I am thankful for the opportunity to have read this insightful book.
Thank you Shawline Publishers for the opportunity to read this book.
Thanks Krystyna
The Letters to the Editor – from and to Fred Muller were a treasure to find. They tell so much about the people and their context. They are a rare unfiltered look back in time.
Thank you for your review
Geoff
The sheer amount of research that has gone into this book is apparent at every turn of the page! I was not aware of much of the Gold Rush history and The Red Umbrella really sparked my interest!
Thank you for the opportunity to read and review. I would highly recommend this book.
My apologies for the typo- Look For The Red Umbrella
Thanks Becc
Thank you so much for your review and recommendation. Really appreciated!
Geoff
I remeber as a child, many visits to Ballarat. Visiting Sovereign Hill was a highlight, and the panning for gold.
This book made me remember those visits, and further brought to life the Gold Rush era in our very own country in the 1850’s.
Our neighbours when I was a child, originated from Ballarat and still had family living there, which is where we stayed when visiting. Their family history of living in Ballarat, and reading this book, has made me want to find out even more! They too were a Scottish family, settled in Ballarat, but then marriages saw some of them move to Adelaide in the 1960’s
The book is wonderfully, and very thoroughly researched. Our own country, yet seems a whole different world and way of living.
We can certainly see today how far we have come in this 170 years or so, and how much more informative ( in my opinion) Newspaper articles were. So much is learnt in reading the articles from the Argus, back in the mid 1800’s, some of which are featured in this delightful book.
I am grateful for the opportunity to read ‘Look for the Red Umbrella’ and wish to thank Geoff McArthur for what must have been years of research on his behalf, and to then put it into his own words.
Thanks also Beauty & Lace and Shawline Group, for the opportunity to read and learn about one of our very own historical towns.
Thanks Lynn
Ballarat does have a remarkable history. I was lucky enough to find a great story and I’m certain there a so many more waiting to be discovered not just there but everywhere. The TROVE website is a national treasure.
cheers
Geoff
This was a great historical read about the gold rush period in Australian history . It was definitely well researched! I found the book great , but very fact heavy for me. Someone who loves historical facts would love it.
It is well written and interesting .
Thanks Caroline
I appreciate your review. Thank you for reading the book and taking the time to review it
Cheers
Geoff
A wonderful record of life during the gold rush era in Ballarat. Geoff McArthur captives the life of the Muller/Greig family in this novel, Look for the red Umbrella.
A unique title but an important one in the telling of this part of history for those involved. The resilience and determination shows how hard life was but also shows what can be achieved.
Like many, I have limited knowledge of this time in history but my knowledge has grown in this novel.
That’s very kind! Thank you for review. I’m glad that you enjoyed the book so much
All the best
Geoff
Thank you all for your very generous reviews. As they are the first ones that I have received, they mean so much to me. I will assume that some or all of you are NOT from Ballarat, which helps alleviate my greatest cause for anxiety. Would the book interest those who may not know the locations, buildings and events covered in the book? The book is selling very well in its first couple of weeks, and as this is my first book, I am absolutely delighted. Thank you again for reading it and for your thoughtfully written reviews.
Geoff
Thank you for allowing me to read Look for the Red Umbrella by Geoff McArthur.
This book was different to my usual read but I enjoyed it very much. I’m always interested in local history of many places and found it interesting even though I am not from Ballarat.
It appears that umbrellas were very popular around the Gold rush days and after. They would have been much better made than those of today.
I really enjoyed reading this historical view of life in Ballarat . The town is dear to me since I spent many family holidays there in my younger years. The art of umbrella making is certainly a lost skill but one which was well appreciated in the past . I congratulate the author on his extensive research and loving presentation of facts . It is also great to read his appreciation for the reviews , something which is not often present here.
Thank you, Carla
I wrote this book to get what I thought was a fascinating story out to people who might appreciate it and to honour the memory of some ordinary people who had remarkable things happen in their lives. I like the idea of plucking people from obscurity and putting them in the light again. In 150 years, we might be so lucky. One of the things I enjoy the most is engaging with people who have read the book, having lived with it more or less alone for many years. Thank you for your very kind comments.
This book left me feeling nostalgic as I have a real love for Ballarat. I have had many visits there both as a young child and as an adult with my children as well. There were visits to Sovereign Hill dressing up in olden-day clothes, buying a WANTED sign with my name on it, gold panning and just soaking up all that was. Kryall Castle and Lake Wendouree where we stayed nearby at a tourist park and many other sites I hold dear.
I was so intrigued by the history as I thought I knew enough about Ballarat but after reading this book I`d like to go back there and visit with different eyes and knowledge I have now learned from this wonderful writer.
Ballarat really was a thriving place and I have never put thought into how they made umbrellas years ago, or most things for that matter.
This book really is a gem and I sincerely thank Geoff McArthur for the absolute in-depth research he has done as that must have taken hours on end. So very fascinating and insightful, was thoroughly enjoyed by me
Thank you Cindy! I’m so glad you enjoyed the book and reminiscing about Ballarat. Believe it or not when I was a uni student many many years ago I used to print those WANTED posters at Sov Hill on the weekends. thank your for you very kind words. I appreciate them very much.