Description
In 1859, fourteen-year-old Daisy is travelling on the SS Admella from Adelaide to Melbourne, when the steamship is wrecked on a submerged reef near Cape Banks, in what became known as one of Australia’s worst maritime disasters. A century later, siblings Max and Rosemary spend their summer holidays at Cape Jaffa Lighthouse, perched on a reef, five miles out to sea, where their father is head keeper.
As they unravel the secrets of the past, an accident leaves their father and the assistant keeper injured, and Max and Rosemary are left to care for them while keeping the lighthouse burning.
Set across two timelines, connected by place, mystery, and magic, A Light on the Rocks is a haunting tale about survival, self-belief and the wild beauty of the sea. With a ghost horse, a singing whale, and real events woven through the narrative, this is a masterful maritime adventure that brings the almost-forgotten history of the SS Admella and the Cape Jaffa Lighthouse to life.
Review
Fourteen-year-old Daisy lives with her little sister Marigold and her parents in Adelaide, when they board the steamer SS Admella, bound for Melbourne. It is smooth sailing until they hit a submerged reef and the ship breaks into three pieces. For days the survivors cling on in the hope of rescue.
One hundred years later, siblings Max and Rosemary are at the Cape Jaffa Lighthouse for the holidays, on the same stretch of coast where the Admella crashed, with their father who is the lighthouse keeper. Max struggles to read and write, but he feels free and at peace when he is around animals and nature, and he dreams of writing a nature book to explain all the beauty in the things he notices. Rosemary believes in him wholeheartedly, and they are really close.
One day when they are out exploring the reef they find an old horse shoe and it conjures up a ghost horse - one of six that was on board the Admella. Max and Rosemary start to find out more about the wreck, and they are convinced the horse is called Jupiter. But why do they keep seeing a whale nearby, and hear it singing to them? Are the sightings of the ghost horse and the whale connected?
This is a great historical novel with real events woven through it, told in alternating chapters from both Daisy aboard the wreck, and Max and Rosemary as they see the ghost horse and discover stories about the wreck. It’s full of hope and self belief and shows how much we are connected to the world around us, even though we are often too busy to notice.
Daisy is brave and courageous as her and her family fight to stay alive waiting for rescue. Max and Rosemary are smart, family orientated and brave when they are faced with the prospect of keeping the light house running through the night when their dad has an accident.
This will be well loved by those with an interest in history, who love great characters and a compelling storyline, in the lower secondary levels and is also suitable for upper primary readers.
