Duchene/Hargraves, Historia Incognita, Melbourne, 2016
This self-published book has the long sub-title or explanatory tag of ‘Alexandre Julien Duchene, Edward Hammond Hargraves and the discovery of gold in Australia, three or four days from Sydney’.
This book looks at the lives of Duchene and Hargraves, lived entirely separately, until they both arrived in San Francisco towards the end of 1849. It also looks at the reasons that Duchene was considered ‘a man of most exemplary conduct’, while Hargraves was dismissed by many as an impostor and impudent pretender. Importantly, this book also raises the question of whether Hargraves developed his plan to look for gold west of Sydney only after hearing about Duchene’s earlier quest. (blurb)
Reviews and table of contents. Preview. The book is reviewed for Honest History by Derek Abbott.