BOOKS, ART, MUSIC & FASHION
Memoirs of a Jersey Girl by Elizabeth Kempster. Reviewed by Cathy Le Feuvre
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rowing up in Jersey in the 1950s Elizabeth Kempster could hardly have imagined that she would leave her beloved Island to make a life on the other side of the world and that her fascinating, adventurous, challenging and inspiring story would one day become a book entitled simply ‘Memoirs of a Jersey Girl’.
‘During our busy lives, my family found time to go shrimping at St Catherine’s Bay. Grandpa Billot had a large T-shaped net that he would trawl along the seabed in order to catch shrimp... At low tide, we used to walk along the sand looking for ‘key holes’ made by razor fish. Once we found one, we’d trick the razor fish into popping up by putting a little salt down the hole …’
We’re transported back in time to Elizabeth’s carefree post-Occupation childhood and life as part of an old Jersey family on a St Martin dairy and potato farm. Born into the Billot family, Elizabeth is the youngest sister of Anne Perchard, who many remember as a local and global champion of Jersey farming. We sit with Elizabeth on the Young Farmers Battle of Flowers float and journey with her through school, dancing, horse-riding, fast cars, and family excursions which remind us of a once slower pace of life…
We read how, just a few days after her marriage in April 1968 to her childhood sweetheart Ian Larbalestier Kempster, Elizabeth found herself on a plane to Sydney. She and Ian, who had always wanted to go to Australia, became ‘Ten Pound Poms’, and ‘…being young, adventurous and newly married, I was keen to go with him though I did not think it would be a lifelong change.’ Elizabeth’s is a story of joy and sorrow, challenge and triumph over adversity, resilience and adventure in a foreign land. Life on a remote farm in the outback, dealing with isolation, drought and all sorts of creatures. Raising four sons and giving them a flavour of the carefree childhood she herself had enjoyed back home on a farm in Jersey. Living through family tragedy and challenges including Ian’s alcoholism which eventually led to divorce. Life as a single mother and as a businesswoman, bankruptcy and a career as a broadcaster and journalist which saw her flying solo around Western Australia. Just some of the amazing stories in her memoirs.
L-R: Elizabeth's late mother Eunice Beatrice Billot, her late first cousin Doris Lucas and her late grandfather Charles Philip Billot (St. Martin Constable) shrimping at St. Catherine’s.
Although, as Elizabeth explains, the story was written in part for her family and to reflect on her own life, it is now capturing the imagination of readers around the world. And it’s more than a personal story. As she explained in a recent podcast, it was during the pandemic lockdowns at home in Northern Queensland that Elizabeth dipped into her extensive album of family photographs, newspaper and other cuttings she has collected down the years. Which means that ‘Memoirs of a Jersey Girl’ is much more than an engaging personal story of a strong and passionate woman who has achieved much despite adversity. It’s also a photographic retelling of that life, with images from the past, including here in Jersey, that may nudge our own memories and inspire us. ‘Memoirs of a Jersey Girl’ by Elizabeth Kempster (Sid Harta Publishers April 2021) is available online including through Amazon, Booktopia Australia; varying prices according to web outlets. Listen to Elizabeth’s story on the Brave podcast from the Townsville Community Information Centre on brave.castos.com
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