The Scottish clan is a sense of kindred and has existed for about 1,000 years but from the beginning of the 17th century, it reached beyond family members and could even include friends who shared political views or land or military connections. Here then, in this saga of some 100 years, is the story of Donald and Hughina and how they built a version of clanship in the goldfields of New South Wales. The characters mentioned in this book did really exist. They were fellow gold miners, landowners, Scots, Englishmen, ex-convicts and free settlers, all of whom became the couple's closest of friends - members of their Australian "clan".
The excitement, tragedies, joys and disappointments of Donald and Hughina's lives were enacted on the goldfields of Braidwood, New South Wales. They were played before a backdrop of 19th and early 20th century Australian society and historical events.