The Mayne Inheritance

"The Mayne Inheritance" is a non-fiction book written by Queensland author Rosamond Siemon. It was first published in 1997 by University of Queensland Press, and a new edition with updated information was issued by the same publisher in 2003. The book won the Brisbane City Council's "One Book One Brisbane" competition in 2003.

Plot and themes

"The Mayne Inheritance" tells the story of Patrick Mayne, a young man who migrated to Australia from his impoverished background in County Tyrone, Ireland in 1841. He soon moved to the infant town of Brisbane where he found work as a slaughterman in an abattoir. In 1848 a sawyer, Robert Cox, was savagely murdered at Kangaroo Point and a considerable amount of money was presumed to be stolen.

The next year, Patrick Mayne married and, despite being a poorly-paid labourer, bought his own butcher's shop in what is now Brisbane's central business district. He then expanded his business empire through investing cleverly and soon became one of Brisbane's richest men. Patrick became one of the aldermen on the first Brisbane Municipal Council in 1859.

He died in 1865 from an unspecified illness, and during his dying days confessed to the murder of Robert Cox. He left behind a widow and five children who had to survive in a hostile colonial environment which ostracised them for being the son of a confessed murderer. The second half of the book deals mainly with the lives of these children, none of whom married, and in particular James O'Neil Mayne who used the wealth inherited from his father to become a philanthropist. His most notable deed was funding the purchase of convert|270|acre|km2 of land at St Lucia for the University of Queensland. This spacious riverside site is still the main campus of the University.

The story of "The Mayne Inheritance" spans nearly a century, from Patrick's arrival in Australia in the 1840s to the death of his last surviving child, Mary Emelia Mayne, in 1940. The narrative takes place within the context of Brisbane's history, and the reader is also taken on the journey of Brisbane's transformation from an isolated colonial hamlet to a major Australian city.

A prominent theme that recurs throughout the book is the idea of inheriting the faults of one's ancestors. The book rails against the injustice of such thinking, saying that the children of Patrick Mayne did not deserve the disapproval and disdain they received due to the actions of their father in 1848.