![Adam Courtenay and his latest book Three Sheets to the Wind. Pictures supplied. Adam Courtenay and his latest book Three Sheets to the Wind. Pictures supplied.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/144356892/26cffd6f-3523-4a9e-8fd0-44d828f8a00c.png/r176_0_1069_586_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Best selling author Adam Courtenay is launching his new book Three Sheets to the Wind at Maitland Library on Thursday.
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Three Sheets to the Wind tells the little-known story of the first Europeans to cross Bass Strait in 1796, and then trek 600 miles to Sydney Town to save 7000 gallons of rum after their ship went down.
Its Mr Courtenay's third book on colonial history, and he said it's a story that needs to be told.
"It's a great story of a trek within the first 10 years of our colony that seems to have been lost, and I wanted to make sure that it wasn't lost, that's why I wrote the story," he said.
Mr Courtenay said his books all cover stories from Australia's colonial history that don't have as much attention as they should.
"All three stories I've written are all about small but important stories that have a really important impact on our history, but somehow seem to have been left aside," he said.
"I look for the stories the others missed, that are almost as important as the ones we always hear about."
Mr Courtenay chose Maitland to launch the book, as friends have told him about Maitland's passionate history community.
"I'm really excited to come up again, and I believe there's quite an interest up there gathering," he said.
"I'm very interested to know what people think of the Aussie history that I'm giving."
Three Sheets to the Wind can be bought at most book stores.
"You can get it everywhere, but try your local bookstore. They're the ones that need the support," Mr Courtenay said.
The book launch for Adam Courtenay's Three Sheets to the Wind is on Thursday, October 27, 6pm at Maitland Library. Register for the free event here.
Three Sheets to the Wind blurb
When, in 1796, Calcutta-based Scottish merchants Campbell & Clark dispatched an Indian ship hurriedly renamed the Sydney Cove to the colony of New South Wales, they were hoping to make their fortune. The ship's speculative cargo was comprised of all kinds of goods to entice the new colony's inhabitants, including 7000 gallons of rum. The merchants were planning to sell the liquor to the Rum Corp, which ruled the fledgling colony with an iron grip, despite the recent arrival of Governor John Hunter.
But when the Sydney Cove went down north of Van Diemen's Land, cargo master William Clark and sixteen other crew members were compelled to walk 600 miles to Sydney Town to get help to save the rest of the crew and the precious goods. Assisted by at least six Indigenous clans on his journey, Clark saw far more of the country than Joseph Banks ever did, and his eventual report to Governor Hunter led to far-reaching consequences for the fledgling colony. And the rum? Some of it was saved.
By the bestselling author of The Ship That Never Was and The Ghost and the Bounty Hunter, Three Sheets to the Wind is a rollicking account of a little-known event that changed the course of Australian history.