By Alana Mitchelson
A HIGH-PROFILE television presenter will share a maritime tragedy with the community after the recent release of his book Fifteen Young Men.
ABC sport presenter Paul Kennedy will step through his most recent writing journey at an Emerald Library event at 6.15pm on Wednesday 9 November.
His novel tells the tale of fifteen young men from the Mornington Football Club who would never make it home from a game in Mordialloc during a freak storm.
As dawn broke and families began to mourn, a nation was to learn the full extent of “one of the world’s worst sporting disasters”.
All 15 men aboard died when their boat capsized off Mornington on 21 May, 1892.
Yet according to Mr Kennedy, for more than a century the tragic event “slipped from Australia’s consciousness”.
In Fifteen Young Men, Mr Kennedy reveals the stories behind the incident. In his compelling evocation of a spirited town on the cusp of a new century, he captures the trauma of families and friends suffering almost unbearable loss, but also the irrepressible optimism of the times, and the mateship, love and resilience that would come to define a budding nation.
There will be an opportunity to purchase the book or have the book signed by the author throughout the evening.
Entry is free and bookings are essential at www.tinyurl.com/cclcevents or by phoning 5949 4600.
