Parramatta Historical Society presents:
The House of Blue Glass: A Life of Penelope Lucas
Acclaimed historian Alan Atkinson, author of the award-winning Elizabeth and John: The Macarthurs of Elizabeth Farm, pieces together the life of Penelope Lucas and the pivotal role she played in building the Macarthur empire. While she is known as the family governess, Atkinson reveals that Penelope was primarily an accountant whose bookkeeping work made an important difference to the Macarthurs’ success.
Penelope Lucas came to Australia in 1805, unmarried and in her thirties. She was the first well-educated woman to travel independently from Europe to Australia and was looking forward to living on inherited income. While Elizabeth Macarthur was unsurprisingly upset when her husband, John, arrived back from three years in England with a woman she had never heard of, Penelope went on to live with the Macarthurs for over thirty years and became close friends with Elizabeth. She went on to live the last nine years of her life in Hambledon Cottage, Parramatta.
In this revelatory talk based on his latest book, Atkinson brings together fifty years of scholarship as he explores the gender dynamics of the Macarthur household and the life of a single woman of means in Georgian England and early colonial Sydney.
About the speaker
Alan Atkinson is an acclaimed historian and the author of Europeans in Australia, volumes I-III and Elizabeth and John: The Macarthurs of Elizabeth Farm, which was the winner of the 2023 NSW Premier’s History Awards, Australian History Prize.
Event details
When: Monday, 20 April 2026 at 7:30 pm.
Where: Burnside Gardens Community Centre, 3 Blackwood Place, Oatlands NSW 2117.
Admission: The presentation is free and will be followed by supper. Visitors are very welcome!
Enquiries to Jeff Allen at jallen6@bigpond.net.au
Signed copies of the book will be available for sale after the talk.
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