Book excerpt: The true story of the Kerry girls who were shipped to Australia from the four Kerry Workhouses of Dingle/Kenmare/Killarney and Listowel in 1849/1850, as part of the Earl Grey Scheme. From scenes of destitution and misery, the girls, some of whom spoke only Irish, set off to the other side of the world without any idea of what lay ahead. This book tells of their 'selection' and shipping to New South Wales and Adelaide, their subsequent apprenticeship, marriage and life in the colony.