Damned Rascals?

by June Whittaker and Paul Kable

In 2007 and using a different genre “described as a definitive primary source book” JUNE WHITTAKER (deceased) collaborated with another KABLE-HOLMES descendant COMMODORE PAUL KABLE AM (RAN RET.), producing the 2007 non-fiction work “Dammed Rascals”.

A brief comment about the book states Damned Rascals, a first fleet story, is the definitive primary source book on Australia’s most famous transportee couple, Henry and Susannah Kable.

​This book arose, in the main, from the research and gathering of documents by Paul Kable who had also been researching the KABLE family history for some 40 years, especially during his RAN postings in England and Scotland. During this time, he gathered many copies of records, documents, pictures and articles, that have given factual weight to the story of Henry and Susannah. The product of PAUL & JUNE’s collaboration “DAMMED RASCALS” pays tribute to the efforts of many Kable descendants in keeping the story alive for future generations to appreciate the importance of their role as part of the formation of modern Australia.

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About the Book
The lives of Henry and Susannah Kable epitomise their era; especially that of Australia’s First Fleet families.
Their experience of crime, punishment and transportation; followed by their marriage, brushes with the law and officialdom, their employment, possessions and commerce; mirror the story of the settlement of Sydney and the region.
Their story covers all the aspects of early colonial history.
We are lucky that their lives are so well documented and the documents so well maintained; from the Public Records in Suffolk to the Mitchell Library in Sydney. The First Fleet was led and managed and recorded by naval officers and their professionalism shows through; the First Fleet is the best documented of all the early fleets.Home Secretary's direction
June and I decided that within the family there existed a collection of these primary documents sufficient in scope to warrant publishing as a chronicle of Henry and Susannah. We have started from 1699 the earliest certain record of the family, Henry’s great grandfather’s marriage. We have gathered all the documents we have until Henry’s burial in Windsor in 1846. Of course the story to 1846 involves their children and grand children; the success of the next two generations became a major influence on the lives of Henry and Susannah. Those new colony born generations gave rise to impressive qualities that they gifted to the following Australian generations.
We have published hoping that family members and other interested readers will enjoy reading these primary documents. There are some family myths that don’t appear as we could not find supporting documents and we have avoided speculation but alluded to them in several places.
We have tried to rely on primary documents and contemporary accounts to chronicle their lives.  We hope there will be reprints as other family members discover more primary documents.
We hope that the reader will also accept this chronicle as a tribute to that remarkable couple, our forebears.
The book can be ordered by clicking this link.