The Darlimurla Letters

Joe and Mary Macky were both passengers on the ill-fated ocean liner, the Lusitania, which was torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland in 1915. Mary was offered a place on one of the lifeboats but insisted on staying with her husband. The pair perished, along with about 1,200 others. They were both prolific letter writers - and early adopters of the camera - and a bundle of their letters and photos has been preserved, named the Darlimurla letters after their home in Devonport. Now great grandaughter, Trish Macky, has compiled a 27-chapter book based on the 500-thousand words worth of letters they wrote. She joins us to discuss the project, and why she's crowdsourcing to get the books published.