I am also reading the True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey, wow this is a mighty hefty novel as heavy as a sirloin steak. What I find intriguing about this novel is that not much has changed, albeit the novel is set in Australia but the circumstances of the poor are pretty appear pretty much the same as they do for the Canadian immigrants. Apparently Australia was the only penal colony although according to some BC came pretty close to being one. so who came to BC all the farmers or all the Scottish? The despicable thing of getting innocent people to populate a land and shove out who was there in the first place, Carey does a good job of making this displacement an “adjectival” mess. I feel that we as colonists haven’t really moved away from that mess, cops and robbers games are still being played out here in BC and who does the “adjectival” land belong to anyway. In the book I think there is a reference to immigrants as being transported. The other issue I find intriguing is that of ‘what you bring with you’ what works in the new land. In Carey’s book Ellen Kelly refers to St Bridget as having abandoned them as they cannot get the cows to milk.
When I think of settlers I am also reminded of a painting I came across in the National Art Galley of Canada, The painting is called ‘The Ice Harvest; by Maurice Cullen. I found the painting haunting and the idea of harvesting ice led me to think it must have been horrible for people to do in the cold, cold winter. The narrative of the landscape is survival in these conditions and how did the newcomers survive. Every skill the new immigrants learnt is a copy of first nations/aborginal/the people who were there before/native practice.
The Ice Harvest by Maurice Cullen 1913
jane and the library monkeys 
You would love the show that’s on now at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Maurice Cullen and his Circle, Canadian Impressionism. This work is featured there. The show blew me away. Towards the beginning of the exhibit there are a handful of works by Cullen and his son-in-law Robert Pilot that taught me something totally amazing about Canada. Each painting is a study of the same subject, Quebec City from the ferry launch at Levis. But each painting presents an entirely different atmosphere and colour due to the time of day and general atmospheric conditions. Each is so different that they seem implausible, until you realize that each is absolutely true. These are the colours you see. Canadians live in a double cyclorama of sky and snow and therefore, receive the most vivid, insistent and changing emotional cues from our landscape. This, I think, is why there could be no material ‘western’ interpretation of Canada through painting until there was impressionism. Our is an intrinsically impressionist landscape. And this must have an impact on who we are. I know nothing of painting, but this show has set me on a course to know more – I hope it will be a lifelong pursuit.
Hi Patrick
I just walked passed VAG and will noticed this exhibition I would like to see more and will visit the gallery. I think your comments are interesting and the idea of weather orientated emotional cues is thought provoking – it certainly is what a lot of Vancourites cherish and I must say that I have lived in the UK and Malaysia but it is here in Canada that I find the seasons most marked and the changes in the weather so different and very colorful.