This is a mini-project for our C&I class about Rotherhithe. Our goal is to provide some context for the book The Secret River, whose main character spends much time in Rotherhithe. 

 

In the 1700s, Rotherhithe was a significant area within London, particularly due to its strategic location along the Thames River. During this time, Rotherhithe was primarily an industrial and maritime hub, with bustling docks, warehouses, and shipbuilding yards.

 

Hithe: “a small port or harbor especially on a river. now used chiefly in place names” (Merriam-Webster)

 

Significance in Book:

In the novel "The Secret River" by Kate Grenville, Rotherhithe serves as the starting point for the Thornhill family's journey to the new land of Australia. 

• “The Isle of Dogs, the deep eddying pool of Rotherhithe, the sudden twist of the sky as the river swung around the corner to Lambeth: they were all as intimate to him as breathing” (pg. 4).

It was one of the key departure points for British ships bound for the Australian colonies during the era of convict transportation. Many ships departed from Rotherhithe carrying convicts who were being transported to Australia as part of the British government's penal transportation system.

It is the location of his family and where they worked and lived. It was a big part of the economy for the area that supported their livelihoods. 

• “Rotherhithe was being grown over now with tanneries and knackeries and rows of tenements where there had once been those marshy spots where two children could find a place of their own” (pg. 37).