Kate Howarth – January 3 2021

Kate is an Aboriginal writer. Abandoned by her mother as an infant, she was raised by her grandmother and other relatives in Darlinghurst, Parramatta and far western NSW. Taken out of school at age 14 due to hardship, believing then that her aspirations of one day becoming a writer were gone forever, she fell pregnant at 15 and was sent by her grandmother to the St Margaret’s Home for Unwed Mothers in Sydney. She went on to work as a factory worker, Avon sales representative, corporate executive, restaurateur and was instrumental in building Manpower Personnel. At age 49 she began writing the story of her first 17 years of life, Ten Hail Marys, which challenges evidence taken at a Parliamentary inquiry into Adoption Practices in NSW from 1950 to 1998.

Ten Hail Marys: a memoir
University of Queensland Press, 2010; ISBN 9780702237706
Abandoned by her mother as a baby and then her grandmother, as a young girl Kate was shunted between relatives and expected to grow up fast. At 16 she gave birth to a healthy baby boy at St Margaret’s Home for Unwed Mothers. In the months before the birth, and the days after, she resisted intense pressure to give up her son for adoption, becoming one of the few women to ever leave the institution with her baby. A natural storyteller, Kate describes a childhood beset by hardship, abuse, profound grief and poverty, but buoyed with the hope that one day she would make a better life for herself. Frank, funny an incredibly moving, Ten Hail Marys is the compelling true story of a childhood lost, and a young woman’s hard-won self-possession.

Settling Day: a memoir
University of Queensland Press, 2015; IBSN 9780702250057
Kate’s extraordinary life continues on in Settling Day. Thrust out of her son’s life while he was still a toddler, teenaged Kate had to rely on her wits and courage to start life anew. Kate’s journey begins filled with remorse and an unwavering determination to be reunited with her son, as she fights injustice and prejudice to create a better life. She amasses a fortune helping to build one of Australia’s most successful recruitment companies, only to lose it all in a legal battle. Kate once again manages to rebuild her life after a major injury, but is always haunted by her lost son. Settling Day is a remarkable story of resilience that highlights the still prevalent injustices that many women face at work and at home.