Author to share story of suffering

Rockingham District Historical Society is inviting members and the public to spend an afternoon with Kendra Bell-Hayes to learn more about her book Extinguished Hope.

Mrs Bell-Hayes is a speech pathologist, mother-of-four and now author who put pen to paper and recorded the biography of a man who suffered horrendous treatment at the hands of the Brothers at Bindoon Boy’s School.

Extinguished Hope tells the story of the anonymous Rockingham man who was sent to the school to learn to read and instead had his life turned upside down.

Mrs Bell-Hayes said she was approached by family members who had heard the man’s tale.

“Michael, as he is referred to in the book, decided one day that he wanted his story to be told,” she said.

“It took three years to finish as it was a difficult story to tell and I wanted to make sure it was captured the right way.

“We have already had almost 200 people read the book and it’s been wonderful to see everyone engaging in the story.”

Mrs Bell-Hayes hopes to use her afternoon at the Rockingham Museum to touch on some good resources for people to learn more about the Forgotten Australians.

“I know the story inside out now, but I realised that few people know much of what happened at Bindoon,” she said.

“Many of the victims like Michael had extremely hard lives and did not live to see any kind of justice.”

Kendra Bell-Hayes will be visiting the Rockingham Museum at 2pm on Saturday, May 28.

For any inquiries, phone 9592 3455.