In her postgraduate research into South Australian wood carvers centred on the Adelaide School of Design, Jodie Vandepeer came upon the strange story of Maud Golley (later known by her married name, Maud Baillie), a self-taught carver from remote Wedge Island, with no connection to the School. Her works exist only in private collections, yet a powerful mythology has built up around her, fuelled by a series of newspaper articles and biographies in recent publications regurgitating a few snippets – her isolated early life on Wedge Island, her self-taught carving ability, her perseverance under difficult conditions and her vice- regal patronage. Jodie explores Golley’s history and creations.