Letter to William Joseph Burley from R H Emmerson

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Letter to William Joseph Burley from R H Emmerson

Date19 July 1898

Object numberANMS0274[003]

NameLetter

MediumInk on paper

DimensionsOverall: 205 × 130 mm, 3 g

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from H McKellar

Terms

Durham

DescriptionA handwritten letter to 'Burley', William Joseph Burley, from R.H.Emmerson advising him that he is planning on re-joining SS BALUCHISTAN at Newport on its return from Marseilles and Benissa. HistoryWilliam J Burley is a good example of the kinds of seamen who are threaded through Australia's maritime past. Born in the Maritime Provinces of Canada around 1862, dates are inconsistent in his documents, he sailed in small steamers to China, the Middle East and Australia for twenty years or so, with Britain as his base, before going ashore in Australia and probably ending his days here. Three other documents in the collection show that Burley eventually became a labourer in Tamworth, New South Wales and was trying to get a pension in 1925. He would have been only 63 if the birth date in his discharge book was true. Burley worked as a donkey man in the engine rooms of steamships in the days when they were beginning to overtake sail. He also had work as a storekeeper. Some of the vessels Burley crewed on were ROSNILL CASTLE, ROXBURGH, ARDGAY and GILSLAND. SignificanceThis letter is part of a collection of papers relating to the career of William Joseph Burley who worked in the engine rooms of various steam vessels. Together they represent a picture of a small-time merchant seaman in the 1880s and 1890s.