Journal of a Voyage from Gravesend to Sydney on the CITY OF EDINBURGH

Journal of a Voyage from Gravesend to Sydney on the CITY OF EDINBURGH

Author Eliza Taylor (1818-1872)

Date1833 -1834

Object number00036438

NameJournal

MediumPaper, ink, leather

DimensionsOverall: 191 x 127 x 25 mm, 0.48 kg

ClassificationsBooks and journals

Credit LineANMM Collection

Collections

Manuscript diaries, journals and logs

Terms

DescriptionEliza Taylor travelled as a passenger on board the barque CITY OF EDINBURGH between 29 October 1833 and 29 March 1834. On board Eliza kept a private journal detailing the voyage from Gravesend, England to Sydney, NSW. Bound in half green Moroccan binding the journal consists of a hand written rotating manuscript with four sketches and one natural history specimen.HistoryThe CITY OF EDINBURGH was a copper-sheathed, wooden-hulled, three-masted barque built at Coringa, Cochin, India in 1813. The vessel made a number of trips to Australia between 1837 and 1840 carrying cargo and passengers, as well as two voyages as a convict transport in 1828 and 1832. In 1840 it ran aground in Lillies Bay, Flinders Island after encountering a series of gales. On 29 October 1833 the CITY OF EDINBURGH left Gravesend, England under the command of Captain W F Baker carrying passengers and cargo bound for Sydney, New South Wales. The ship arrived in Port Jackson on 29 March 1834 after five months at sea. The barque carried 20 passengers and a cargo including salt, alcohol, plate ware, seeds, soap, blankets, candles, cotton, silks, flannels, iron ware, corks, wheat mills, scales, clothing, butter, printers ink, paints, gunpowder, stationery and saddlery. Passengers on board included Captain Gore RN, Mrs Gore, Mr Edward Gore, Misses Charlotte and Elizabeth Gore, Mr Henry Taylor, Mrs Taylor and Miss Taylor, Mr James Curtis, Mrs Mary Curtis, Miss Foster, Mr James Manning, Mr Edward Pegson, Mr Edward Allen, Surgeon Mr Richard Crisps, Mrs Sarah Crisps, Mr Robert and Jane May, Mr George Holliday, Mr William Kean and Mr George Phillipson. Eliza Taylor kept a private journal of the CITY OF EDINBURGH's voyage. She completed four sketches of Cape Town, the Cape of Good Hope, the peak of Tenerife and Porto Santo. On arriving in Sydney in 1834 Eliza was dismissive of the architecture of the still relatively small settlement but enthusiastic about the natural beauty of the colony, writing 'the cove is considered very beautiful and the anchorage so good that the largest ship of war may come close to the wharf. The Botanic Gardens are well worth seeing'.SignificanceThis journal is a fine example of a private shipboard account by a female passenger travelling from England to Australia during the 1830s. Illustrated manuscript journals of the early 19th century usually do not survive, making this account particularly rare.