Diary of passenger aboard the Dutch ship AUSTRALIE

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Diary of passenger aboard the Dutch ship AUSTRALIE

Date1854

Object number00045816

NameDiary

MediumPaper, ink, board, metal

DimensionsOverall: 167 x 105 x 25 mm, 266.13 g

ClassificationsBooks and journals

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Phillip Andrew

Terms

DescriptionThis diary was written by an unidentified passenger on board the Dutch ship AUSTRALIE during a voyage from Plymouth to Melbourne in July-October 1854. It recounts events during the trip including encounters with severe gales, seasickness and the general day to day life on board. The 1850s was a period of high immigration and movement in Australia due to the discovery of gold in 1851. The author is an unidentified passenger, possibly J Hatcher or W Andrew. HistoryTo emigrate or remain at home was the major decision of a lifetime faced by many families in England and Ireland during the 19th century. The reasons to emigrate were many including land clearance, famine, unemployment, the quest for political or religious freedom and the desire to get rich. However the cost of immigration was beyond the means of most families or individuals. Many wishing to come to Australia had to rely upon the various colonial governments who, through the sale of land, offered assisted passages in return for a work assignment upon arrival. Assisted passages were granted to 'Mechanics, Labourers, Navvies, Miners and Domestic Servants' and their families if they met the selection requirements. Steerage passengers over the age of 15 who paid their own way could also be granted land upon their arrival in Australia. This diary was written on board the 608-ton, wooden, three-masted sailing barque AUSTRALIE on a voyage from Plymouth to Melbourne between 29 July and 26 October 1854. The AUSTRALIE was a two-decked, copper sheathed and fastened Dutch barque rated 7-2 (the second highest rating) by Registre Veritas in 1853-1854 and was owned by Hogewerf and Chabot of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. After the vessel left Plymouth the passengers and crew encountered severe gales in the Bay of Biscay which left many of the passengers severely sea sick for a number of days. The vessel progressed quickly down the west coast of Africa into the roaring forties before heading with the prevailing winds along the Great Circle Route. The vessel again encountered severe gales approaching Cape Otway before heading up into Port Phillip. Although the ARGUS newspaper of 30 October 1854 lists the vessel as having arrived at Port Melbourne on 28 October 1854 and its 260 government steerage passengers, cabin passengers and cargo of 47,400 bricks landed - several deaths among the children during the latter stages of the voyage saw a later edition of the ARGUS reporting the vessel being at the Quarantine Station at Point Nepean as a precaution against smallpox. Manuscript accounts, journals and diaries of sea voyages to Australia in the 19th century are rare. Although several thousand are known to exist most of these date from the late 19th century and tended to be written after the events with the contents modified to placate family members back home, where many of these passenger accounts were sent. This diary written by an unidentified passenger on board the Dutch barque AUSTRALIE provides a rather personal window into life on board a crowded immigrant ship on a voyage to Australia in 1854 at the height of the gold rushes.SignificanceShipboard diaries, especially those written by steerage passengers or assisted immigrants are rare. This diary provides a detailed snapshot of what coming to Australia in the 19th century was like and gives voice to a class of individuals often overlooked.