The Finchley Manuals of Industry Cooking
Date1851
Object number00056394
NameManual
MediumCloth, paper, ink
DimensionsOverall (Closed): 150 × 90 × 14 mm
ClassificationsBooks and journals
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection Gift from Rosemary Phillis
DescriptionCookbook belongining brought by Fanny Voysey to Australia in 1883 titled 'The Finchley Manuals of Industry: Cooking'.
Inside inscription in pen reads 'Mrs G Hill,Torquay, October 1851' and a later inscription 'A Voysey, Railway Terrace, Riverston'.
HistoryGeorge and Fanny Voysey travelled on the MIDLOTHIAN from London to Sydney with children Edith, John, William and Frank, arriving on 25 December 1883. There are a number of newspaper reports/references to the MIDLOTHIAN, though none mention the Voysey family. A check of Australian Inward Passenger records documents the arrival of the Voysey family.
An item included in the shipping details in the Sydney Daily Telegraph 26 December 1883 provides good detail about the journey of the MIDLOTHIAN including some of the other passengers.
On arrival in Australia, George and Fanny moved to South Creek (St Marys), then to the Clydesdale Estate near Marsden Park, before settling in Riverstone. George's occupation was generally that of a timber cutter. George and Fanny had six children in total.
SignificanceThis cookbook, part of a collection of objects belongiong to the Voysey family, is an example of a UK-Australian migrant experience in the late 19th century. The book is the type of object with practical and sentimental associations that might accompany them.