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Notes and sketches of New South Wales, during a residence in that colony from 1839 to 1844. Letters from Madras, during the years 1836 - 1839
Notes and sketches of New South Wales, during a residence in that colony from 1839 to 1844. Letters from Madras, during the years 1836 - 1839

Notes and sketches of New South Wales, during a residence in that colony from 1839 to 1844. Letters from Madras, during the years 1836 - 1839

Author
Author (English, 1808 - 1864)
Publisher (Founded 1768, taken over 2002)
Date1844 - 1846
Object number00019995
NameBook
MediumPaper, ink, leather, gilt, cloth
DimensionsOverall: 177 x 125 x 25 mm, 0.4 kg
ClassificationsBooks and journals
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionTwo works bound together by different female authors. The first work is 'Notes and Sketches of New South Wales, During a Residence in That Colony from 1839 to 1844. By Mrs. Charles Meredith', first edition, published by John Murray, Albemarle Street, London, in 1844. The second work is 'Letters from Madras, During the Years 1836-1839. By a Lady', by Julia Maitland, a second edition, published in 1846 (first published 1843).HistoryIn the summer of 1839, 26-year-old Louisa Anne Meredith, in the company of her new husband, Charles Meredith, sailed from England to the British colony of New South Wales, in what was then New Holland. Four years later, she published a detailed account of the four years since she had left England. A fascinating window into the past, Louisa's impressions and experiences cover the four-month ocean voyage; life within the fledgling city of Sydney; travels across the Blue Mountains to Bathurst; and eventual settlement at Home Bush in Sydney's west. Vivid observations of Sydney as it was in the 1840s combine with descriptions on flora, fauna and general way of life in the colonies, all told through the eyes of a well-educated, articulate and well-to-do woman who had come from a very different climate and upbringing to that she found in Australia. Louisa was a naturalist, author and illustrator and her eye for detail provides a historically significant document giving a unique window into early Australian settlement. From descriptions of polite society, to hardships of drought and overland travel; from architecture to politics, convicts to aboriginal customs, Louisa's keen wit and clever insight provide a fascinating account of life in colonial Australia. First published in 1844, Louisa Anne Meredith's account of emigrating to New South Wales is a frank and sometimes negative document about Australian society at the time. However, her interest in, and great skill at describing, wildlife made her one of the most successful women writers in Victorian Australia