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Shipboard diaries
People have always felt the need to record the events in their lives, and never more so than when traveling to a destination not yet known to them. Today we travel quickly from place to place, but in times gone by the slow pace of long-distance travel gave ample opportunity to keep a diary.
The State Library of Queensland's John Oxley Library Collection contains many shipboard diaries. These diaries give a fascinating insight into life on board ocean-crossing vessels in the 19th and 20th centuries.
With a grant from the Queensland Library Foundation, six shipboard diaries have been digitised and transcribed, and are available in Manuscripts Queensland.
Four of the diaries featured describe 19th century immigration. Another diary was written on board a South Sea Islander labour recruitment ship in the 1890s. The sixth diary featured is from a post-World War II immigration voyage.
Diary of Maria Steley, aged 14, written on board the ship “Ariadne” and at the North Stradbroke Island quarantine camp between 6 October 1863 and 23 February 1864. In this diary Maria records daily activities on board ship, as well as ‘useful hints’ addressed to a friend about what to bring when immigrating to Australia. Maria Steley's diary has been made into a virtual manuscript.
Diary of William A Smith written on board the ship “Young Australia” between 9 May and 13 August 1864. Smith describes the activities that passengers were engaged in during the voyage, such as reading, gambling, cards, drafts, and chess. He was also the editor and main contributor of a shipboard newspaper titled Etches and Sketches.
Diary of Richard Hews written on board the ship “Sunda” between 23 March and 23 May 1865. Hews kept this diary mainly for the purpose of collating news items for the shipboard newspaper The Southern Cross.
An anonymous diary written on board the ship “Almora” between 22 November 1882 and 16 January 1883. The diary is full of observations on fellow passengers, particularly the harsh supervision of single female travellers by the matron, Miss Chase.
Diary of Newton Barton, able seaman, written on board the brigantine “Rio Loge” between 6 October 1894 and 23 March 1895. The diary was kept during a South Sea Islander labour recruitment voyage to the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to recruit labour for the Queensland canefields.
Diary of Mildred Alice Howell written on board the ship “Largs Bay” between 24 May 1947 and 2 July 1947. Mildred, her husband and two children were among the first twenty-two immigrants to travel on assisted passage from England to Australia after World War II.
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Last updated: 7th April 2008
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