August’s item of the month is the illustrated diary of Alfred Withers, covering his voyage on the James Baines from Liverpool to Melbourne, Australia in 1857 (JOD/171).
This diary caught my eye when I was looking through some of the first items of the month published on the website. Despite being one of the Museum’s treasures, only a couple of brief paragraphs had been written about it. The diary had been about to be put into a display case so the author of the original article had only a very short time to look at it. I was delighted to discover that the diary had recently returned to our stores after being on display both here in the Museum and in galleries over in Australia. It is full of illustrations and the diary entries and descriptions are delightful.
Hannah (Archive and Manuscripts Manager)
How interesting to have an illustrated diary. What on earth did people do on a boat for 3 months?
Comment by Simon August 8, 2008 @ 3:42 pm
Well, some people wrote diaries to while away the time! For the first few days of this voyage many of the passengers (including Madge) were seasick and confined to their cabins. Once calmer waters were reached, Alfred mentions meetings to set up a newspaper and an amusement committee, music-making and dancing on deck, more formal concerts with champagne punch in the Ladies Saloon, games of quoits and ships billiards, promenades, reading and church services on Sundays. This was his third voyage, however, and he does say ‘I find no novelty in anything I see, the amusements are the same, the gymnastics on the deck not very different to what I’ve seen before’… He also writes that ‘the Captain has to adjudicate in all kinds of quarrels, some of them newly married couples, the complaints are some of them very rich’!
Comment by Hannah August 9, 2008 @ 3:40 pm
I’d love to see more of this journal. An ancestral relative of mine, Gabriel Withers from Leicester, England, also travelled across at about the same time. He was, I believe,in steerage on’The Orator’. The story goes that he left England with £1000 in his pocket, but by the time he reached Australia he had gambled it all away! So I guess the onboard entertainment wasn’t all excercises and dancing!I think he was a property developer, a carpenter by trade, having served an apprenticeship with Richard Ward Warren, builder, of Leicester. I think he married Mary Elizabeth Lawrence in Melbourne, Australia, in 1858. Any news of him or his descendants would be most gratefully received!
Comment by Sondra Halliday October 15, 2008 @ 11:57 am
Hi Sondra, I’ve had a look on Ancestry for you, but can’t see anything further about Gabriel Withers in Australia for the right time period. We don’t hold any passenger lists, so you would probably need to see what the relevant state and national archives in Australia hold.
You’re welcome to visit us and read Alfred’s diary though – you can order it in advance from our online catalogue.
Renee.
Comment by Renee October 15, 2008 @ 12:39 pm
Looks like an interesting find and seems fascinating to discover what took place from the diary. The hand writing looks a difficult to read though..
Comment by Stacey Woods December 27, 2009 @ 10:58 am