Letters from Australia to family and friends at home
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The Australian DiggingsThe following are extracts of letters just received in Brighton. Brighton, November 26, 1852 My dear Father You will, I know, be pleased to hear we have met with kind friends in this new country. You will be most anxious to know what George is doing. He left yesterday, for the gold mines, where he has gone for a month, and should he succeed he will go for several months, for he cannot get anything to do at present, and he has not money enough to take a station, so his friends persuaded him to go to the diggings. All the people Lord James Stewart wrote to have been particularly kind to us, and are very anxious for us to go and stay with them till George gets something. We have been more fortunate than all our passengers. Sir Henry Brodie’s nephew has gone with George. Meat here is only 2d and 3d per lb., bread, 1s to 1s.6d per 4lb., butter 1s.6d per lb.; and everything else is very dear. Houses with merely two rooms and a kitchen are let at £40 a year; and the lowest sum for servants’ wages are £16 a year. But everyone appears to be comfortably off, and there is not such a thing as a beggar in the place. Earthenware is very dear indeed; for a basin that would cost 2d in England is 1s; and cups and saucers, such as you use in the kitchen, are 2s a piece. Mrs Wilson says we ought to have brought all those things out with us. People in England have no idea what is wanted here. It will cost us a fortune to purchase the things we require for immediate use. A great many people seem to be making their fortunes. From your affectionate daughter, Elizabeth. Dear Brother, I have written to Father and will now write you a few lines to tell you about our voyage and this country. We had a nice passage here, especially the first part of the voyage; but after we had passed the Cape we had miserable cold, rough, and wet weather, and for two nights and a day we had to lie to in a storm. George will send you his log-book home, and then you will have a full account of everything from the time we left home till we landed here. You told me we should have plenty of thunder and lightning, but we only had it twice, and then not much. We lost one poor woman just before we reached the Cape. You will be surprised to hear I was only once frightened during the voyage, and that was the night after the storm. I went on deck with another lady, a Mrs Bourne, rather younger than myself. No one could stand on the poop, so we were both tied to the side of the vessel. I was ill in the morning, and the ship was tossed about so much I could not lie in bed, so I sat tied in a chair till the afternoon when I went on the poop to see the grand sight. Everything in our cabin was flying about. I had a wine bottle broken just by my head, before I was up in the morning, and we had not a dry place in our cabin, so you can imagine the state we were in, and the Sunday we reached Port Philip’s head, we had a very heavy gale, and were obliged to lie to all the morning, and after dinner we were compelled to make for the heads before dark, as there were rocks on both sides of us and only half a mile between them for our vessel to pass; and the captain and passengers were all very anxious, and we got through safely and had scarcely anchored when a heavy gale came on, but we were then quite safe. I like the country very much as far as I have seen; the houses are most singular-looking things, but very comfortable inside. We have had miserable weather ever since we have been here; I have had fires every day. It is quite a mistake for people in England to imagine there is no cold weather here, for it is dreadfully cold in winter, and in summer the evenings and mornings are sometimes very cold. Melbourne is like a middling-sized country town in England. The natives are very harmless but most horrible-looking creatures, and if any of the white people take a black for a servant, the others are sure to kill him on a first opportunity; and when they get to a certain age the young blacks kill the old ones. They only wear a skin thrown over them. Our passengers were all nice people, and not such a thing as a dispute arose on board during the whole voyage. The captain and all the officers never remember such a thing before; they say it ought to be put in the papers, for there is generally plenty of disagreeable things on board. I am, dear John, Your affectionate sister, Elizabeth. Brighton Gazette Thursday December 30, 1852. Letter to Mrs Kitchener, East Street, “from brother in Melbourne who emigrated about two years ago.” (William Palgrave) Melbourne, August 20th, 1852 Dear Sister and Mother, I really wish in my heart you were here in this beautiful climate, this country of perpetual spring, whose winters are as mild as the spring in England. I wrote to you last January, giving some account of my first trip to the diggings. I have followed it ever since, with varying success. I have not been at home more than a month since last November. But I have not been fortunate - that is for a gold digger, - for hundreds have realized a fortune in the same time; still I have no reason to complain. Gold digging is here, the same as elsewhere, quite a lottery; for instance, the trip before last I got 4 lbs weight of gold in seven weeks, clear of expenses. I have been away eleven weeks this time and I am £50 out of pocket. So you see there is some truth in what Punch says, that a sovereign in the hand is worth a lump of gold in the bush. Everything is very dear here. Money is thought nothing of by most of the people at present. Premises are not to be got in Melbourne. People are beginning to arrive from Europe very fast, and when they land cannot get a place to put their head on, so they have to suffer greatly before they get to the goldfields. Taking all things together, I should not advise any one to come here at present, unless he can make up his mind to rough it for some time, for at present society is in a very lawless state, bands of robbers are all over the country, and even in Melbourne streets you are not safe, unless you are well armed, if out after night fall. I delayed for a few days finishing this letter, as I wish to let you know what I intended doing next. I have tried every means to get into business, both by advertising, and enquiring in and around Melbourne, but cannot get premises anywhere. So I suppose I shall have to go to the diggings again; and if I happen to be fortunate enough to get a thousand pounds worth, it would not be many months before we would be in England. I intended to have sent two ounces of gold with this letter, but from enquiries I made in Melbourne I learnt that from the great confusion in all public offices caused by the great increase in business it was a great chance it was not stolen before it left Melbourne; but I shall take the first opportunity that I can get to send it safe, which I think will be before long. I enclose a sample for a ring. It was got in the Forest Creek, Mount Alexander. The day I got it I took eighteen ounces out for the day’s work, which was pretty fair. Steamers will leave England every month, and I hope to hear often from you. Yours etc., W. Palgrave 
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