Correspondence with his children Aubrey and Margaret from Tasmania, 24 September 1908-09 October 1910

Component identifier:

Series Box II

Content Summary:

85 letters, 24 September 1908 - 9 October 1910, written by Westlake from Hobart and various locations in Tasmania. The correspondence starts as his ship SS Afric leaves Liverpool and covers the daily life on board, excursions in Cape Town and landing in Western Australia and Adelaide before final landfall in Hobart. In the Tasmanian letters, Westlake comments, not always favourably, on the local people he meets - including J.P. Moir, Dr. Noetling, Rev. Wilkinson, Mr Peterd and ex-premier Reibey; the weather, the scenery, the flies and the local food - he does not like Australian produce cheese or chocolate and deplores the Protectionist policy which prevent sale of English varieties. He details the field trips he makes round Tasmania and the local islands in search of flints, implements, and people with recollections of the aborigines There is a vivid description of his time in gaol due to a faulty bicycle lamp and an over officious policeman. On May 9, 1910, he visits South Bruni Island with Moir to photograph the eclipse of the sun. He comments on the similarities between the Quakers and the Tasmanian Indigenous Australians who both believe in the guidance of the spirit, and he deplores the morals of the present-day Tasmanians, who as the descendants of convicts, make it impossible to leave anything unprotected. Letters 83-84, 16 June - 12 July 1910 are written on the homeward voyage and describe a visit to Prof. Baldwin Spencer at Melbourne University. Letter 85 9 October 1919 is to Aubrey about his schooling.

Processing information:

M2413-M2414

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