Journal kept by de Chair in 1930 while travelling in South East Asia, China and Japan, 1930

Component identifier:

File 2

Content Summary:

De Chair accompanied his parents and his sister Elaine on their leisurely journey from Australia to England at the end of Sir Dudley de Chair's term as Governor of New South Wales. The journal, which covers the period 8 April to 11 July 1930, describes in considerable detail the first part of the journey. It begins with a short account of de Chair's experience as ADC to the Governor in 1929. It describes the farewells to the Governor in Sydney, the journey by train to Brisbane, the voyage on the Nieuw Holland (Capt. F. Bauer), sightseeing in Macassar, Bali and Jogjakarta, visits to the temples at Borobudur and Prambanan, a reception given by the Sultan of Jogjakarta, meetings with governors and the governor-general of the East Indies, travels in Java, visits to Batavia and Singapore, a tour of the Singapore Naval Base which was then under construction, travels in Indochina, including visits to Saigon, Angkor Wat and Phnom Penh, and their arrival in Hong Kong. The party then travelled on various ships to Shanghai, Tsingtao (Quingdao), Weiheiwei (Weihai) and Peking (Beijing), with visits to the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, before proceeding to Kobe, Tokyo and other cities in Japan. The journal ends at Yokohama, with some reflections on the White Australia Policy.

The journal contains a large number of small photographs, which are virtually illegible, and a few sketches, maps, newspaper cuttings, programs and other printed items.

Processing information:

M717

Access and use