Letters of Jane McCracken (45 letters), 1849-1857
- Component identifier:
- File 4
- Content Summary:
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The letters were written to her mother and other members of her family in Scotland from London, Plymouth, Port Adelaide, Melbourne and Saltwater Creek. They refer to their arrival in London, preparations for the voyage on the William Hyde, the voyage to Australia, fellow-passengers, provisions, first impressions of the Australian landscape, aborigines at Port Adelaide, Robert and Peter McCracken, James Robertson, prices in Adelaide and Melbourne, early impressions of colonial life, problems in establishing dairy, birth of children Grace (February 1850), Robert (July 1852), William (May 1854), mutual friends, Scottish emigrants, problems with servants, farming, crops, storms, drought, hay prices, marriage of Robert McCracken (1852), Church affairs, Rev. J.D. Lang, Rev. A.M. Ramsay, Rev. Chapman, news from goldfields, agitation against miners licences, increase in crime in Melbourne, progress of brewery, social events, holidays at Ardwell and St. Kilda, Crimean War, growth of children, illnesses, news of family and friends in Scotland, religious beliefs.
The letters are generally not properly dated but, from internal evidence, most of them have been placed in approximate chronological order. Several are incomplete. Some are very faded and some have been written crosswise. Transcripts have been made of some of the least legible letters, reproducing Jane McCracken's erratic spelling but adding punctuation.
- Processing information:
- M1976
Online content
Access and use
- Parent Restrictions:
- Available for Access.
- Parent Terms of Access:
- Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the owner of the original material.
- Location of this collection:
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Parkes PlaceCanberra ACT 2600, Australia
- Contact: