Guide to the Journal of James Espie White (as filmed by the AJCP), 1863

Summary

Collection number:

M864

Creator:

White, James Espie

Extent:

1 item

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example:- M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February-23 September 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for reference.

Background

Content Summary:

Journal 1863 of White's voyage to Australia on the Henry Fernie September-December 1862. Most of the passengers were Irish, and White writes of their attitude to the English and Scottish passengers. He describes in detail conditions on board, entertainments arranged during the voyage, relations between the passengers, marine life observed, and deaths and burials at sea. He writes vividly of the ship's arrival at Melbourne and his first impressions of the city and its people. An appendix to the 153-page journal contains a copy of a testimonial presented to the captain and published in the Argus of 26 December 1862, a table recording the ship's bearings each day and a note of the destinations of his cabin mates Frederick King, Arthur Hiddle, George Samuelson and James Hall.

A foreword to the journal states that the author travelled to Australia in September 1862 'to join his brother, John White, a government contractor … building a breakwater at the Clarence River Heads, New South Wales'.

Biographical / Historical:

James Espie White (1846-1865), the son of a shopkeeper, was born in Edinburgh. He was educated at the Edinburgh Institution and Edinburgh University. In September 1862 he sailed to Australia to join his brother, John White, who was working as a government contractor on the construction of a breakwater at the mouth of the Clarence River. It seems that James White also spent some time in Queensland and in Melbourne, where he had other relatives. His health declined and he returned to Scotland in 1865. He died in September 1865.

This information was recorded in the manuscript by White's brother, Alexander White of Edinburgh, in January 1900.

Related

Existence and Location of Copies:

The original AJCP microfilm of the records filmed from this collection is available at the National Library of Australia [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn725568] as well as other institutions holding AJCP microfilm.

Existence and Location of Originals:

Edinburgh Central Library, Edinburgh Public Libraries, Edinburgh.

For further information, see Edinburgh Central Library (https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/directory_record/5079/central_library).

Conditions Governing Access:

Available for Access.

Conditions Governing Use:

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.

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example:- M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February-23 September 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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