Samuel Augustus Perry - Ostracism or rambling reminiscences, 1831. 1847, 1853 (transcribed 1902)

MLMSS 5882

fonds

1831, 1847, 1853 (transcribed in 1902)

71502

Microfilm : CY 3093, frames 18-78 (MLMSS 5882)

1 box - 0.02 Meters
Textual Records - (manuscript)

Samuel Perry was born in Wales in 1792. He joined the British army in 1809 as an ensign and served in the Peninsular War. In 1819 he was appointed professor of topographical drawing at the Royal Military College. He arrived in Sydney in 1829 having been appointed deputy surveyor general of NSW. He retained that position for more than twenty years despite much criticism from his irascible superior Sir Thomas Mitchell.

This journal was transcribed from the original by the antiquary, Thomas Whitley in 1902. It records Perry's journey from Sydney to the Blue Mountains during a period of "enforced leave", a result of unjustified criticism from his superior, Sir Thomas Mitchell. The narrative is interrupted by Perry's bitter observations on these circumstances and by anecdotes of his experiences in the Peninsular War. It also contains extracts from an earlier journal of 1831 about building a house in Woolloomooloo, extracts from the diary of a member of the Surveyor's staff in 1847 and some notes about Perry by Whitley.