Thomas Whitley - A Tour to Hell, by Frank the Poet, being a transcription of a poem by Francis MacNamara, 1888

A 649

fonds

ca. 1888

430567

Microfilm : CY 4853, frames 1-17 (A 649)

1 volume - 0.01 Meters
Textual Records - (manuscript)

Francis MacNamara, born in Ireland, was a convict transported to New South Wales in 1832. He was more commonly known as 'Frank the Poet' and to a lesser extent, Frank Goddard. In 1839 whilst employed as a shepherd with the Australian Agricultural Company he wrote the anti-authoritarian satire, "A Convict's Tour to Hell". -- Reference: The Oxford companion to Australian literature / William H. Wilde, Joy Hooton, Barry Andrews. Melbourne : Oxford University Press, 1994

Poem, with explanatory text about provenance at the back of the volume: "The authorship of the above 'curio' belongs to an 'old hand' who was assigned for a period to the A. A. [Australian Agricultural] Company. It was copied in 1857 by the late Mr. Thos. Holdstock of Raymond Terrace, Hunters River during a visit to the neighbourhood of Stroud in that year from the dictation of an old man who had been assigned fellow servant with 'the Poet', who was described as a lame man named Frank Goddard, and died somewhere about 1852 or 1853. The M.S. was leant me by Mr. Holdstock for copying the same year ..."

The transcribed poem is written in a ruled notebook with advertising for the Mutual Life Insurance Co. of New York.

"D.S. Mitchell" signature appears on the title page.

This work has been attributed to Thomas Whitley based a comparison of handwriting of T. Whitley's work, 'Some random reminisences - Lower Hunter River ...' (see B 388) and on internal evidence regarding the copying of the work.

Other versions of 'A Tour to Hell':
(1) MLMSS 7266 (microfilm CY 4830, frames 39-56): Thomas Whitley - Transcriptions of poems by Francis MacNamara, ca. 1891.
(2) A 807 (microfilm CY 1225, frames 1-159): 'Sydney Illustrated' by John Rae, with pictorial additions / compiled by T. Whitley, 1884 - states that Thomas Holdstock of Raymond Terrace, Hunter River, 'lent me the original M.S. to copy'.
(3) C 967 (microfilm CY 1296, frames 1-25): An earlier version, 'composed and written Oct. the 23rd day Anno 1832', possibly by Francis MacNamara.

Beneath title on page 1, "by 'Frank the poet' / recopied Sept. 1888" with "Frank Goddard" written in pencil below acknowledgment.