Davie family letters received from James and Jessie Davie, Jim Crow Diggings, Lanky Gully, 20 September 1856 - 13 February 1860

MLMSS 8001

fonds

20 September 1856 - 13 February 1860

914328

0.01 metres of textual material (1 folder)

Jim Crow Diggings was an early name for the area now known as Daylesford and Hepburn Springs in Victoria. Pastoralists occupied the area following white settlement in 1838. Prior to that the districts from the Great Dividing Range to the Murray River had been occupied by the Dja Dja Wurrung people. Gold was discovered in the district in 1851, and towns were quickly established. Fortune seekers from all around the world converged on the district. While the majority of new arrivals were of an Anglo-Saxon background, there was also a large contingent of Italian speaking Swiss, and a large population of Chinese.

Reference:
Library correspondence file

The six letters (23 pages) are written by James Davie to his family, five being addressed to his mother, and one to his brother and sister. He writes on behalf of himself and his wife Jessie. He writes about the workings of his sluicing claim on the Jim Crow diggings, providing a description of the processes used to extract gold. Davie also writes of the cost of foodstuffs on the diggings, and of his garden and the animals he keeps, including pigs, goats and fowl.

Initially, he writes optimistically of their good fortune in the first few weeks of taking up their claim, and with hopes of even better results to come. By the time of the last letter, dated 13 February 1860, his optimism has waned, and he writes of the bad luck which has befallen him, and that he is getting sick of digging. Compounding his melancholy is the death of his youngest son, John, on 16 January 1860 from dysentery. John’s birth on 17 March 1858 was joyfully recorded in James’ letter to his mother of 22 March 1858.

Copyright status:: In copyright
Research & study copies allowed