William Cleveland journal, 22 March 1838-22 November 1842

B 1566
B 1567

fonds

1838-1842

931284

Microfilm : Refer to Contents for location numbers

2 volumes of textual material - manuscript

Professor Frank Debenham, grandson of William Cleveland, through whom the diary was presented in 1959 stated that it is in William Cleveland's handwriting and that it seemed to be a fair copy from an original now lost

Manuscript fair copy

A summary of events giving page numbers is at the beginning of each volume

The journal covers the voyage of William Cleveland and his brother James from Lowestoft to Launceston via Cape Verde Islands, the Cape of Good Hope and Capetown in their own schooner, the Mumford, in 1838, and subsequent experiences of William Cleveland after the death of his brother at Launceston. For a while he traded between Launceston, Adelaide and Port Phillip and in May 1839 joined in speculation with Messrs Henty & Co. and took a cargo to Mauritius where he arrived July 1839. He visited Ceylon and Calcutta before returning via Mauritius to Adelaide and Launceston. In April 1840 he sailed to Sydney where he sold the Mumford, visited the Hunter River District, Parramatta, the Illawarra district and Brisbane Water. In September, he sailed to the Bay of Islands on the Pybee, was on the Thames October-November 1840, returning to Sydney on the Nimrod in January 1841. He then made a trip to Java and the Cocos Islands on the Lorina, returning via Albany to Adelaide, Melbourne and finally Launceston. In April 1842, he left Launceston for Sydney on the Louisa, and sailed for London in the Palestine on 19 June 1842, arriving at Dover on 21 November, having spent some days at Bahia on the way.

The journal gives descriptions of various places he visited and their inhabitants, including the Aborigines and the Maoris, mentioning other vessels he meets on his voyages, and also several shipwrecks, including, that of the Parsee on the Troubridge Shaol in St Vincent's Gulf, Nov. 1838 and the barque Children off Portland Bay, May 1839

Vol. 1
(Request Microfilm: CY 160, frames 1-255)

Vol. 2
(Request Microfilm: CY 160, frames 256-539)

Out of copyright:
Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

Information transferred from Manuscripts Leaf Catalogue No. 1 (5-91A) as part of the eRecords Project, 2010-2011