Page from an original diary kept by Charlie Johnstone on the Overland Telegraph Line 1872-73 and the transcribed text which can be read online (D 7265)
First page of 13 year old George Pike's diary of his arrival at Holdfast Bay Glenelg on the ship Fairlie in 1840 (D 6769)
I landed at Holdfast Bay on the 9th of July 1840 from the ship Fairlie of London. there was a flagstaff and two guns and a heap of shot was all to be seen until we went over a sand-hill we then came on a little reed hut where a Mr Catchlove sold grog and bottled ale and porter. we had to be carried on shore from the boat on the sailors backs and left to run where we liked the luggage was put above high water mark and left until we could get a dray to take it up to the Emigration Square and teams were very scarce then and roads bad we all had to walk the most of the way however we got up about 6.30 P.M. and was shown No 34 where we was to take
The Library has a Transcription Program whereby selected interesting or significant handwritten letters and diaries in our Archival Collection are transcribed, proofread and researched by a team of volunteers into electronic documents, which can be read as word-searchable PDFs attached to the Library catalogue. The transcripts are grouped into broad categories:-
Shipboard diaries and maritime related
Expeditions, Overland Telegraph Line and railways
Life in the 19th century, mainly in South Australia
War in the 20th century, including the Boer War, World War Two and Vietnam War
Life in the 20th century, mainly in South Australia
The Coordinator of the Transcription Program would be pleased to receive suggestions for items to transcribe from the Library's Archival Collection, and would also be pleased to receive electronic transcripts of our archival documents which family historians and researchers may have completed.
|
Catalogue number |
Writer |
Description |
|
Rosina Ferguson |
Letters written to relatives in England while on the Buffalo and in Adelaide, referring to Governor Hindmarsh and to early South Australian settlement 1836-50 |
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|
Rev Robert Haining |
Diary kept during a voyage from England to South Australia on the Orissa 1841 |
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Alexander Lang Elder |
Diary of a voyage from Adelaide to London 1849-50 |
|
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Edward Dowsett |
Journal of the Government Schooner Yatala Port Adelaide, which refers to the naming of Port Augusta 1852 |
|
|
George Frederick Jeffrey |
Diary kept while serving on HMCS Protector 1900-01 |
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|
Captain J I Ellis |
Account of a voyage from Kingstown, Ireland, to Swan River, WA on the ship James describing difficult conditions on an overcrowded immigrant ship 1828 |
|
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Thomas Turner |
Diary of voyage to Adelaide on the Baboo 1848 |
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|
Mrs Pollock |
Log of the voyage of the Charlotte Jane from Graves End to Holdfast Bay 1851-52 |
|
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Bernard Wilfred Francis |
Diary kept as storekeeper aboard the S.S. Despatch whilst handling cargo on the River Murray 1909 |
|
|
George Pike |
Diary of his arrival as a 13 year old at Holdfast Bay aboard the Fairlie 1840. |
|
|
Charles William Stuart |
Five diaries kept on a voyage to Australia, including his trip to South Australia on the True love from the eastern colonies, and while manager of stock for the South Australian Company 1833-43 |
|
|
Henry Dudley Melville |
Five volumes of reminiscences describing his pioneering work in the Coorong for the South Australian Company; as police trooper protecting overland parties; as Sub Collector of Customs at Robe and Port Caroline involving his assistance to shipwrecks; and as Chief Warden of the Northern Territory goldfields 1840-77 |
|
|
John Watson |
Diary of a Wesleyan Minister, giving good detail about life as a missionary on the West African coast, and the voyage to Adelaide on the Agincourt 1840-51 |
|
|
Carl Schwabe |
Journal of a voyage on the Prebislaw from Adelaide to Java, and relating to Adelaide and South Australia 1849 |
|
|
Eliza Burge (nee Springbett) |
Diary of an unpleasant voyage aboard the Loevesteyn from London to Adelaide 1854-55, in the course of which the captain died. The diary was also used for recording sales of butter 1864-67 |
|
| D 7347 |
William Hancox |
Letter describing his voyage out in 1839, his impressions of the colony of South Australia, living conditions and commodity prices, wages paid for work, and his own employment prospects. 1840 |
|
Charles Marsden |
Diary kept by an emigrant labourer of a voyage from Plymouth to Adelaide on the Eastern Empire1864 |
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Samuel Pickering |
Diary kept by an emigrant labourer of a voyage from Plymouth to Adelaide on the Matilda Atheling 1864-65 |
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Charles Davies |
Diary of a voyage to Adelaide, settlement and sheep farming in the Gawler Ranges, and a trip to Mattwarrangalla 1863. |
|
|
William Jnr Giles and Thomas Hudson Beare |
Press copies of business letters from partners in the cutter Mary Ann, mostly written from Kingscote, Kangaroo Island 1838 |
|
|
Thomas William Craddock |
Letter from Tarlee, South Australia, describing his voyage out on the Forfarshire and working conditions in South Australia around Tarlee 1874 |
|
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Esther Pocock |
Diary kept by a 29 year old laundry maid on the voyage of the Hesperus, together with a set of verses composed by the sailors 1884 |
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Thomas Gemmell |
Letter describing a voyage from Scotland to Australia on the India 1839-40 |
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|
William Rooke Creswell |
Notes on proposals for the Australian Navy ca 1909 |
|
|
Matthew Flinders |
Extract from a copy of the log of the Investigator recording the loss of a number of the crew, together with the meeting with Nicolas Baudin in Encounter Bay of 2-25 February 1802 |
|
|
Thomas James Haddrick |
Account of a voyage from England to South Australia on the Resource 1838-39 |
|
|
Stephen Richards |
Journal of voyage to South Australia on the Pakenham 1848-49, and subsequent experiences in Adelaide and the Burra Burra copper mines 1849. |
|
|
Emanuel Solomon |
181 pages of letters by important trader Emanuel Solomon who arrived in South Australia in 1838, invested in land and buildings, began a business as an auctioneer and merchant, had his own vessel the Dorset trading between Adelaide and Sydney, and in 1840 erected the Queen's Theatre, the first building of any substantial size in Adelaide. He was a prominent member of Adelaide's Hebrew Congregation. |
|
|
Sampson Hosking |
Diary kept on the 'Tarquin', Plymouth to Port Adelaide 1864, including description of the rations for meals. The diary is followed by religious writings, words for poems or songs, and an account of his expenses for 1865-1867 |
|
|
Bill Hemer |
Letters concerning salvage of MS Victoria at Tunkallilla 1934 |
|
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Leopold Judell |
Diary of a voyage from Hamburg to Adelaide on the City of Adelaide written in German and with a translation 1870 |
|
|
Vivian Family |
Letters and a diary of a journey on the Pakenham from Plymouth to Port Adelaide 1848. |
|
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John Cock Belton |
Letters by a steerage emigrant passenger on the Rajasthan 1838 and later in 1839 |
|
|
John Reynolds Ewens |
Private journal kept by Police Trooper Ewens, at Guichen Bay (Robe), Gawler Town, Port Elliot and Port Lincoln, covering shipping movements, shark fishing and whale catching, trips to local areas, incidents of police interest and social activities and events 1853-62 |
|
|
Esther McMichael |
Diary of a voyage from Dartmouth to Adelaide on the Argonaut with descriptions of departure scenes, prayer meetings, rough seas and a hurricane, the activities and ailments of fellow passengers and sailors, the trials and tribulations of her numerous pot plants, the ladies' reading group, and the ship's newspaper The Argonaut Times 1878 |
|
|
Joseph Mercer |
Diary kept during a voyage from England to South Australia on board the Lady Lilford. Pages 3-5 have names of passengers, crew numbers and people on board 1839 |
|
|
Adaliza Ann Gower |
Diary on the Hooghly 1846 and first impressions of South Australia showing the pastimes, entertainments and invitations offered to a well to do young woman newly arrived in the Colony 1847 |
|
|
James Hastwell |
Diary of a voyage to Adelaide on the Cotfield 1853 |
|
|
Alexander Scott Cameron |
Letters written while working on the Ghan railway; on the yacht Beatrice, the S.S. Innamincka , the H.M.C.S. Protector, the Bolivia, the S.S. Kolya, and on the Morgan-Kapunda railway line 1896-1900 |
|
|
Arthur Hardy |
Two diaries: volume 1 covers his voyage in the Platina, his pastoral and agricultural operations at section 335 on the Torrens (Paradise); volume 2 is a record of trips to Port Lincoln and a trip to England on the Medway, his activities there and his return trip to South Australia on the Mary Ann1838-45 |
|
|
Ann Taunton Scammell |
Diary kept on board the William Wilson to Adelaide 1849 |
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|
Percy M Wells |
Diary describing voyage to South Africa and Boer War service 1901 |
|
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Thorburn Brailsford Robertson |
Diary of a trip by train from Adelaide to Sydney, then by ship to New Zealand, Pago-Pago (American Samoa), Honolulu, then to San Francisco 1905 |
|
|
Captain John Hart |
Diary of a pioneer seafarer, merchant and Parliamentarian 1865 |
|
|
Sir Charles Todd |
Family letters, mainly by his wife Alice, written during Todd's absence on construction of the Overland Telegraph in 1872 and a letter by Todd to his family in England describing his voyage to South Australia in the Irene 1855 |
|
|
Henry Watson |
Henry Watson was a pharmacist businessman, book lover and wine lover and became the founder of South Australia's first wine industry association. His diary describes his emigrating voyage with his family from England to South Australia on the Katherine Stewart Forbes including a description of a visit to a vineyard in Capetown 1838-39. |
|
|
Sir Charles Todd |
Diary of a tour on the Continent and in England and of a voyage out to Australia 1885-86 |
|
|
James Llewelin Lewis |
Seven letters describing trips, cargo, freight rates and vessels in port written on board the ketch Prima Donna at Port Victor, Lacepede Bay, Port Pirie, Wallaroo and Port MacDonnell just prior to disappearing with all hands 1872-80 |
|
|
John Harman Eamer |
Letter from Australia to his mother describing voyage aboard the Andromache and settling in Adelaide 1850 |
|
|
Charles Algernon Wilson |
Diary by 20 year old Wilson, (who became Adelaide’s first entomologist) of a voyage to South Australia on the Duke of Roxburgh with details of steerage conditions on board, and maps and sketches of the countries passed 1838. |
|
|
Gregory Seale Walters |
53 letters to his wife Johanna in England, when he was sent to Australia to establish smelting works at the Burra Mines. The letters begin on his voyage to Australia and arrival at Port Adelaide and Holdfast Bay in 1848 |
|
|
South Australian Company |
194 pages of general correspondence relating to the Company's affairs in South Australia, including letters by Edward Delius relating to German immigration 1836-51, 1855 |
|
|
South Australian Company |
General correspondence mainly by Edmund Wheeler, the original Manager 1835-38 |
|
|
South Australian Company |
Letters received from the Colonial Manager January to June 1838 |
|
|
South Australian Company |
Log of the South Australian 1836-37 |
|
George Stuart Lindsay |
Diary kept while prospecting in the Coolgardie district, Western Australia 1886 |
|
|
George Stuart Lindsay |
Diary describing a survey expedition to the Barkly Tableland, Northern Territory, and on the Coolgardie goldfields 1893 |
|
Charles Holmes |
Diary of an overland journey from Angaston via the Murray and Lodden Rivers to the Victorian gold fields, together with another diary of a visit to the south-eastern districts of South Australia in the interests of the Primitive Methodist Church 1852-70 |
|
Unknown |
Diary of stores clerk at Tungkillo Mine 1850 |
|
Henry Dudley Melville |
Five volumes of reminiscences 1840-77. Volume 2 describes his trip to the Victorian goldfields in 1852. Volume 4 is written as Chief Warden on the Northern Territory goldfields 1873. There are also references to gold in volumes 1, 3 and 5. |
|
John Thomas Martin Le Sauvage |
Diary of a prospector covering the Alice Springs region and northwards. Diary sketches include maps of his exploration routes and views of various places including Chambers Pillar and Ruby Gap. August-December 1888. |
|
|
John Halliday |
Reminiscences dated 1908 on his reason for emigrating in 1849; his work during his early days in SA; his time at the Victorian goldfields and the formation of the first gold escort ; his career as a market gardener on Mount Lofty and success at agricultural shows; and his return visit to England circa 1902 |
|
|
Stephen Richards |
Journal of voyage to South Australia on the Pakenham 1848-49, and subsequent experiences in Adelaide and the Burra Burra copper mines 1849. |
|
|
Hermann Koeppen |
Romantic letters (translated from Old High German) written by young German immigrant Koeppen who arrives in Adelaide in 1851 and falls in love with Johanna Maria Caroline Ohlmeyer. In order to satisfy her family that he can support her, he travels to the Victorian goldfields, and after modest success, returns to Adelaide and they marry 1851-65 |
|
|
William Barnet and family |
Letter 1852 |
|
Lt-Col George Gawler |
Letter describing the circumstances in which Henry Bryan lost his life during Gawler's northern expedition to Mount Bryan 1839 |
|
|
George Price Deane |
Diaries kept by Deane while a member of George Woodroffe Goyder's Northern Territory Survey Expedition of 1868-1870 and of George Galbraith MacLachlan's Roper River expedition from 22 July to 24 September 1870 |
|
|
Moonta Herald and North Territory Gazette |
Manuscript newspapers (volume 1, no. 1 (2 January 1869), no. 2 (9 January 1869) and no.3 (16 January 1869) associated with the Northern Territory survey expedition. Much of the content is tongue-in-cheek comment on the members of the expedition and their activities aboard the ship. Publication credits: 'Printed and published for the Proprietors at the Office abaft the main-mast ship "Moonta" every Saturday morning'. |
|
|
William Dougall |
Letter written from Trunklinford [?] about the location of John McDouall Stuart's marked tree 1884 |
|
|
Charles Henry Johnston |
Diary kept during the building of the Overland Telegraph Line 1872 and station life 1873 |
|
|
Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell |
Extracts from a lecture on the colony of South Australia, describing early exploration, the problem of water and how it compares to Ireland and elsewhere 1863 |
|
|
David Lindsay |
Notes for a speech on exploration by a member of the Elder Scientific Exploring Expedition 1891-92 |
|
|
William Alfred Crowder |
Diary of 63 detailed pages kept by a member of the Overland Telegraph Line construction party 1871-72 |
|
|
Brenda Baker |
History of Custance and Hinckley Contractors who worked from 1853-54 on South Australian railways 2013 |
|
|
Alexander Scott Cameron |
Letters written while working on the Ghan railway; on the yacht Beatrice, the S.S. Innamincka,the H.M.C.S. Protector, the Bolivia, the S.S. Kolya, and on the Morgan-Kapunda railway line 1896-1900 |
|
|
Governor George Gawler |
Selected papers including Julia Gawler diary kept during Charles Sturt’s expedition to Mount Bryan 1839 |
|
|
Mabel Hardy |
Paper on the career of Frederick Estcourt Bucknall 1860-87 with reference to the North-South Railway and his proposal for a Southern terminal and Canal at Grange 1965 |
|
|
William Webster Hoare |
Diary as surgeon’s assistant and amateur naturalist on Surveyor-General George Goyder’s Northern Territory Survey Expedition 1868-69 |
|
|
Sir Charles Todd |
Family letters, mainly by his wife Alice, written during Todd's absence on construction of the Overland Telegraph in 1872 and and a letter by Todd to his family in England describing his voyage to South Australia in the Irene 1855 |
|
|
Bessie Mountford |
Five detailed diaries kept by Bessie as secretary to her husband, Charles Mountford’s American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land 1948 |
|
|
George Charles Hawker |
Diary kept by George Hawker as a member of Captain EC Frome's expedition to the north-east July-August 1843 |
|
|
Charles P Mountford |
Two manuscript journals kept by Mountford on the South Australian Government Expedition to the Simpson Desert to search for the possible remains of explorer Ludwig Leichhardt 1938 |
|
|
Sir Dominick Daly |
Two journals possibly by Joanna Wynn Daly and Mr Waterhouse of the trip to the South East by Governor Sir Dominick Daly and his party in February 1863 |
|
Catalogue number |
Name |
Description |
|
Rosina Ferguson |
Letters written to relatives in England while on the Buffalo and in Adelaide, referring to Governor Hindmarsh and to early South Australian settlement 1836-50 |
|
|
Arthur W Gliddon |
Testimonial presented to AW Gliddon 1862 |
|
|
Matthew Henry Crosby |
Letter to a relative in England, including a description of Adelaide and discussion of commodity prices 1850 |
|
|
Charles Holmes |
Diary of an overland journey from Angaston via the Murray and Lodden Rivers to the Victorian gold fields, together with another diary of a visit to the south-eastern districts of South Australia in the interests of the Primitive Methodist Church 1852-70 |
|
|
Jean Elizabeth Murray |
Notebook describing the early history of Coromandel Valley in the 1840s |
|
|
George Stuart Lindsay |
Diary describing a survey expedition to the Barkly Tableland, Northern Territory, and on the Coolgardie goldfields 1893 |
|
|
Charles Darwin |
Undated letter from England in which he discusses a possible German translation of Origin of species undated |
|
|
John Pitcher |
Letter to Josiah Pitcher, Launceston thanking him for gifts of vines, and says the 'Rabbits....are doing well' 1838 |
|
|
Samuel & Co Stocks |
Letter re wool, wheat and copper shipments 1846 |
|
|
Rev Thomas Quinton Stow |
Letter to Rev Mr Wales, London 1847 |
|
|
William A Norman |
Research paper on the history of Mitcham 1951 |
|
|
John Crawford Woods |
Reminiscences and five diaries kept by the first Unitarian Minister in Adelaide 1824-1906, and a diary by his wife 1907 |
|
|
Belt Family |
11 letters 1833-96 |
|
|
Thomas Flett and Samuel Stuckey |
Letters to Mrs Margaret Flett (widow of William Flett), principally from her son Thomas and her son-in-law Samuel Stuckey, relating mainly to the running of Samuel Stuckey's pastoral properties in the north of South Australia. Thomas Flett was managing Beltana pastoral Crown lease, and Samuel Stuckey was managing Umberatana in the northern Flinders Ranges, 1864-86 |
|
|
Rev Thomas Quinton Stow |
Letter reporting on his church work and the growth of his congregation 1839 |
|
|
James Gilbert McDougall |
Diary of an amateur naturalist with detailed observations on the flora and fauna around Edithburgh and Yorke Peninsula 1886-87 |
|
|
Archibald Little |
Letters written by a farmer at Dairy Creek, Hack's Station and Mt Barker describing economic and agricultural conditions and problems with raising crops 1840-42 |
|
|
Bishop Francis Murphy |
Letter from the first Catholic Bishop of Adelaide describing the Aboriginal people and their customs 1844 |
|
|
George Fossett |
Letter from Oak Gully describing his life on a sheep station near Dry Creek 1848. |
|
|
John Finlay Duff |
Letter to his uncle, Captain John Finlay, inviting him to speculate in land at Port Lincoln 1839 |
|
|
Charles Henry Johnston |
Diary kept during the building of the Overland Telegraph Line 1872 and station life 1873 |
|
|
John Fogg Taylor |
80 page letter from Tundemunga near Adelaide with graphic details describing early life in Adelaide, Aboriginal people and corroborees, flora and fauna, and local events such as Government House burning down 1840 |
|
|
Rev Thomas Quinton Stow |
Letter reporting on the Congregational Church and details of members 1840 |
|
|
Alfred Hardy |
Letters written by Alfred Hardy, surveyor, in Adelaide to his family in England 1842-46. One letter concerns his interest in F. Sinnett and the Beckwith family, the S.A. Railway Bill, and the construction of Hardy's house, Hartley Bank, at Glen Osmond 1850 |
|
|
John Halliday |
Reminiscences dated 1908 of his reason for emigrating in 1849; his work during his early days in SA; his time at the Victorian goldfields and the formation of the first gold escort ; his career as a market gardener on Mount Lofty and success at agricultural shows; and his return visit to England circa 1902 |
|
|
William Hancox |
Letter describing his voyage out in 1839, his impressions of the colony of South Australia, living conditions and commodity prices, wages paid for work, and his own employment prospects. 1840 |
|
|
Thomas Elder |
Journal written as a 12 year old living in Kirkaldy in Fife, Scotland, recording his summer holiday activities 1830 |
|
|
Charles Davies |
Diary of a voyage to Adelaide, settlement and sheep farming in the Gawler Ranges, and a trip to Mattwarrangalla 1863 |
|
|
Sarah Jane Niall |
Reminiscences of life in Van Diemen's Land and South Australia, with notes on the Nihill family (variant spellings of name) 1900 |
|
|
William Jnr Giles and Thomas Hudson Beare |
Press copies of business letters from partners in the cutter Mary Ann, mostly written from Kingscote, Kangaroo Island 1838 |
|
|
Thomas William Craddock |
Letter from Tarlee, South Australia, describing his voyage out on the Forfarshire and working conditions in South Australia around Tarlee 1874 |
|
|
William Henry Arscott |
Letter mentioning the job he has found, and the friendly society 'Rackohole' 1874 |
|
|
James Alexander McLean |
Reminiscences of the early days of the colony of South Australia by a member of the Mounted Police Force and Sherriff's Officer of the Supreme Court, Adelaide ca 1840 |
|
|
Rev Thomas Quinton Stow |
Letter describing conditions in the colony of South Australia including climate, water, stock, trade and money, religion, and comparison with other colonies 1842 |
|
|
HL Thornber |
Reminiscences of his father, Charles Rowland Thornber, his arrival in South Australia in 1839, early experiences as a member of the gold escort under Tolmer and Alford, and married life in Wallaroo and Moonta 1922 |
|
|
Catherine Hussey |
Letters proposing to establish a charity school for 'unprotected children who wander the streets' of 1843 and relating to Irish immigration to South Australia 1852 |
|
|
Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell |
Extracts from a lecture on the colony of South Australia, describing early exploration, the problem of water and how it compares to Ireland and elsewhere 1863 |
|
|
H Barclay |
Letter from Strathallan describing methods of making smoke signals by Aboriginal people 1894 |
|
|
South Australian School Society |
First report setting out their education plans, the appointment of Mr J.B. Shepperdson as head teacher, and details of the society 1838 |
|
|
Henry Nixon |
Letter to George Napier, following the death of William Light 1839 |
|
|
Emanuel Solomon |
167 pages of letters by entrepreneur businessman Emanuel Solomon who arrived in South Australia in 1838, invested in land and buildings, and with his brother in Sydney operated the ship Dorset trading between Adelaide and Sydney. In 1840 he erected the Queen's Theatre, the first building of any substantial size in Adelaide. He was a prominent member of Adelaide's Hebrew Congregation. |
|
|
Thomas Davidson |
Letters written to Ethel May Malcolm, mainly from Broken Hill where Davidson was manager of D.J. Fowler & Coy Ltd 1899-1901 |
|
|
Hermann Koeppen |
Romantic letters (translated from Old High German) written by young German immigrant Koeppen who arrives in Adelaide in 1851 and falls in love with Johanna Maria Caroline Ohlmeyer. In order to satisfy her family that he can support her, he travels to the Victorian goldfields, and after modest success, returns to Adelaide and they marry 1851-65 |
|
|
William Peter Reynolds |
Letters which include a mention of the execution of Michael Magee, who was convicted of shooting Sherriff Smart 1837-38 |
|
|
Richard Day |
Research paper by Max Slee of 2005 on Richard and Mary Ann Day who arrived in 1838. He built huts and grew crops on the River Torrens and Walkerville; worked as a teamster at the Burra Mines; purchased land around Prospect Village, Cheltenham, Regency Park, Reeves Plains, Gawler River; Two Wells and Kangaroo Flat; built Croydon Villa; in 1880 his property at Tam O'Shanter Belt (also known as Salt Water Springs) was acquired for Islington Sewage Farm, which in 1975 became part of Regency Park including Sunnybrae Farm. He died in 1900. |
|
|
John Reynolds Ewens |
Private journal kept by Police Trooper Ewens, at Guichen Bay (Robe), Gawler Town, Port Elliot and Port Lincoln, covering shipping movements, shark fishing and whale catching, trips to local areas, incidents of police interest and social activities and events 1853-62 |
|
|
Henry Adams |
Diary taking in the Goolwa, Hindmarsh Island, Middleton and Currency Creek areas, with references to work at the mill, fishing, hunting, kangaroo-dogging, chapel and cricket. Cricket is a particular interest with mentions of the Goolwa Cricket Club and its rivals at Port Elliot 1859-62 |
|
|
James Allen |
Letters from Brownhill Creek mentioning prices of commodities, business, climate, description of metropolitan and countryside areas, his horses, daily routines 1841 and 1843 |
|
|
Adaliza Ann Gower |
Diary on the Hooghly 1846 and first impressions of South Australia showing the pastimes, entertainments and invitations offered to a well to do young woman newly arrived in the Colony 1847 |
|
|
Charles Woss |
Letter includes mention of the Aboriginal Buandik people in the Rivoli Bay area 1848 |
|
|
Rev Thomas Quinton Stow |
Letter about the Congregational church and the opening of a new school room 1845 |
|
|
MA Lintner |
Letter about Parkside Lunatic Asylum 1884 and an anonymous inmate’s diary 1880s |
|
|
South Australian Company |
Deed of Settlement and Royal Charter of Incorporation between George Fife Angas, Thomas Smith and Henry Kingscote, directors of the South Australian Company, and 300 shareholders London 27 June 1836 |
|
|
South Australian Company |
Petition to William Giles, Manager, asking for a continuance of the Company's paper currency of notes of small value, signed by fifty of Adelaide's leading traders 1852 |
|
|
Governor George Gawler |
Selected papers including Julia Gawler diary kept during Charles Sturt’s expedition to Mount Bryan 1839 |
|
|
Arthur Hardy |
Two diaries: volume 1 covers his voyage in the Platina, his pastoral and agricultural operations at section 335 on the Torrens (Paradise); volume 2 is a record of trips to Port Lincoln and a trip to England on the Medway, his activities there and his return trip to South Australia on the Mary Ann 1838-45 |
|
|
Arthur Hardy and family |
100 long and detailed letters between family members, mainly in London and Arthur’s residence Birksgate in Urrbrae, South Australia, discussing crops and gardens, local matters and people 1838-1906 |
|
|
Bishop Augustus Short |
Diary of Bishop Short covering his family's voyage from England to Adelaide on the Derwent and his work in establishing the Anglican Bishopric in South Australia 1847-48 |
|
|
George Henry Pitt |
Entertaining historical writings on ‘buildings of old Adelaide’ and ‘women in the early days’ written by an archivist in the 20th century |
|
|
Henry Hammond Tilbrook |
Reminiscences, camping out expeditions and memoranda mainly in the far north and Flinders Ranges and down to the Glenelg River in South Australia and also to New Zealand, by the editor of the Northern Argus newspaper in Clare, HH Tilbrook, between 1864 and 1905 |
|
|
Captain John Hart |
Diary of a pioneer seafarer, merchant and Parliamentarian 1865 |
|
|
Sir John Morphett |
Letter from Sir John to his son John Cummins Morphett about his early work for South Australia and the people with whom he worked 1888 |
|
|
Samuel Mills |
Letter describing his experiences in South Australia including rents, prices and cost of food 1842 |
|
|
William Webster Hoare |
Diary as surgeon’s assistant and amateur naturalist on Surveyor-General George Goyder’s Northern Territory Survey Expedition 1868-69 |
|
|
John Howard Clark and John T Bagot |
Three short letters 1854-69 |
|
|
Matthew Symonds Clark |
Diary kept by ornithologist, aviculturist and naturalist Clark, with a list of birds seen during the year, principally in the Burnside district 1863 |
|
|
Caroline Emily Clark |
Recollections of social reformer Emily Clark who founded the 'boarding-out' system c. 1828-1905 |
|
|
Mary Jacob |
Diary written while living in Stanley Street, Lower North Adelaide 1866-67 |
|
|
Sir Charles Todd |
Family letters, mainly by his wife Alice, written during Todd's absence on construction of the Overland Telegraph in 1872 and and a letter by Todd to his family in England describing his voyage to South Australia in the Irene 1855 |
|
|
Sir Charles Todd |
Diary of a tour on the Continent and in England and of a voyage out to Australia 1885-86 |
|
|
Ann Horrocks nee Jacob |
Diary of her day to day life at the Jacob's settlement at Moorooroo at Jacob's Creek in the Barossa Valley with numerous notable visitors such as the Governor and names like Bagot, Gilbert, Hawker and Morphett, and recording the death of John Horrocks 1839-48 |
|
|
John Harman Eamer |
Letter from Australia to his mother describing voyage aboard the Andromache and settling in Adelaide 1850 |
|
|
Wilson Family |
Papers relating to Edmund M, Theodore AG and George A Wilson 1853-1935, 1960, 1971 |
|
|
Gregory Seale Walters |
53 letters to his wife Johanna in England, when he was sent to Australia to establish smelting works at the Burra Mines. The letters begin on his voyage to Australia and arrival at Port Adelaide and Holdfast Bay in 1848. The letters include many illustrations, including animals and insects, transport and scenery. He sets up his accommodation in North Adelaide and details life in Adelaide and trips to the Burra Mines between 1848 and 1850. |
|
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Rev John Gibbon Wright |
Methodist minister's diary with details of his activities in the metropolitan area such as Kensington, Mitcham, Norwood and Athelstone, and in country areas such as Strathalbyn, Kadina, Moonta, Wallaroo, Gawler, Clare and Kooringa 1856 to 1901 and letters from Burra Burra to the Briston circuit, 1856 to 1898. |
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Mrs Meredith |
Letters, reports, lists of Aboriginal people, mainly Narungga, living on the Point Pearce mission, Aboriginal names and words, rules for the Yorke Peninsula Mission and newspaper cuttings 1866-92 |
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South Australian Club |
Indenture establishing the club 5 September 1838 |
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Catalogue number |
Name |
Description |
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HH Moule |
Letter from Trooper HH Moule, 3rd Light Horse, Palestine, to Miss Fenton, with thanks for Comforts Fund gifts 1917 |
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| D 4975
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Arthur Sydney Hutton |
Diary by A.S. Hutton, signaller, No 10 H.Q. Staff, 3rd Light Horse Regiment AIF, describing his experiences in Egypt, the fighting around Quinn's Post, and the illnesses contracted in the field, requiring transfer to Alexandrina and Lemnos 1915 |
| D 5895
|
A Jamieson Meikle |
Letter written to F.B. Puckridge of Port Lincoln from Gallipoli while serving with the Medical Unit at Anzac Cove 1915 |
| D 6529
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AF Walker |
Diary written en route from Port Adelaide to Gallipoli on the Botanist by a member of the 5th Regiment, 3rd Lighthorse 1915 |
| D 6544
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Lloyd Chenoweth |
Diary by a member of the 1st Anzac Cycle Battalion 1916-19 |
| D 6867
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Harold Ernest Johnson |
Reminiscences by a member of the 50th Battalion in France and Belgium 1914-19 |
| D 7167
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James W Mundy |
Diary of Private Mundy D. Company 16th Battalion 4th Brigade Egypt 1916-18 |
| D 7720
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Jack Jensen |
Letter describing his stay in Cairo and the Cairo riots, and his part in the Gallipoli campaign when he landed on 25 April 1915, his wounding and his time in England during his convalescence 1915 |
| D 7992
|
Claude James Garfield Symonds |
Diary kept by Private Symonds while serving as a stretcher bearer in the 8th Field Ambulance Corps in Egypt and France, after leaving Melbourne on 10 November 1915 on HMAT Ascanius. He also spent time recuperating in England after being injured 1916-17 |
| D 8540 |
Henry Francis Leader |
Account of journey from Adelaide to Goolwa on the Cobb and Company coach via Noarlunga (Horseshoe Bend), Willunga and Port Elliot in April 1867 |
| D 8719 |
Thomas Chappell |
Diary kept by Private Chappell while serving in the Middle East, describing (often critically) the trip from Australia to Port Suez, his initial training in the desert, and subsequent activities under combat conditions 1917-19 |
| PRG 8/1
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Rev Samuel Forsyth |
Journal of his voyage from Ireland to Australia and experiences as a chaplain on the troopship Marathon 1916 |
| PRG 18/17 |
Sir Ross Smith |
56 detailed letters by flying ace Ross Smith to his mother from Port Said, London, Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Aboukir, Baghdad and India 1914-20 |
| PRG 18/19 | Sir Ross Smith | Diary with good detail by Ross Smith of No.1 Squadron, A.F.C. 1916-18 |
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Len Hussey |
Letters from driver Hussey in the 50th Battalion describing his training at Morphettville Army Camp, activities while on active service on the Western Front, in Egypt, and convalescence in hospital in England 1915-18 |
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Various writers |
Letters advising of the death of Howard George Dodd while on active service at Gallipoli 1916 |
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Lance Lewis and family |
Letters describing Lewis's service in Egypt and Gallipoli, and his convalescence in England 1915-17 |
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Thomas Gilbert |
Letters numbering 150 written to his parents and other family members chiefly from India where he was a civil servant, including periods as a cavalry officer and a member of the Royal Flying Corps on active service 1913-25 |
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Victor Voules Brown |
Letters by Brown, member of the 48th Battalion 1916-18 |
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Louis Willyama Avery |
Diary with entertaining and interesting detail kept by a member of the 3rd Field Company Engineers, 1st Division AIF. Avery served on the Suez Canal defence, was part of the Anzac landing on 25 April 1915, was in France on the Somme and at Ypres, attended officer training in England 1917, and returned in 1918 to France 1914-18 |
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Irene Bonnin |
Letters written by nurse Bonnin from Egypt where she was stationed for some 9 months, subsequently transferring to northern France in conjunction with the 1st Australian General Hospital’s evacuation from Heliopolis via Alexandria to depart ex H.M. Hospital Ship ‘Salta’ 1915-16 |
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Irene Bonnin |
Two diaries kept by nurse Bonnin kept on board the S.S. Wandilla and in Egypt, and in England 1915-18 |
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Malcolm Cornelius Bonnar |
Diary kept by a Signals Sapper in the 2nd Division from 1915-19 |
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James Churchill-Smith |
Five diaries kept by Captain (later Major) Churchill-Smith during his service in the AIF in Gallipoli and in the 50th Battalion in France and in England 1915-19 |
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Arthur Oxer |
Diary of a member of the 16th Battalion, who was part of the Gallipoli landing on 25 April 1915 and was killed there in August 1915 |
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William Keneally |
Official letters of appreciation to the 'young, strong, lively and jaunty Australian troops' from the citizens of Dinant and Anserne, Belgium 1919 |
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Frederick Albury |
Diary kept while serving as a driver with the Australian Imperial Expeditionary Forces in France and while on leave in England 1917-18 |
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Lieutenant Harry Thomson |
Diary kept with 50th Battalion after arrival in France at Fricourt and into the front line near Bernafay Wood, Flers, and the battalion's first major engagement at Mouquet Farm, Pozieres, 11 January to 15 November 1916 |
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Frederick Leopold Terrell |
Five diaries kept in Adelaide, Gallipoli, France, Belgium and England 1914-18 |
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Walter Allison |
Letters to and from WH Allison of the 5th Australian Pioneer Battalion 1916-19 |
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Walter Allison |
Reminiscences: including some relating to WW1 on pages 6-8 and 17-20 |
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Arthur Bruce Durdin |
Letters written from France, Belgium and London on active service 1916-19 |
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Edmund George Oswald |
Letters from a member of D Company of the 27th Battalion of the AIF, from Egypt, Gallipoli, No. 3 Auxiliary Hospital in Heliopolis, Western Front in France and Belgium, on leave in London 1915-21 |
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Catalogue number |
Name |
Description |
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William Frederick Spencer |
Letters written by Sgt Spencer, Fourth Imperial Bushmen's Contingent, describing experiences while on active duty with the South Australian Imperial Bushman's Contingent in South Africa 1900-01 |
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Jack McBean |
Trooper McBean’s Boer War diary 1900 |
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Stop the war Write In |
Letters written to Prime Minister Bob Hawke in protest against the Gulf War 1991 |
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Alan Wellington |
Letters written while serving with Australian forces in South Africa, describing the conditions experienced by the troops, as well as the impact the war had on the Boer people 1901-02 |
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Marlow Spencer George Kimber |
Reminiscences, and a manuscript poem Home written while on active service in World War Two in the Western Desert 1991 |
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Alice Helen Cook |
Letter written by 17 year old Alice Helen Cook (later Helen Dewar), to her parents at Minnipa, Eyre Peninsula, on 16 August 1945, describing the victory celebrations in the streets of Adelaide over two days, following the cessation of World War Two hostilities 1945 |
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Donald Hemsley |
Letter about working in a Pathology Lab during the Vietnam War 1969 |
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Percy M Wells |
Diary describing voyage to South Africa and Boer War service 1901 |
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Keith Dodd |
Diary extracts by a WW2 prisoner of war 1945 |
|
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Colin Kerr |
Diary of Colin Kerr, who edited propaganda leaflets during WW 2 with the Far Eastern Liaison Office in New Guinea 1944 |
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Colin Kerr |
Diary of Colin Kerr while working during WW2 with the United States Psychological Warfare Branch in the Philippines 1844 |
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Robert Hussey Stacy |
Diary kept while serving at Gallipoli February to October 1915 |
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Frances Taylor (nee Harvie) |
Diary kept while a member of the Land Army at Frances and Lucindale 1945 |
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Frances Taylor (nee Harvie) |
Reminiscences of her Land Army days at Lucindale, Morphett Vale, Plympton, Frances and Lucindale 1943-45 |
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Hamilton Norman Cummings |
Diary kept during WW2 by a radiographer with the ‘Free French’ movement 1943-45 |
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Lieutenant Harry Thomson |
Diary kept during WW1 mainly in France near Bernafay Wood, Flers and Mouquet Farm, Pozieres 1916 |
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Noel Creed |
Diaries kept by a musician in the 2/43 Infantry Battalion in the Middle East during World War Two 1940-42 |
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Geoffrey Barnes |
Letters written from Vietnam 1967-78 |
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|
Catalogue number |
Name |
Description |
|
Charles Darwin |
Undated letter from England in which he discusses a possible German translation of Origin of species undated |
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Keith George Brougham |
Reminiscences of life 'west of the Darling' around Broken Hill and Poolamacca and on Gnalta and Yalcowinna stations from the late 19th century to 1947 |
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William A Norman |
Research paper on the history of Mitcham 1951 |
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John Crawford Woods |
Reminiscences and five diaries kept by the first Unitarian Minister in Adelaide 1824-1906, and a diary by his wife 1907 |
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Auguste Heinecke |
Note by teacher of violin and co-founder of the Adelaide College of Music (forerunner of the Elder Conservatorium) with interpolations and translation from the German by Professor and Mrs Henry Krips ca 1916. |
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Frances Diana Christison |
Diary of Christison, nee Hope, of Weroona, near Clare, of a journey by Bond's Tourist Motor Coach from Adelaide to Darwin and return 23 May-11 August 1928 |
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GF Seaman |
Notebook on the Sturt Valley of South Australia ca 1928 |
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WH Ellis |
Speech given by Ellis at the annual dinner of the S.A. Commercial Travellers and Ware-housemen's Association, held at the South Australian Club Hotel on 11 September 1903. |
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Sarah Jane Niall |
Reminiscences of life in Van Diemen's Land and South Australia, with notes on the Nihill family (variant spellings of name) 1900 |
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John Gilbert Partridge |
Reminiscences of an auctioneer and commission agent at Port Augusta 1915-22 |
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HL Thornber |
Reminiscences of his father, Charles Rowland Thornber, his arrival in South Australia in 1839, early experiences as a member of the gold escort under Tolmer and Alford, and married life in Wallaroo and Moonta 1922 |
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ET Crouch |
Notes on the nomenclature of Mount Gambier ca 1925 |
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The Ward Street Weakly Wail |
Manuscript newspaper compiled by an anonymous author/editor and published at 142 Ward Street, North Adelaide dated 15 November 1901 |
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Frederick William Coneybeer |
Diary of a Labor Member of Parliament and Minister of Education 1901 |
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Catherine Helen Spence |
122 letters by social and political reformer and literary figure Spence to her niece Alice Henry 1900-1910 |
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Arthur Hardy and family |
100 long and detailed letters between family members, mainly in London and Arthur’s residence Birksgate in Urrbrae, South Australia, discussing crops and gardens, local matters and people 1838-1906 |
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Thorburn Brailsford Robertson |
Diary of a trip by train from Adelaide to Sydney, then by ship to New Zealand, Pago-Pago (American Samoa), Honolulu, then to San Francisco 1905. This diary can be viewed within the Library but the transcript has been deleted at the request of the copyright owner |
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George Henry Pitt |
Entertaining historical writings on ‘buildings of old Adelaide’ and ‘women in the early days’ written by an archivist in the 20th century |
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Gilbert Family |
Miscellaneous letters and newspaper clippings from a collection belonging to the Gilbert Family of Pewsey Vale, the renowned pioneer South Australian sheep pastoralists and breeders 1907-1913, 1923. |
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John Ernest Jones |
Diaries of travels and working life, including survey trips to Chaffey, visits to Victoria and New South Wales. Gives an insight into the nature of life on the road during the Depression years 1923-51 |
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PRG 1335/1 and |
E P (Prim) Whyte |
Letters by Whyte as manager of Yadlamalka sheep station near Port Augusta, to Messrs |
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Wilson Family |
Papers relating to Edmund M, Theodore AG and George A Wilson 1853-1935, 1960, 1971 |
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Elizabeth Johnston |
Two diary/notebooks kept by Elizabeth Johnstone, wife of Elliott Johnston, on her visit to China in May 1977 |
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RA Cummings |
Diary by a member of the Murray Cods Olympic Team Paris 1924 |