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The Library has a Transcription Program whereby selected interesting or significant handwritten letters and diaries in our Archival Collection are transcribed by a team of volunteers into electronic documents, which can be read as word-searchable PDFs

Transcripts readable on the Library catalogue

      

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

Goldfields and other mining

Expeditions, Overland Telegraph Line and railways

Life in the 19th century, mainly in South Australia

World War One 

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.

 

Shipboard diaries and maritime related

Catalogue number

Writer

Description

D 2685

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

D 2968

Rev Robert Haining

Diary kept during a voyage from England to South Australia on the Orissa 1841

D 3588

Alexander Lang Elder

Diary of a voyage from Adelaide to London 1849-50

D 4221

Edward Dowsett

Journal of the Government Schooner Yatala Port Adelaide, which refers to the naming of Port Augusta 1852

D 4619

George Frederick Jeffrey

Diary kept while serving on HMCS Protector 1900-01

D 4885

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

D 5388

Thomas Turner

Diary of voyage to Adelaide on the Baboo 1848

D 6419

Mrs Pollock

Log of the voyage of the Charlotte Jane from Graves End to Holdfast Bay 1851-52

D 6638

Bernard Wilfred Francis

Diary kept as storekeeper aboard the S.S. Despatch whilst handling cargo on the River Murray 1909

D 6769

George Pike

Diary of his arrival as a 13 year old at Holdfast Bay aboard the Fairlie 1840.

D 6872

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

D 6976

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

D 7048

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

D 7126

Carl Schwabe

Journal of a voyage on the Prebislaw from Adelaide to Java, and relating to Adelaide and South Australia 1849

D 7336

 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

D 7370

Charles Marsden

Diary kept by an emigrant labourer of a voyage from Plymouth to Adelaide on the Eastern  Empire1864

D 7371

Samuel Pickering

Diary kept by an emigrant labourer of a voyage from Plymouth to Adelaide on the Matilda Atheling  1864-65

D 7380

Charles Davies

Diary of a voyage to Adelaide, settlement and sheep farming in the Gawler Ranges, and a trip to Mattwarrangalla 1863.

D 7404

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

D 7418

Thomas William Craddock

Letter from Tarlee, South Australia, describing his voyage out on the Forfarshire and working conditions in South Australia around Tarlee 1874

D 7506

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

D 7730

Thomas Gemmell

Letter describing a voyage from Scotland to Australia on the India 1839-40

D 7732

William Rooke Creswell

Notes on proposals for the Australian Navy ca 1909

D 7733

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

D 7752

Thomas James Haddrick

Account of a voyage from England to South Australia on the Resource 1838-39

D 7776

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.

D 7922   

 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.

D 8123

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

D 8193

Bill Hemer

Letters concerning salvage of MS Victoria at Tunkallilla 1934

D 8257

Leopold Judell

Diary of a voyage from Hamburg to Adelaide on the City of Adelaide written in German and with a translation 1870

D 8291

Vivian Family

Letters and a diary of a journey on the Pakenham from Plymouth to Port Adelaide 1848.

D 8303

John Cock Belton

Letters by a steerage emigrant passenger on the Rajasthan 1838 and later in 1839

D 8334

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

D 8432

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

D 8552

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

D 8683

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

D 8704

James Hastwell

Diary of a voyage to Adelaide on the Cotfield 1853

D 8720

Alexander Scott Cameron

Letters written while working on the Ghan railway; on the yacht Beatricethe S.S. Innamincka , the H.M.C.S. Protector, the Bolivia, the S.S. Kolya, and on the Morgan-Kapunda railway line 1896-1900

PRG 101/1

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

PRG 119/48/2

Ann Taunton Scammell

Diary kept on board the William Wilson to Adelaide 1849

PRG 122/1

Percy M Wells

Diary describing voyage to South Africa and Boer War service 1901

PRG 136/11

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

PRG 218

Captain John Hart

Diary of a pioneer seafarer, merchant and Parliamentarian 1865

PRG 630/2

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

PRG 456/13

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.

PRG 630/6

Sir Charles Todd

Diary of a tour on the Continent and in England and of a voyage out to Australia 1885-86

PRG 1149/8

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

PRG 1153/1

John Harman Eamer

Letter from Australia to his mother describing voyage aboard the Andromache and settling in Adelaide 1850

PRG 1399/3/1

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.  

PRG 1723

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 

BRG 42/5

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

BRG 42/6

South Australian Company

General correspondence mainly by Edmund Wheeler, the original Manager 1835-38

BRG 42/9

South Australian Company

Letters received from the Colonial Manager January to June 1838

BRG 42/78

South Australian Company

Log of the South Australian 1836-37

Goldfields and other mining

 

D 4120/1

George Stuart Lindsay

Diary kept while prospecting in the Coolgardie district, Western Australia 1886

D 4120/2

George Stuart Lindsay

Diary describing a survey expedition to the Barkly Tableland, Northern Territory, and on the Coolgardie goldfields 1893

D 3787

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

D 2631

Unknown

Diary of stores clerk at Tungkillo Mine 1850

D 6976

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. 

D 7341

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.

D 7345

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

D 7776

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.

D 8001

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

D 8092

William Barnet and family

Letter 1852

Expeditions, Overland Telegraph Line and railways

 

D 3063

Lt-Col George Gawler

Letter describing the circumstances in which Henry Bryan lost his life during Gawler's northern expedition to Mount Bryan 1839

D 2875   

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

D 5108

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'.

D 6999/2

William Dougall

Letter written from Trunklinford [?] about the location of John McDouall Stuart's marked tree 1884

D 7265

Charles Henry Johnston

Diary kept during the building of the Overland Telegraph Line 1872 and station life 1873

D 7742

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

D 7743

David Lindsay

Notes for a speech on exploration by a member of the Elder Scientific Exploring Expedition 1891-92

D 8065

William Alfred Crowder

Diary of 63 detailed pages kept by a member of the Overland Telegraph Line construction party 1871-72

D 8697

Brenda Baker

History of Custance and Hinckley Contractors who worked from 1853-54 on South Australian railways 2013

D 8720

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

PRG 50

Governor George Gawler

Selected papers including Julia Gawler diary kept during Charles Sturt’s expedition to Mount Bryan 1839

PRG 101/16

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

PRG 294/1

William Webster Hoare

Diary as surgeon’s assistant and amateur naturalist on Surveyor-General George Goyder’s Northern Territory Survey Expedition 1868-69

PRG 630/2

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

PRG 487/1

Bessie Mountford

Five detailed diaries kept by Bessie as secretary to her husband, Charles Mountford’s American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land 1948

PRG 847/3

George Charles Hawker

Diary kept by George Hawker as a member of Captain EC Frome's expedition to the north-east July-August 1843

PRG 1218/9   

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

PRG 1513/1

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

Life in the 19th century, mainly in South Australia

Catalogue number

Name

Description

D 2685

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

D 3227/5

Arthur W Gliddon

Testimonial presented to AW Gliddon 1862

D 3238

Matthew Henry Crosby

Letter to a relative in England, including a description of Adelaide and discussion of commodity prices 1850

D 3787

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

D 3973

Jean Elizabeth Murray

Notebook describing the early history of Coromandel Valley in the 1840s

D 4120/2

George Stuart Lindsay

Diary describing a survey expedition to the Barkly Tableland, Northern Territory, and on the Coolgardie goldfields 1893

D 4639

Charles Darwin

Undated letter from England in which he discusses a possible German translation of Origin of species undated

D 4708/1

John Pitcher

Letter to Josiah Pitcher, Launceston thanking him for gifts of vines, and says the 'Rabbits....are doing well' 1838

D 4708/2

Samuel & Co Stocks

Letter re wool, wheat and copper shipments 1846

D 4708/3-4

Rev Thomas Quinton Stow

Letter to Rev Mr Wales, London 1847

D 4840

William A Norman

Research paper on the history of Mitcham 1951

D 5037

John Crawford Woods

Reminiscences and five diaries kept by the first Unitarian Minister in Adelaide 1824-1906, and a diary by his wife 1907

D 5363

Belt Family

11 letters 1833-96

D 6390

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

D 6518

Rev Thomas Quinton Stow

Letter reporting on his church work and the growth of his congregation 1839

D 6785

James Gilbert McDougall

Diary of an amateur naturalist with detailed observations on the flora and fauna around Edithburgh and Yorke Peninsula 1886-87

D 7041

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

D 7062

Bishop Francis Murphy

Letter from the first Catholic Bishop of Adelaide describing the Aboriginal people and their customs 1844

D 7076

George Fossett

Letter from Oak Gully describing his life on a sheep station near Dry Creek 1848.

D 7245

John Finlay Duff

Letter to his uncle, Captain John Finlay, inviting him to speculate in land at Port Lincoln 1839

D 7265

Charles Henry Johnston

Diary kept during the building of the Overland Telegraph Line 1872 and station life 1873

D 7310

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

D 7322

Rev Thomas Quinton Stow

Letter reporting on the Congregational Church and details of members 1840

D 7366

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

D 7341

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

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

D 7355

Thomas Elder

Journal written as a 12 year old living in Kirkaldy in Fife, Scotland, recording his summer holiday activities 1830

D 7380

Charles Davies

Diary of a voyage to Adelaide, settlement and sheep farming in the Gawler Ranges, and a trip to Mattwarrangalla 1863

D 7384

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

D 7404

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

D 7418

Thomas William Craddock

Letter from Tarlee, South Australia, describing his voyage out on the Forfarshire and working conditions in South Australia around Tarlee 1874

D 7419

William Henry Arscott

Letter mentioning the job he has found, and the friendly society 'Rackohole' 1874

D 7656

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

D 7711

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

D 7723

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

D 7739

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

D 7742

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

D 7753

H Barclay

Letter from Strathallan describing methods of making smoke signals by Aboriginal people 1894

D 7757

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

D 7899

Henry Nixon

Letter to George Napier, following the death of William Light 1839

D 7922   

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.

D 7945

Thomas Davidson

Letters written to Ethel May Malcolm, mainly from Broken Hill where Davidson was manager of  D.J. Fowler & Coy Ltd 1899-1901

D 8001

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

D 8306

William Peter Reynolds

Letters which include a mention of the execution of Michael Magee, who was convicted of shooting Sherriff Smart 1837-38

D 8206

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.

D 8334

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

D 8431   

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

D 8489

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

D 8683

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

D 8693

Charles Woss

Letter includes mention of the Aboriginal Buandik people in the Rivoli Bay area 1848   

D 8696

 Rev Thomas Quinton Stow

Letter about the Congregational church and the opening of a new school room 1845

D 8706

MA Lintner

Letter about Parkside Lunatic Asylum 1884 and an anonymous inmate’s diary 1880s

BRG 42/11/5

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 

BRG 42/147

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

PRG 50

Governor George Gawler

Selected papers including Julia Gawler diary kept during Charles Sturt’s expedition to Mount Bryan 1839

PRG 101/1

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

PRG 101/2

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

PRG 160

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

PRG 171

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

PRG 180

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

PRG 218

Captain John Hart

Diary of a pioneer seafarer, merchant and Parliamentarian 1865

PRG 239/18

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

PRG 257/1/2

Samuel Mills

Letter describing his experiences in South Australia including rents, prices and cost of food 1842

PRG 294/1

William Webster Hoare

Diary as surgeon’s assistant and amateur naturalist on Surveyor-General George Goyder’s Northern Territory Survey Expedition 1868-69

PRG 389/3-5

John Howard Clark and John T Bagot

Three short letters 1854-69

PRG 389/7

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

PRG 389/9

Caroline Emily Clark

Recollections of social reformer Emily Clark who founded the 'boarding-out' system c. 1828-1905

PRG 558/2/4

Mary Jacob

Diary written while living in Stanley Street, Lower North Adelaide 1866-67

PRG 630/2

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

PRG 630/6

Sir Charles Todd

Diary of a tour on the Continent and in England and of a voyage out to Australia 1885-86

PRG 966/4

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

PRG 1153/1

John Harman Eamer

Letter from Australia to his mother describing voyage aboard the Andromache and settling in Adelaide 1850

PRG 1399/85

Wilson Family

Papers relating to Edmund M, Theodore AG and George A Wilson 1853-1935, 1960, 1971

PRG 1723

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.

SRG 4/103

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.

SRG 94/W60

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

SRG 716/3

South Australian Club

Indenture establishing the club 5 September 1838

World War One

 

Catalogue number 

Name

Description

D 4057/5

HH Moule

Letter from Trooper HH Moule, 3rd Light Horse, Palestine, to Miss Fenton, with thanks for Comforts Fund gifts 1917

D 4975

 

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

 

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

 

Lloyd Chenoweth

Diary by a member of the 1st Anzac Cycle Battalion 1916-19

D 6867

 

Harold Ernest Johnson

Reminiscences by a member of the 50th Battalion in France and Belgium 1914-19

D 7167

 

James W Mundy

Diary of Private Mundy D. Company 16th Battalion 4th Brigade Egypt 1916-18

D 7720

 

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

 

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
 

PRG 244/9

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

PRG 244/11

Various writers

Letters advising of the death of Howard George Dodd while on active service at Gallipoli 1916

PRG 247/54

Lance Lewis and family

Letters describing Lewis's service in Egypt and Gallipoli, and his convalescence in England 1915-17

PRG 266/7

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

PRG 373/13E/2

Victor Voules Brown

Letters by Brown, member of the 48th Battalion 1916-18

PRG 500

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

PRG 621/29

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

PRG 621/21

Irene Bonnin

Two diaries kept by nurse Bonnin kept on board the S.S. Wandilla and in Egypt, and in England 1915-18

PRG 983/1

Malcolm Cornelius Bonnar

Diary kept by a Signals Sapper in the 2nd Division from 1915-19

PRG 1159/1

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

PRG 1175/1

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

PRG 1183/15

William Keneally

Official letters of appreciation to the 'young, strong, lively and jaunty Australian troops' from the citizens of Dinant and Anserne, Belgium 1919

PRG 1263/3

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

PRG 1284/1

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

PRG 1331/2

Frederick Leopold Terrell

Five diaries kept in Adelaide, Gallipoli, France, Belgium and England 1914-18

PRG 1471/1

Walter Allison

Letters to and from WH Allison of the 5th Australian Pioneer Battalion 1916-19

PRG 1471/6

Walter Allison

Reminiscences: including some relating to WW1 on pages 6-8 and 17-20

PRG 1624/4

Arthur Bruce Durdin

Letters written from France, Belgium and London on active service 1916-19

PRG 1626

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

 

 

War in the 20th century, including the Boer War, World War Two and Vietnam War

 

Catalogue number

Name

Description

D 4010

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

D 6338

Jack McBean

Trooper McBean’s Boer War diary 1900

D 7113

Stop the war Write In

Letters written to Prime Minister Bob Hawke in protest against the Gulf War 1991

D 7334

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

D 7707

Marlow Spencer George Kimber

Reminiscences, and a manuscript poem Home written while on active service in World War Two in the Western Desert 1991

D 7956

 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

D 8726

Donald Hemsley

Letter about working in a Pathology Lab during the Vietnam War 1969

PRG 122/1

Percy M Wells

Diary describing voyage to South Africa and Boer War service 1901

PRG 244/3

Keith Dodd

Diary extracts by a WW2 prisoner of war 1945  

PRG 369/17/2

Colin Kerr

Diary of Colin Kerr, who edited propaganda leaflets during WW 2 with the Far Eastern Liaison Office in New Guinea 1944

PRG 369/18/1

Colin Kerr

Diary of Colin Kerr while working during WW2 with the United States Psychological Warfare Branch in the Philippines 1844

PRG 445/30

Robert Hussey Stacy

Diary kept while serving at Gallipoli February to October 1915

PRG 596/1

Frances Taylor (nee Harvie)

Diary kept while a member of the Land Army at Frances and Lucindale 1945

PRG 596/2

Frances Taylor (nee Harvie)

Reminiscences of her Land Army days at Lucindale, Morphett Vale, Plympton, Frances and Lucindale 1943-45

PRG 1187

Hamilton Norman Cummings

Diary kept during WW2 by a radiographer with the ‘Free French’ movement 1943-45   

PRG 1284/1

Lieutenant Harry Thomson

Diary kept during WW1 mainly in France near Bernafay Wood, Flers and Mouquet Farm, Pozieres 1916

PRG 1483

Noel Creed

Diaries kept by a musician in the 2/43 Infantry Battalion in the Middle East during World War Two 1940-42

PRG 1540/4

Geoffrey Barnes

Letters written from Vietnam 1967-78

Life in the 20th century, mainly in South Australia

 

Catalogue number

Name

Description

D 4639

Charles Darwin

Undated letter from England in which he discusses a possible German translation of Origin of species undated

D 4701

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

D 4840

William A Norman

Research paper on the history of Mitcham 1951

D 5037

John Crawford Woods

Reminiscences and five diaries kept by the first Unitarian Minister in Adelaide 1824-1906, and a diary by his wife 1907

D 6551

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.

D 6750/10

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

D 6903

GF Seaman

Notebook on the Sturt Valley of South Australia ca 1928

D 7257

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.

D 7384

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

D 7636

John Gilbert Partridge

Reminiscences of an auctioneer and commission agent at Port Augusta 1915-22

D 7723

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

D 7734

ET Crouch

Notes on the nomenclature of Mount Gambier ca 1925

D 8053

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 

PRG 22/1/14

Frederick William Coneybeer

Diary of a Labor Member of Parliament and Minister of Education 1901

PRG 88/7

Catherine Helen Spence

122 letters by social and political reformer and literary figure Spence to her niece Alice Henry 1900-1910

PRG 101/2

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

PRG 136/11

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

PRG 171

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

PRG 266/59

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.

PRG 1308/3

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

PRG 1335/1 and 

PRG 1335/8

E P (Prim) Whyte

Letters by Whyte as manager of Yadlamalka sheep station near Port Augusta, to Messrs
TH Dolman & Co. Ltd (the station owners). Also includes two letters to EP Whyte from
WH (Bill) Grantham 1942-44

PRG 1399/85

Wilson Family

Papers relating to Edmund M, Theodore AG and George A Wilson 1853-1935, 1960, 1971

PRG 1542/3

Elizabeth Johnston

Two diary/notebooks kept by Elizabeth Johnstone, wife of Elliott Johnston, on her visit to China in May 1977

PRG 1602/1

RA Cummings

Diary by a member of the Murray Cods Olympic Team Paris 1924