| Land, Labour, and Gold: Two Years in Victoria: With Visits to Sydney and Van Diemen's Land Contributor(s): Howitt, William (Author) |
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ISBN: 1108025706 ISBN-13: 9781108025706 Publisher: Cambridge University Press OUR PRICE: $53.19 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: February 2011 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Australia & New Zealand - General |
| Dewey: 919.45 |
| Series: Cambridge Library Collection - History of Oceania |
| Physical Information: 0.97" H x 5.5" W x 8.5" (1.21 lbs) 436 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Australian - Cultural Region - Oceania |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: In 1852 William Howitt (1792-1879) set sail for Australia with two of his sons in order to try his luck in the goldfields of Victoria. By then he was already a prolifically published author of both prose and verse. He was only moderately successful as a gold-digger, but his account of life in the new colony, published in 1855 after his return to England, provides an extraordinary snapshot of the rapid early growth of Melbourne. Volume 1 covers Howitt's first impressions of Australia, his experiences on the journey to the diggings at Bendigo, the throngs of prospectors, the exorbitant prices charged by profiteering merchants, and the miners' protest over high government licence fees. He describes the hard life endured by the diggers and warns against women coming to the colony. |