Australia And New Zealand 19th c - a fine series of approx. ...

Estimate

£400 - £600

Australia And New Zealand 19th c - a fine series of approx. 60 autograph letters written from Australia and New Zealand (with one written from Malta and Egypt on route) by a British traveller. Many of these letters are extensive and describe in great detail his activities travelling throughout the two countries and describing events, including earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in New Zealand, towns (many of which he doesn't like), treatment of the indigenous populations - including a reference to a hanging of several men 'to keep them quiet' - he describes bush towns, the coming of the railways to Australia, mentions disasters such as a shipwreck off Albany in which 36 men were killed, describes his attempt to buy 20,000 acres of land, the activities of opal mining, the constant droughts etc, as well as reporting on other events, such as the Melbourne Cup horse race. The author of these letters, T S Little was a young British entrepreneur who travelled to Australia to set up a business boring for water, forming a company called Little & Beauchamp Artesian Well Borers. The letters provide a fascinating insight into the development of New Zealand and Australia at the end of the 19th c.