Item #75543 Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia. Mrs Dominic D. DALY.
Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia
Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia
Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia

Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia

London, Sampson, Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington, 1887.

Octavo, xii, 368 pages plus a folding colour map (435 × 190 mm).

Original light fawn cloth with extensive gilt floral decoration and attractive gilt lettering; all edges uncut; cloth very lightly marked and slightly rubbed at the extremities, with a tiny amount of wear to the front bottom corner; vertical crease near the centre of one leaf; trifling occasional fingermarks; an excellent copy.

'Shortly after the return of Mr Goyder's surveying expedition to Adelaide in April, 1870, my father was appointed Government Resident of the Northern Territory'; 16 year-old Harriet accompanied William Bloomfield Douglas (see the 'Australian Dictionary of Biography') and the rest of the family north. She spent the better part of the next three years in the Territory (returning south for her marriage in 1871 to a nephew of the late Governor), before leaving for good in 1873 when her father was dismissed for incompetence. Her chatty account based on her personal experiences concludes then (at page 208); the rest of the book is written 'by means of researches in newspapers, official reports and other documents'. Significantly, this copy bears the ownership signature of John Lewis (Benacre, 1910) on the dedication page. The Honorable John Lewis (1844-1923) was an 'Explorer, bushman, drover, roughrider, pastoralist, businessman, legislator'; his father James accompanied Charles Sturt in 1844-45, and one of his sons was the industrialist Essington Lewis. Lewis has pencilled annotations on two pages of text. The notes on the first page relate to gold crushing statistics; the second corrects a passing comment Daly makes about him in relation to a rescue party. On page 227, Daly names the leaders of the party as Messrs. Lewis and Levi; Lewis notes that 'Levi did not go on this trip but went with J. Lewis the following year' (refer to Lewis's autobiography 'Fought and Won', chapters 13 and 14 for the full details). Offered together with a fine copy of the 1984 Hesperian Press facsimile edition. Ferguson 8939 (not noting the map). [2 items].

Item #75543

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