Notes of a Visit to India and the Northern Territory, for Information of Ministers
Adelaide, Government Printer, 1892.
Foolscap folio, 6 pages plus a two-colour folding map (415 × 520 mm).
Drop-title; tiny notches and a few pinholes in the inner margins where sewn when bound (now disbound); an excellent copy in uncirculated condition.
South Australian Parliamentary Paper Number 97 of 1892; only 650 copies printed. Thomas Playford (1837-1915) was Premier of South Australia when he 'visited India early in 1892 to investigate the suitability of coolie labour for limited-term employment in the Northern Territory, then part of South Australia. Nothing came of the matter' ('Australian Dictionary of Biography'). In fact, in spite of the title, the paper deals almost exclusively with the five weeks Playford spent in the Northern Territory. The map is of more than passing interest: its title is 'Map shewing Rivers of the Northern Territory of South Australia. To accompany paper read by Captain Carrington before the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, S.A. Branch, November 1st 1886'. The itinerary is overprinted in red, with the following note: 'The dotted lines mark country travelled over by the Prime Minister [sic]. 1st Class country tinted brown'.
Item #24326
Price (AUD):
$300.00