The Colonial Office List for 1869: comprising Historical and Statistical Information respecting the Colonial Dependencies of Great Britain, with an Account of the Services of the Officers of the several Colonial Governments ... Eighth Publication. To be continued annually ...
London, 1869.
Octavo, numerous advertisements (one folding, one with a tiny strip cut out) and 8 leaves of paper samples.
Original gilt-decorated red cloth showing signs of age and use, with the covers reattached in an amateurish but acceptable manner; a good copy.
With the ownership signature of the explorer Peter Egerton Warburton (1813-1889) in pencil on the preface page and his armorial bookplate ('Virtuti non armis fido') on the front pastedown; subsequent events suggest he may have lived to regret these sentiments. His entry on page 288 records that he was 'appointed commissioner of police for the province of South Australia, 1853'; significantly, an asterisk and two small marks has been pencilled around 'of police'. Warburton was dismissed from this position early in 1867. After a secret court of inquiry into the police force, the government suggested 'that other employment more congenial to his habits and tastes should be found', but it refused to show him the evidence. He refused to resign; a subsequent inquiry failed to reveal why he had been victimized, deplored his unfair treatment and vainly recommended reinstatement. Warburton didn't fade away; when he successfully conquered 'the formidable Great Sandy Desert to become the first to cross the continent from the centre to the west' in 1873-74, he was over 60 (albeit emaciated and blind in one eye after the gruelling trip).
Item #95478
Price (AUD):
$950.00