Nineteenth-Century Travel Writing
Sir James Martin (1820-1886) was a writer and later politician who served as the Premier of New South Wales and Chief Justice of New South Wales. Born in Ireland, Martin emigrated to New South Wales with his family as a one-year-old. Prior to his political career, Martin was a reporter, and wrote The Australian Sketchbook in 1838. According to the introduction, it was "the first literary production that has ever emanated from the pen of an individual educated in Australia." It combined philosophical speculations on the power of nature, friendship, death, and intelligence with descriptions of Botany Bay (he recommended a larger monument to Cook be erected), Rome, the Paramatta River, and the picturesque and romantic beauty of Bondi Beach.
