Cirrus@Austlit

19th-Century Australian Travel Writing

London born Hugh Munro Hull (1818-1882), was a civil servant. After arriving in Van Diemen’s Land in 1819, he held numerous positions, including as a clerk and librarian for the Colonial Secretary and Governor, police magistrate for Bothwell and Hamilton, Justice of the Peace, coroner and chairman of Quarter Sessions. He also authored The Guide to Tasmania (1858, 1859, 1860), The Experience of Forty Years in Tasmania (1859), Tasmania in 1870 (1870), Practical Hints to Emigrants Intending to Proceed to Tasmania (1871). Hull published his most lengthy emigrant guide Tasmania as a Field for British Emigrants in 1875. In the introduction, he set to expose the many advantages of the colony of Tasmania for British emigration, in comparison to other British colonies; Tasmania is described as attractive in climate, with positive industrial and agricultural prospects, and being rich in natural beauty. Throughout, the work contained information on population, the government, geography, and trade, with emphasis on statistics. The appendix has a brief account of 3000 places in Tasmania.