19th-Century Australian Travel Writing
Frederick James Jobson (1812-1881), D.D, was a Wesleyan Methodist minister, painter and architect. He attended the Australasian Methodist Conference at Sydney in January 1861, and upon his return to England published an account of his travels, titled Australia, with Notes by the Way of Egypt, Ceylon, Bombay, and the Holy Land (1862). In the preface to his second edition, Jobson stated that “a large impression of this volume having been disposed of within a few weeks, the author has taken the advantage of a new issue to revise his book, and to make some additions to it” and incorporates recent developments in the region to the edition (vii). Jobson's travel narrative began in England and detailed the voyage to Australia via Spain, Egypt, and Asia. Once in Australia, Jobson described Melbourne and Victorian mining towns, Tasmania, in particular the north of the colony, Sydney and the Australasian Methodist Conference. He chronicled his travels through Western Australia, describing Aboriginal peoples of the colony before commencing his journey home via Asia and the "Holy Land." Written in a diary format, the work emphasised the state of religion in each of the places visited. Jobson also authored Chapel and School Architecture (1850) and America and American Methodism (1857).
