Cirrus@Austlit

19th-Century Australian Travel Writing

Scotsman John Dunmore Lang (1799-1878) was a politician, clergyman, educationalist, immigration organiser, journalist and prolific author. Lang was serving as a Member of the Legislative Council of New South Wales for the City of Sydney, and formerly one of the Members for Port Phillip, when he wrote an emigrant guide that specifically sought to distinguish between general emigration to Australia, and emigration as a gold prospector. The target audience was therefore potential gold miners. Lang attributed the wealth of the gold regions to Divine beneficence, and through this short booklet, he provided a description of the colony and the benefits that of the discovery of gold. It contained practical information, such as advice on the voyage to Australia, which colony was appropriate, and what to do on arrival. The work was structured like a blueprint for contemporary travel guides, was conversational in tone, and often presented first person anecdotes. Lang also wrote Phillipsland: or the Country hitherto Designated Port Phillip: Its present Condition and Prospects, A Highly Eligible Field for Emigration (1847); Queensland, Australia: A Highly Eligible Field for Emigration, and the Future Cottonfield of Britain: With a Disquisition on the Origin, Manners, Customs of the Aborigines (1861); Notes of a Trip to the Westward and Southward, in the Colony of New South Wales; In the Months of March and April 1862; Re-published from the Sydney “Empire” (1862).