Cirrus@Austlit

19th-Century Australian Travel Writing

William Henry Giles Kingston, Esquire, (1814-1880) was a prolific writer of emigrant and boys adventure novels. Kingston’s previous published How to Emigrate, or The British Colonists (1850, 1852, 1855) was designed to provide all classes with the impetus and necessary information to emigrate, this later work The Emigrant's Home, or How to Settle (1856) was prefaced with the statement that although there was once a necessity to encourage emigration, it was now important to "restrain the ardour of would-be-emigrants." Outlining those who were seen to be unfit to emigrate, Kingston explained what character of emigrants would succeed in the Australian colonies, emphasising the negative and positive characteristics of life as an emigrant as numbers of emigrants travelled to Australia unprepared for their new life. This work also included information on the gold-diggings, church in the bush, and case studies of unfortunate settlers.