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y separately published work icon A Narrative of a Visit to the Australian Colonies selected work   prose   travel  
Issue Details: First known date: 1843... 1843 A Narrative of a Visit to the Australian Colonies
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

"Backhouse bases his Narratives on journals kept during an evangelical tour of Australia from 1831 to 1838, when he and his companion George Washington Walker, travelled extensively, preaching the gospel, seeking out fellow Quakers, distributing religious tracts and educational material, investigating and reporting on conditions for convicts and Aborigines, promoting the cause of temperance, and interesting themselves and commenting on all aspects of lie in Australia. Travelling mostly on foot and frequently over untracked areas, they visited established centres and isolated settlements. They explored Van Diemen's Land and New South Wales most extensively, particularly the former, but also paid brief visits to the settlements at Moreton Bay, Port Phillip, Adelaide, Albany and Perth" (Walsh and Hooton 16).

Source

Walsh, Kay and Joy Hooton. Australian Autobiographical Narratives : An Annotated Bibliography. Canberra : Australian Scholarly Editions Centre, University College, ADFA and National Library of Australia, 1993.

Affiliation Notes

  • 19th-Century Australian Travel Writing

    James Backhouse (1794–1869), naturalist, humanitarian advocate, and Quaker missionary, wrote a lengthy Narrative that describes in detail his voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Hobart, Sydney, Norfolk Island, Bathurst, Brisbane, and the Swan River, including his travels, religious meetings, views on crime and emigration, the countryside and resources, the indigenous people, geology, and climate, and much more. The work concludes with an appendix of Backhouse's letters to persons of authority, copies of influential reports written in the colonies, and essays on justice and religion. Backhouse was later an editor of The Life and Labours of George Washington Walker (1862), who accompanied him on his travels.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Hamilton, Adams, and Co. ,
      1843 .
      image of person or book cover 3849308027280037049.png
      Link: 20289177Full text document Sighted: 01/10/2020
      Extent: xviii, 560p., cxliv.p.
      Description: illus., maps.
      Note/s:
      • Ferguson 3558
      • Illustrated by three maps, fifteen etchings, and several wood-cuts

      Holdings

      Held at: City of Port Adelaide Enfield Port Adelaide Library
      Local Id: 994 BAC

      Holdings

      Held at: National Library of Australia
      Local Id: Hallstrom 359

      Holdings

      Held at: Royal Historical Society of Victoria Inc. Royal Historical Society of Victoria Library
      Local Id: X 994 BAC

      Holdings

      Held at: Australian National University Australian National University Library
      Local Id: DU101.B12

      Holdings

      Held at: University of Queensland University of Queensland Library Fryer Library
      Local Id: DU101 .B12 1843

      Holdings

      Held at: Royal Australian Historical Society RAHS Library
      Local Id: RB 980.1 BAC

      Holdings

      Held at: Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies AIATSIS Library
      Local Id: RB B126.25/N1

      Holdings

      Held at: University of New South Wales Australian Defence Force Academy Australian Defence Force Academy Library
      Local Id: DU101 .B12

      Holdings

      Held at: Australian Museum Australian Museum Research Library
      Local Id: RB D994.02/BAC/RARE BOOKS

      Holdings

      Held at: Adelaide University Barr Smith Library
      Local Id: 919.4 B12n

      Holdings

      Held at: La Trobe University Bundoora campus, Borchardt Library
      Local Id: 919.4042 B126n

      Holdings

      Held at: Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales Conservation Resource Centre and Library
      Local Id: RB 919.4 BAC

      Holdings

      Held at: Northern Territory University Casuarina Campus Library
      Local Id: 994.02 BACK

      Holdings

      Held at: Edith Cowan University Mt Lawley Campus
      Local Id: 994 BAC

      Holdings

      Held at: Flinders University of South Australia Central Library
      Local Id: 919.4 B126

      Holdings

      Held at: Griffith University Griffith University Library
      Local Id: DU101 .B12

      Holdings

      Held at: State Library of Tasmania State Library of Tasmania
      Local Id: TL 919.4 BAC

      Holdings

      Held at: Manning Clark House Library

      Holdings

      Held at: Monash University Monash University Library
      Local Id: 919.4 B126N

      Holdings

      Held at: Royal Geographical Society of South Australia Inc Royal Geographical Society of South Australia Library
      Local Id: rgsp 919.4042 B126

      Holdings

      Held at: South Australian Museum SA Museum Library

      Holdings

      Held at: State Library of Victoria
      Local Id: CC 919.4 B12N

      Holdings

      Held at: State Library of New South Wales
      Local Id: T0149868

      Holdings

      Held at: State Library of Queensland State Library of QLD
      Local Id: RBJ 919.402 BAC

      Holdings

      Held at: State Library of South Australia State Library of SA
      Local Id: 919.4042 B126

      Holdings

      Held at: State Library of Western Australia
      Local Id: 994 BAC

      Holdings

      Held at: University of Melbourne The University Library
      Local Id: 919.4042 BACK

      Holdings

      Held at: University of Sydney The University of Sydney Library
      Local Id: Ferguson 3558

      Holdings

      Held at: University of Tasmania Morris Miller Library
      Local Id: BV 2535 .B34 1843

      Holdings

      Held at: University of Western Australia University of Western Australia Library
      Local Id: 994 NAR

      Holdings

      Held at: University of Wollongong Michael Birt Library
      Local Id: 919.4/46

      Holdings

      Held at: Catholic Institute of Sydney Veech Library
      Local Id: CAU/919.402/BAC

      Holdings

      Held at: Victoria University of Technology Footscray Park Campus Library
      Local Id: 919.4042 BAC

      Holdings

      Held at: Wollongong City Council Wollongong City Library
      Local Id: 994.022

Works about this Work

Validating Preferences : Aborigines and the Narratives of Two Missionary Travellers Paul Miller , 1998 single work criticism
— Appears in: Colloquy : Text Theory Critique , Autumn no. 2 1998; (p. 5-15)
Analysing the narratives of James Backhouse and R. B. Plowman, Paul Miller concludes that readers need to be aware of the strategies adopted by the two writers 'to validate their preferences'. Readers need to appreciate 'the pool of socio-cultural circumstances that condition' Backhouse and Plowman's preferences. 'What emerges', says Miller, 'are texts with "facts" that are all but transparent and contructions of Aboriginal peoples adapted to affirm the travellers' personal and imperial agendas'.
Validating Preferences : Aborigines and the Narratives of Two Missionary Travellers Paul Miller , 1998 single work criticism
— Appears in: Colloquy : Text Theory Critique , Autumn no. 2 1998; (p. 5-15)
Analysing the narratives of James Backhouse and R. B. Plowman, Paul Miller concludes that readers need to be aware of the strategies adopted by the two writers 'to validate their preferences'. Readers need to appreciate 'the pool of socio-cultural circumstances that condition' Backhouse and Plowman's preferences. 'What emerges', says Miller, 'are texts with "facts" that are all but transparent and contructions of Aboriginal peoples adapted to affirm the travellers' personal and imperial agendas'.
Last amended 15 Mar 2022 13:21:04
Subjects:
  • Van Diemen's Land (1803-1856), Tasmania,
  • New South Wales,
  • Norfolk Island, Australian External Territories,
  • Brisbane, Queensland,
  • Western Australia,
  • South Australia,
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