Cirrus@Austlit

Nineteenth-Century Travel Writing

Published anonymously under the pseudonym "A Lady," My Experiences in Australia has been attributed to Mrs Allan Macpherson (Emma, nee Blake, 1833-1915), writer, artist and draughtsman. In her preface, Macpherson noted the need for her volume because the existing library of work on the Australian colonies was directed to statesmen, scientists, merchants, emigrants, but not an everyday perspective of the colonies from a lady's point of view. Having lived in New South Wales for fifteen months, Macpherson's recollections detailed, in descriptive and engaging language, the voyage to Australia, her arrival in Sydney, colonial architecture, flower shows, flora (extensively), fauna, Australian children, the resemblance to America, colonial government, camping experiences, the bush, agriculture, observations of the Aboriginal population and their interaction with the settler society. Macpherson's husband Allan Macpherson authored Mount Abundance: Or, The Experiences of a Pioneer Squatter in Australia Thirty Years Ago (1877).