Friday, July 8th, 1898, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Melbourne, Friday July 8/98.

I left Adelaide at 4:30 on Wednesday night & had a very cheery send off. Mr.  & Mrs. Ebdy, the very essence of kindness, saw me safely on board the “sleeper”.[1]

Well, to go back to Wednesday morning, after breakfast & recording a few lines in this journal, I first went to Mr. Ebdy‘s office. The English mail had arrived, so I left him to wade through his correspondence. He handed me a p. card from J.T. Medd[2] to read & this brought me very near to No. 58. I took the tram & went out to Parkside & spent a very, very happy 2 hours with Mrs. Parker, she was delighted & didn’t know how to make enough of me. I saw Charlotte Stoddart again, the only daughter, a fine bright young woman. The son who has the business unfortunately had gone into town to see the doctor about one of his eyes. He some time ago had an accident & is very much concerned about the sight of it. I waited for his return. He was unusually long & I had to leave at last, 12:30 tram, without seeing him. Of course, I had his company the previous visit & much enjoyed him. Mrs. Parker was going to write to Berwick so Mrs. Stoddart will hear of my pleasant visit. [5:31] Unfortunately it was a thick foggy day & rain fell, but such a blessing was it for the country, I rather rejoiced than otherwise, because they’ve had 3 years of very dry weather & a 4^th would have been ruination to thousands.[3] I got back before 1, & Mr. E. & I had lunch, then visited some of his friends, & a host he has, depend upon it. He is a man of importance in Adelaide as regards business, & without exception, his friends shewed amazing kindness to me. We also, during the afternoon, visited the Botanical Gardens. Simply lovely is the least I can say about them. Now the time for leaving came & general regrets were expressed I could not stay much longer, as the one half had not been shewn me, & let me add, I verilly [sic] believe it. The city itself is a marvel of beauty & the suburbs are beyond description for beauty of grounds, residences & parks, parks everywhere. Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, & Brisbane all alike with regards to acreage of parks & beautiful laid out public grounds. Care has been taken whilst forming the towns to reserve plenty of land for lungs. No matter how big these citys [sic] may grow, there are reserves, miles of acres, square, triangle, oblong, & every design, & full of beautiful trees & vegetation.

I had a very, very comfortable journey & slept well, tho’ there were many stoppages [5:32] during the journey. We dined at Murray Bridge at 7:15, ½ hour there, then about 8:30, beds were made & we turned in. There were 2 of us in a 4 berth space. The sleepers are two lower & two upper berths, very broad & beautifully arranged, across the corridor carriage & the car divided with 2 & 4 sleepers. The 2s for man & wife. Breakfast at Ballaarat 7 o’clock, & arrived at Sydney[4] [sic] at 10, gaining the hour we lost in going.

I soon got to hotel, 3 minutes from station, had a clean up & visited Mr. Colville, not 5 minutes from hotel, & arranged to meet him at hotel ¼ to 5. I next went to view the refrigerating works. Mr. Ebdy gave me two letters of introduction & I went to the government one first, & was very courteously received, & shewn everything, ice making as well.[5] Here the rabbit packing was going on for export, same process as I had seen in Port Adelaide, only 10, aye more, times the magnitude. It was a marvellous sight to see & in the chambers were thousands upon thousands of crates ready for shipping, & poultry similarly treated, all dressed, ducks, turkeys, fowls, hares too. You can’t imagine the enormity of this business.

Next I returned to hotel, wrote 3 letters, then had dinner & rested. I set out to view & called James Purves, & I was happy [5:33] in finding him busy auctioneering in the 10^th story of the building. Up there are his stock rooms. His offices, 2 rooms, are on the 1^st floor. He recognized me at once, begged me to wait 20 minutes & he would finish, & we would go & have afternoon tea, & what a happy hour we spent. Oh, what an enthusiast he is & just poured out delightful reminiscences of the days gone by, & got out a large bound book of old sales in the 70s & run over incidents, amusing &c. at each, which I can remember & tell you. This was after we had been out & had tea, then he came out & shewed me about, & went with me to buy a photo album at Whitehead’s, the great bookshop, & some post cards of local views. I bought 24 & have sent them to many friends. You will get 4. Now it was 4:15, so I just bid him good afternoon. He almost made me promise to go & spend another night at his home, but I can’t. I got down to hotel, foot of Collin St., & soon got ready & met Mr. Colville in the hall to the minute. We set out to view & he took me into Fitzroy Park, & through the great national cricket sports grounds, great magnitude. Then we trammed it to his home, “Cambroone”, Waterloo St., St. Hilda. (I got a plan of Melbourne while Jas. Purves was with me, so I will shew you the place by & bye [sic].) Met Mrs. Colville, a very pleasant lady. [5:34] The daughter (eleven) was in bed with measles. We had a very pleasant time. Dinner over, we retired into drawing room, beautifully furnished house & nice grounds, & we had an interesting chat. I had, through Jas. Purves, ascertained that Mrs. Scott – née Margaret Henderson – lived not a great way from Mr. Colville, so he & I went to find her, & 20 minutes brought us to her door, & she was overjoyed to see us. Mrs. Reimer had written her to tell her I wanted to see her. I had, before going down to Adelaide, written to Mrs. Reimer of at [sic] Buninyong, some distance out of Ballaarat, & in the bush, asking them if I could see them, & if they would give me her sister’s address in Melbourne. Mr. Douglas of Chatton hadn’t it, but said Mrs. Reimer would give it me. No letter arrived before I left for Adelaide, however, on my return here, there was a letter explaining &c. & giving Mrs. Scott’s address. She had a photo of Mr. Colville‘s house & one of Chatton Church. It is 30 years since she left & remembers mother & father too, & Uncle Charlie well. She has a very fine family, only some of whom I saw, but I was taken up with them. One fine boy, Algernon Percy, a bony[6] boy, & a handsome girl, 17, Grace, & the eldest son, she says I’ve to tell her father, is a [5:35] as [sic] noble as good. He is presently up country in government service & has a younger brother, 15, with him. Then the 2^nd wasn’t in. He, John Robertson, is 19 & in a solicitor’s office, so I called this morning at 11:30 & saw him. What a handsome young man of very, very fine appearance. We were glad to meet. He had gone to the hotel the day after I left for Adelaide to find me, as Mrs. Reimer had written to them, telling them where I was. Well, we left their house at 10 & trammed it back, trunk line, to Waterloo St. & went in & had a bite of supper, & it was 11 when I left for home, Mr. Colville seeing me into the last tram, & I got to my hotel at 20 to 12. During the afternoon, & before I went to Jas. Purves‘s, I went into a very fine shop in Elizabeth St., Fletcher Chester’s, & introduced myself, & asked to look around, & was welcomed. The proprietor would scarcely let me away, so interested did we become about our trade, & we got real good friends. He gave me his catalogue & bade good bye with good wishes. I’ve never hesitated to walk in to shops I admired & always found a welcome, & retired with profit, tho’ almost every item is English produce, yet it is interesting to exchange views on our manufactures, & they all say the people like home goods. They are so very reliable. I do enjoy the contact with [5:36] fellow tradesmen. This Wednesday morning, July 8/98, I had my journal to write up & did not go out till 10, the appointed hour to view the fresh food & frozen storage coy.’s works, Bourke St., not 4 minutes’ walk from the hotel, & there I found Mr. Taylor, the courteous manager, who personally conducted me through the whole establishment, & a wonderful sight it is. Amazing, the[y] have 76 creameries distributed through[ou]t the colony of Victoria, then the cream is sent down daily to the works & made into butter straight away.[7] They have capacity for 14,000 gallons of cream per day. During the busy season they have had up to 8,000 gallons (7 huge vats contain each 2,000 gallons). In 1894/5 they made 100 tons per week, working day & night, 3 shifts, 8 hours each. No workman in Australia works more than 8 hours per day – this is law – & they can store 500 tons of frozen butter all in 56[8] cases. They were making butter this morning & girls were packing it, hand never touches it, all machine & wood pats. They were putting up 1 [9] & ½ [10] lots, & all by machinery, “Iceberg” brand. Butter now at factory is 1/5 ½ [11] in 56 boxes, 1/6 ½ prints, but this is consequent on late droughts. In 2 months, with the good prospects after rain, it will be 10d. They send a great tonnage to A. Clements & Son, Glasgow, in 56[12] boxes, “Cosmos” brand, most delicious quality.[13]

[5:37]

Next he took me to see the huge engines for ice making & refrigerating. The[y] make 25 tons ice daily. I saw the process & the huge blocks of ice, also the chambers where they freeze every thing, & the snow on the pipes was a treat, but inside just as cold as an ice house, rabbits, sheep, beef, pigs, turkeys, hares, rabbits in thousands, beast feet, heads, tripe in great quantities as hard as pantiles, chicken, ducks, calves, butter, & any merchant, butcher, or any one can send perishable articles, & have them frozen & stored by paying. Fish I saw in enormous lots. Butchers send their meat & get it as they want it, so do poultry dealers &c. &c. My fellow tradesmen would not credit what I have seen. I’ve been surprized beyond measure. Farmers in the up country kill & send down what they consider marketable by rail, cool trucks for the purpose, & it is sent to these chambers & sold for them by auction, 3 times weekly.[14] I next had a tram about the fine streets & back for dinner, & got more writing done, then afternoon, about 2:30, I set out, called & saw Mr. Traill at the Huddart Parker’s office, 3 minutes from hotel. Mrs. Geo. Corson’s Father’s friend spent ¼ hour, & he would fain have me arrange to go down to his home & spend the night. His wife is a Berwick woman but left Berwick in 1855. I did not get her name, & I had to decline his kind invitation. I next called & saw Mr. Jas. Purves to bid adieu & got 3 [5:38] recent Advertisers (yesterday while with him he had just got his English letters, & a long one from his brother William, Edinbro’. He is going to tell him about me being in Melbourne), wanted him to go & have tea again but he had only a short while been out & had it, so I did not stay, but bid farewell, but not before I would promise to look in tomorrow forenoon if I had time, & he would take me through the Town Hall, not 3 minutes from his office. He certainly has made my visit pleasant. Then I set off to again visit Mrs. Manning at Hillbro’, Northcote (High St.), & was very kindly welcomed again, & booked for the night. After about an hour, she named Mrs. Dixon, Robert Black’s sister, & I expressed a wish to see her, seeing I knew her sister, Mrs. Young, & her mother, so well during my apprenticeship, & besides, Mrs. Manning had not been to see her for some time, so off we set, & oh, how delighted she was, poor old body, 81. Her daughter, Miss Dixon, was in, & she was equally delighted, in fact, overjoyed. She was home 8 years ago & 2 months at H’pool, knows Livingstons, Parks, & lots more. I told her I heard about her when at Chatton, looking through Uncle Ben’s window, & she did laugh about it. She corresponds with Flora & is well posted up. Mrs. Dixon, poor body, expressed her gratitude for my thoughtfulness in calling upon her, as I am the first from home she has seen [5:39] for many, many years. Knew mother fine, & eagerly asked many questions. Her memory is very feeble now, but she says when she lays her head down on the pillow tonight she will go into past days & gather all up. Fain would she have me to stay longer, & also go again. She complains sorely about Mr. Black never writing her, but excuses him because she thinks he must have a lot of care & worry. I am also to tell Dixon of Berwick I saw her. Miss Dixon is going to tell Flora about my visiting them, & I have her compliments for Mrs. Park & the Livingstons, & all the Blacks. I was very pleased I had seen them, & they could not conceive that Mr. Black had not sent messages by me, as he was sure to know I was coming this way, but I question he did know. They remember Capt. Sanderson well. He had the “Roehampton”[15]  out here for a long time, & they were well acquaint[ed], & Miss Dixon had seen Mrs. Sanderson while visiting at H’pool.[16]

I also saw the son, his wife & 2 children. Mrs. Dixon has 2 houses joining, “Tillside” & “Chillingham”, & they all live in the latter, George St., East Melbourne. I am to tell Dixon of Berwick that his old friend, Oliver, late of Berwick, often asks after him. I don’t know this Oliver, but Jas. Purves yesterday spoke of an Oliver, a Berwick man, being here & he often saw him.

[5:40]

Well, Mrs. Manning & I left about 7 & made for her home, where they were waiting for us. Tea was ready & Mr. Manning had got home. They tea at 7. I spent a very happy night till 9:30 & left amid regrets that my Melbourne visit had been so short. Certainly we did get on fine. Mrs. Manning is a very cheery & delightful woman with a happy smiling face. As we were going to Dixon’s, we got off the tram at Mr. Manning‘s shop & saw him, & through the premises, which are very spacious. He has just bought Mrs. M. a very fine phaeton,[17] & she is in great glee over it. She is rather stout, tho’ very nimble, & trotted me along smartly. I was amused at her & told her so. They haven’t had the phaeton in use yet, but as soon as the weather warms then it will be often in use. He has a fine horse which he has had for years & now very quiet, & this one he intends for the phaeton. Mr. Manning is a fine, genial, good looking man, North of Ireland, & has 4 of a family to his first wife, the son, who serves his time with him, grocer & spirit merchant, is now off to Perth, Western Australia, for experience. The 2^nd is a daughter, a fine girl, & the 3^rd a fine lad, 17, now preparing to be a chemist, & the youngest about 9 or 10, a girl, & just now Mr. Colville‘s boy, Henry Cecil Colville, aged 7, is staying with them as his sister, 11, has the measles at home. I did not see her last night, which was a regret, as I suppose she [5:41] is a very handsome girl, & her portrait bespeaks it. The boy is a marvel of precociousness & recited two pieces – long – with most beautiful elocution & accuracy. His father takes much delight in his two children & devotes an hour every night with them. I got back to hotel at 10:30 & now it is 11:30, but I felt I must write my journal up before I retired. So now good night.

[1] Inserted on facing page: “Leaving Adelaide for Melbourne”.

[2] J.T. Medd, Produce Importer, Victoria Terrace, West Hartlepool

[3] Inserted on facing page: “Rain”.

[4] Context suggests this should be Melbourne.

[5] Inserted on facing page: “Refrigerating at Melbourne”.

[6] Sic. Perhaps should be “bonny” but not certain.

[7] Inserted on facing page: “Creameries at Melbourne”.

[8] Uncertain superscript character here.

[9] Uncertain superscript character here.

[10] Uncertain superscript character here.

[11] Uncertain superscript character here.

[12] Uncertain superscript character here.

[13] Inserted on facing page: “Butter exports”.

[14] Inserted on facing page: “Produce in cold stores”.

[15] SS Roehampton: built by Edward Withy & Co., West Hartlepool, 1882; wrecked 1907.

[16] Inserted on facing page: “Capt. Sanderson, SS Roehampton”.

[17] Any of various light four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicles