Monday morning, May 30/98, at sea, SS Chingtu, off Melville Island & nearing Port Darwin, where we are due early afternoon today.

After closing my diary on Friday afternoon, a strong breeze sprung up accompanied with heavy rain squalls, which developed to a half gale, raising the sea & causing the ship to pitch & roll. This continued with varied severity all Saturday & Sunday, till early this morning it calmed down & now, 10 a.m., it is moderate with sunshine. It was impossible to do any writing, & indeed, reading either, but simply lay about. You will note how the ship’s speed has been affected when compared with previous days & fine weather.

Saturday was as follows: Lat. S. 4.51 – Long. E. 127.57 – 246 miles.

Sunday ” ” 8.31 –           ” ” 129.9 – 230 do

on Thursday last, a very fine day, we run 288. The ship does 11 miles at her best, so you compare 230 or 58 miles less in 24 hours.

My thermometer in my berth has gradually declined from 88 to 86, then 82, & this morning it stands at 80, but I expect, when we get near the coast of P. Darwin, it will get warmer. It is pleasantly hot on deck this morning, tho’ a stiff[1] breeze is blowing right ahead & this has been the “airt”[2] all passage.

The position of Berwick is Lat. N. 55.46 Long. W. 1.59. I got this from a green sea fisherman one day last year. Well, I thought much about you all yesterday because of Whitsunday & this is Whitmonday & I do hope you all will enjoy the holiday.

[4:19]

We are just about 9 hours ahead of you here & as it is ¼ past 10, you will be all in bed, or ought to be. ¼ past 1 Monday morning. I find it will be useless posting any letter at Port Darwin as there is no rail from there, & our steamer takes all letters on to Sydney. We have Hong Kong & China & Japan letters on board. We are due at Sydney a week come Saturday afternoon. It’s a long way, you see, from China to Sydney. I forgot to tell you that the mosquitos attacked me during the last 3 or 4 days I was at Hong Kong. They do like a drop of fresh blood, & savage little beggars they are, & do as you like, they conquer.

On looking at the map of Australia, & NS Wales in particular, how numerous are the familiar names of towns: Newcastle, Hexham, Allendale, Belford, Stockton, Kelso,[3] Alnwick, Wynyard, & there is a Wynyard Park in Sydney, Gosforth &c. &c. &c. Early settlers, I suppose, will have named these places & associated each with their nativity. Banda Sea is where we got the strong wind & sea. We did not sight much land. It is fairly open & I expect a strong current runs here. How very heavily the rain does come down in tropical climates. It’s very refreshing, but it puts us to inconveniences on small ships, such as this is. The deck space is so contracted & at best there is no exercising space. We are on the saloon deck, then below is main deck, & below that the tween decks where the China passengers are. I note they have certificated space tween decks for 531 Chinamen, of course, they don’t get much space, but they curl up into very little room & seem quite satisfied.

[4:20]

[1] May have been altered from “brisk” to “stiff” or vice versa.

[2] Scots dialect for “direction”, especially point of the compass.

[3] Name of town in Scotland where William’s father Andrew was born.