Six Letters From the Colonies

Life aboard the sailing ship Hampshire gives R. C. Seaton plenty to record, from meal times and cabin space to chess tournaments and amateur performances. These six travel letters draw on his absence from England between November 1884 and October 1885. Their destinations include Melbourne, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, Auckland and Sydney. Seaton presents his observations as a visitor's impressions, with some letters written after his return.

On land, his attention moves between public institutions and private discomforts. A discussion of colonial governors and parliamentary arrangements sits beside comments on wool, wheat, copper and savings banks. A stay with relatives in Adelaide supplies a more intimate episode involving a large spider above his bed. Readers interested in the daily experience of travel will find details of shipboard society alongside an English visitor's account of colonial government, commerce and domestic life.