Pages from ss Great Britain Passenger Diary, 1874
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Object number1998.066.5
TitlePages from ss Great Britain Passenger Diary, 1874
DescriptionOne sheet containing pages 17-18 of a diary believed to be from an unidentified passenger on the SS Great Britain. It is possible that this diary belonged to someone called George Prengt Hughes, who travelled with his younger brother Charles P Hughes on this voyage in 1874. This would have been the 42nd voyage the ship made- it was travelling from Liverpool to Melbourne on the 4th of June 1974, carrying 601 passengers and 141 crew. The voyage took 57 days, and in these pages the writer talks about entertainment on the ship- how a masked ball was held and ‘a concert or two’. The diary details the writer's reflection on how fast journeys are to Australia on a ship like the SS Great Britain compared to other ships that rely on the power of their sails- ‘the time taken by ordinary first class sailing ships from London to the Australian or New Zealand Ports is under favourable circumstances, about 70 or 80 days. Steam ships accomplish the voyage in from 53 to 58 days’. The writer notes the excitement felt by the passengers upon nearing land ‘after a deprivation of its view for about 45 days’, as many stayed awake until two or three in the morning to see in their arrival into Cape Otway.
Transcript available.
Production date 1874 - 1874
Object namediary sheet
Object categorypersonal record
Materialpaper
Techniquehand-written
Dimensions
- height: 200 mm
width: 185 mm