“It has been a glorious day hot sun & no rain. In the morning Joey & I had some beer & for dinner they gave us fresh pork which was a treat as it was the first fresh meat since we left the downs. In the afternoon we had a sleep to digest the plum […]
24th December 1878 – 89th day
“Up at 7.30. A fine day, dry but cold wind & going along beautifully. We have now only 800 miles to do & if the breeze continues we are certain of arriving there this week. Some very large seas have been over today & one came through the ventilators on the roof swamping Joey & […]
23rd December 1878 – 88th day
“Up at 8.30 after a very good night’s rest. We have had a tremendous lot of rolling today & have been shipping seas all day. This morning 1 big one walked into our room & came right up to the lower bunk. All our chairs etc began swimming round the plantation & I got a […]
22nd December 1878 – 87th day
“Up at 8 after 3 hours sleep: it has been an awful night. The very worst we have passed since we left England. All night waves kept breaking over our house and making such a noise that it was totally impossible for us to sleep. Inside our house was lots of water & it reminded […]
The Longest Day – 21st December 1878 – 86th day at Sea
“We have today The longest day same as you have the shortest one. Some of the largest waves we have had during the whole voyage have been on deck this morning while at tea with the door open, a tremendous wave came over & washed into our parlour upsetting our select circle. Tea cups & […]
20th December 1878 – 85th day
“Up at 8.15. Been doing about 5 knots an hour till 10 when the breeze freshened. Nothing particular occurred today. They have been painting to make us look nice & smart. Cards in the evening & bed at 10pm” Extract from A.Whelen’s Australia travel journal aboard the Hesperides sailing from England to Melbourne in 1878 […]
19th December 1878 – 84th day
“Up at 8.30. Another beautiful day & this morning they had every sail set; in all 26 & I should have liked to have seen her at a distance for she must have looked nice I am sure. The wind has fallen off again this morning & we are doing 5 knots an hour now. […]
18th December 1878 – 83rd day
“Plenty of rolling all night so had only very little sleep for a change. Early this morning we only had 8 sails up as it was blowing a stiff breeze & we were doing 10 knots an hour. It is the tallest sea today that we have had yet & we are continually shipping large […]
17th December 1878 – 82nd day
“Up at 8.30. You will no doubt have noticed how lazy we have been getting but there is really nothing for us to do if we do get up so we stop in bed till we are nearly pulled out. We are now in 43 15” & Long 95 11”E & still about 2,200 miles […]
16th December 1878 – 81st day
“Up at 8.45 It is a splendid day but the rolling is something awful from the heavy swell on. The men have been busy all day cleaning the ship & making everything nice & the carpenter has been making a punt to paint the ships sides from. Nothing very fresh today except for fresh water. They […]