I am starting
the journey home to Australia today – not to Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) but
to my home state of Queensland. Food en
route is of course a concern - I am in the hands of QANTAS for the
duration, so I hope they do the right thing by me. Food for the long voyage to
the colony of Australia was very much a subject of concern to early settlers,
for several very good reasons.
My source of
information on provisioning for the journey is The Rise, Progress, and Present State of Van Dieman's Land: With Advice
to Emigrants. Also, a Chapter on Convicts, Shewing the Efficacy of
Transportation as a Secondary Punishment (1833.) There is a little general
advice on attitude towards one’s fellow
A
gentleman, now in the colony, writes, “If ten or a dozen labourers were to
emigrate together, their passage would not cost more than £12 each; for the
captain of the ship would be glad to provide passage, fuel, (for cooking), and
water (two quarts each, per diem,) for half that sum, and the remainder would
be ample to buy stores for five months. The stores ought to consist of biscuit
and flour in casks, salt pork, corned beef, fresh preserved provisions, pickled
eggs and tongues, potatoes, carrots, split peas, rice, plums, raisins, salt
suet, butter in earthenware pans, three or four bottles of soda powders, a few
bottles of spirits, (no duty is paid for them,) and porter; also tea, coffee,
and sugar, two or three cakes of gingerbread, and a pound or two of tobacco.
They would cook their own provisions, and would be quite independent. The
provisions supplied on board ship are generally very bad.” This suggestion may
be worthy of consideration; for even if £2 more for each were demanded, which I
think would be the case if the ship was A1, (in city phraseology, when a ship
is not ten years old,) they would save about £6 each.
With
the prospect of such a long voyage (16,000 miles,) before him, it would be well
for the intending emigrant, both for his own sake and that of his fellow passengers,
to make up his mind, before embarking, to put up, as far as he possibly can, with
any little disagreeables which may occur during the voyage. He should determine
neither to give nor take offence on slight occasions, but keep on good terms
with all about him, overlooking little inadvertencies and hasty expressions on
the part of his fellow-voyagers. He should rather try how pleasant a companion
he can make of a man than quarrel with him because he does not find him so
ready-made to his hands. Let the experiment be fairly tried, and it will be
found that, in nine cases out of ten, unfavourable appearances or first
impressions are not criterions of character.
I was delighted
that gingerbread was considered an important staple for the long journey. In a
previous post I gave a recipe for Gingerbread for Voyages or Travelling (1827) but this
one sounds pretty good too:
Coconut
Gingerbread.
Cream
3 tablespoons butter or margarine with ½ cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon grated lemon
rind. Add 2 unbeaten eggs (one at a time), beating well after each. Dissolve 1
teaspoon carb.soda in 1 cup treacle or golden syrup, stir into mixture. Sift
thoroughly 6 tablespoons flour ½ teaspoon mixed spice, 1 teaspoon ginger, and a
little salt. Add to mixture alternately with cup each of milk and water. Fold
in 1 cup coconut. Pour into well-greased 8-inch tin and bake in moderate oven
about 30 minutes.
Courier Mail (Brisbane, Qld) 6th September 1950
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