Guide to the Diary of John Carter (as filmed by AJCP)

Collection Summary

Creator

Carter, John

Title

Diary of John Carter (as filmed by the AJCP)

Date Range

1844 - 1850

Collection Number

M1618

Extent

1 items

Language of Materials

English

Repository

Australian Joint Copying Project

Sponsor

The Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP) online portal was created with the assistance of the Australian Public Service Modernisation Fund, 2017-2020. The National Library of Australia gratefully acknowledges the contribution of the other foundation AJCP partners, the State Library of New South Wales and The National Archives of the UK, and all other organisations which supported the work of the AJCP, the world's most extensive collaborative copying project, operating from 1948 to 1997.

Introduction

Scope and Contents

The first part of the diary (pp 1-50), dating from 24 October 1844 to 17 August 1845, contains entries of varying length recording Carter's departure from Portsmouth on the General Hewett, the weather and the seas, sighting of La Palma (Canary Islands), church services, incidents involving the crew and passengers, sighting of other ships, fishing and shooting, sightings of flying fish, albacore, whales, albatrosses and petrels, the funeral of a young woman passenger, the sighting of South West Cape of Van Diemen's Land, and the arrival at Port Jackson (9 February 1845). The subsequent entries cover Carter's brief stay in Sydney, meetings with his uncle and friends, his impressions of the town, his voyage to Broulee on the south coast, a visit to the home of John Hawdon, and a journey to the Monaro.

The diary resumes on 24 January 1846, although there are only a few entries in 1846 referring to Carter's departure from the Monaro and his arrival at Boree Nyrang, the property of Captain Robert Barton, near Molong. From January 1847 onwards there are entries for most days. They record his work on Boree Station, which was leased by A.C. (Charles) Hood, including cattle branding and store keeping. In September 1847 Carter became responsible for the management of the sheep on the station and there are numerous references to lambing, shearing, dealings with shepherds, stock movements, and purchases and sales of sheep. He recorded his frequent visits other stations, particularly Boree Nyrang and Boree Cabonne, leased by TH. (Thomas) Hood, and to Copper Hill (also leased by Charles Hood), and occasional visits to Bathurst, Dubbo and Wellington. He regularly dined with Robert and Eliza Barton (the grand parents of the poet A.B. Paterson), and in his diary he also referred to cases in the local court, horse races, riding, shooting, letter-writing and reading. Other people whom Carter visited or met included Captain Louis Hope, John Street, Philip Street, Henry Kater, Henry Rickards, John Smith, Frederick Darvall, Saul Samuel, Edmund Kennedy and Daniel Bunce. There are also references to his brother Joseph Carter, who visited the district in 1846 and subsequently settled at Mount Gambier in South Australia. There are relatively few entries for 1849-1850. The last entry is dated 27 December 1850.

The diary provides little biographical information about Carter, apart from the fact that he regularly received letters from his mother and sisters in England and his uncle in Sydney.

Conditions Governing Access

Available for Access.

Conditions Governing Use

Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the owner of the original material.

Preferred Citation

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Archival History

Filmed at the private residence of Lieut. Col. R.P. Carter, England, as part of the Australian Joint Copying Project, 1982 (AJCP Reel: M1618). Original microfilm digitised as part of the NLA AJCP Online Delivery Project, 2017-2020.

Existence and Location of Originals

The private residence of Lieut. Col. R.P. Carter. Surrey, England

Existence and Location of Copies

The original AJCP microfilm of the records filmed from this collection is available at the National Library of Australia [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2257927] as well as other institutions holding AJCP microfilm.

Finding-aid Notes

This finding aid is a revised online version of the original finding aid prepared by the Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP), published by the National Library of Australia in 2018. The original AJCP finding aids were unpublished typescripts or photocopies available from libraries that held copies of the original microfilm.

Dates used in this finding aid refer to the date range of the records selected for filming rather than to the date range of the Series or Files.

Subjects

Carter, John (farm superintendent); Emigrant voyages; General Hewett (ship); Hood, A.; Hood, T.; Molong, New South Wales; Monaro district, New South Wales; Sport; Sydney, New South Wales ; Wool and woolgrowing: Australia

Bibliography

Originally cited in Australian Joint Copying Project Handbook. Part 8: Miscellaneous (M) Series. Third Edition, published 1998. Entry 91, p32.