Guide to the Papers of the Jevons Family (as filmed by the AJCP)

WSJ (Oliver Lang) to his father re voyage to Sydney, 3 July 1854 - 20 July 1854 (File 56)

Sea sickness; other passengers; complaints to captain. (8p.)

WSJ (Sydney) to his father, 29 October 1855 (File 57)

'Mint is going at a rattling pace'; time table of typical day; colleagues. (12p.) (photocopy)

WSJ (Sydney) to Lucy, 10 September 1858 (File 12)

'Sydney is in a partial gold fever' due to discovery of gold at Port Curtis; sending photographs; plans to return to England; beauty of wild flowers.

WSJ (Sydney) to Lucy, 31 October n.y. (File 13)

Re attending lecture at Botanical Gardens; visit to sewerage works with O'Connel. (part letter, 1st page crossed) Although described individually, this document was originally microfilmed with a page from another document. The last page of the document described can be found at the beginning of nla.obj-903909289.

WSJ (Sydney) to Herbert. (48p.), 29 November 1855 - 9 March 1857 (File 2-9)

Subjects include: working at the mint; local politics; glad to have come to Australia but intends to return to England in order not to be 'stuck in the mud as regards all science'; trip to diggings; writing on meteorological subjects; cricket match between Sydney and Melbourne at the Domain; move to Double Bay - plan of house, description of area.

Nos. 3,5,7 and 8 are photocopies. Some letters are incomplete. Parts of some letters have been published.

WSJ (London) to Herbert who is on his way to Australia, 14 September 1862 (File 18)

Re his decision to go; news WSJ has received from Australia, 'yield of gold is now many times greater than when I left'. (10p.)

Herbert Jevons (Champion of the Seas, Melbourne, South Yarra, Forbes, Sydney, Nelson, Dunedin, Wheathustone, Christchurch, Shortland) to WSJ while employed by Bank of NSW. (92p.), 24 October 1862 - 9 July 1868 (File 46-61)

Subjects include: voyage - bad food, weather; arrival at Melbourne; employment by the Bank of NSW; discovery of gold at Nelson - description of Nelson and the diggers; transfer to Dunedin, 'most important branch in NZ'; Maori wars in North Island, 'the soldiers are said to be very dispirited…..the country cannot afford any longer to pay for them'; description of Wheathustone - 'I find the gold fields very dull'; Shortland - 'very much superior to any other diggings'.

[Some letters crossed and incomplete].

William Edgar Jevons (cousin) (Penang) to WSJ, 6 November 1862 - 21 August 1863 (File 151-153)

Re native ceremonies; scientific improvements to sugar manufacture. (18p.)

WB Clarke (n. pl.) re barometers and ref. to ship leaving New Zealand. (4p.), 6 July 1857 (File 88)

WSJ (Sydney) to H Piddington (Calcutta) describing hot wind which blew over NSW on 10-12 Nov 1855. (3p.), 29 April 1856 (File 418)

WSJ (London) to Dr Smith re arrival of brother in NSW. (4p.), 18 February 1863 (File 420)

Charles Bolton (Jimmycombiani?) to WSJ, 25 December n.y. (File 3)

Re life at diggings near Braidwood. (8p.) (In pencil, faint)

FB Miller (Royal Mint, Sydney) to Herbert J., 2 December 1862 (File 9)

That will be welcoming him to Sydney; has obtained a job for him in Bank of NSW. (4p.)

E Ward (Royal Mint) to WSJ appointing him one of assayers of branch of Royal Mint at Sydney. (2p.), 23 January 1854 (File 11)

WSJ (Sydney) to FB Edmunds re voyage to Australia, 26 January 1855 (File 15)

He is keeping meteorological records; 'Sydney on the whole is a pleasant and cheerful place' (8p. photocopy)

WSJ (America and London) to FB Miller re trip back from A. and his memories and impressions of Sydney. (14p.), 11 September 1859 (File 16-17)

WSJ (Sydney) to EW Ward, 31 January 1855 (File 18)

Re fixed salary proposal. (Copy. Photocopy and transcript of original in Mitchell Library.) (4p.)

Letts Diary, (280p.), Entries for most days, 1855-11-24 - 1856-12-31 (File 2)

Entries for most days 24 Nov 1855 - 31 Dec 1856; details of expenses; lectures attended; duties at mint; books read; social events; trip to diggings, March.

Diary of journey to the diggings, (84p.), 9 March 1856 - 23 March 1856 (File 3)

Meteorological register, Sydney, March 1856; descriptions of journey, Parramatta, Penrith, River Nepean, Emu Plains; weather; Mount Victoria; Rydall; Macquarie River 'I was disappointed'; lodging at Bushman's Inn, Bathurst; Peel 'the accommodation was the worst we had encountered'; Sofala, diggings - sketches, quality of gold, methods of washing; return journey on Royal Mails; the condition of the roads.

Letts Diary, Entries for most days 1 January [1857] - 26 October 1857, January [1858] - February 1858; 1860 (File 4)

Entries for most days 1 Jan - 26 Oct 1857, Jan - Feb 1858 details of expenses, books read, duties at Mint, weather - storm of August, wreck of Dunbar.

(c. 190p.)

Diary, 31 December 1857 - 13 January 1858 (File 5)

Details of expenses, writing letters and papers.

(20p.)

Notebook II, 1858 - March 1859 (File 8)

Includes: miscellaneous notes on gold; barometer readings; plan of Berrima.

(74p.)(In pencil, faint).

Cash book, June 1854 - December 1856 (File 20)

Details of expenses in Australia. (59p.)(Photocopy).

Assays and spec. gravity of 51 specimens of gold Sydney Royal Mint, (2p.), December 1854 (File 14)

Notes and researches on social statistics on the science of towns; especially as regards London and Sydney. Commenced Nov 1856. (1p. only) (File 4)

Notes for a social map of Goulburn. (1p.) (File 5)

Draft sketch map of Goulburn. (1p.) (faint) (File 6)

Copies of letters by Thomas Graham and William Miller (London Univ.) to Cpt. Ward recommending WSJ for post at Sydney mint. (2p.), 13 October 1853 (File 47)

Account with Thomas Jevons, 1853 - 1855 (File 48)

Including passage money to Australia. (4p.)

Statement of terms on which WSJ travelled by boat to Sydney, written by his father. (2p.) (File 49)

FS Boyce (Sydney) to HWJ (cousin) requesting plates taken by WSJ begiven to city of Sydney, 9 September 1925 (File 1)

Note by HWJ 'nothing was done about this, plates were lost.'

Herbert Jevons (Liverpool, Forbes, Sydney) to sister, 17 April 1862 - 17 April 1863 (File 1-4)

That should go to NZ; his arrival in Sydney; description of Forbes. (16p., some crossed letters)

WSJ (London, Sydney) to sister, 4 June 1854 - 30 January 1859 (File 16-41)

Subjects include: impressions of Sydney; social engagements; visit to diggings; visits to theatre; local gossip; music; packing to leave Sydney. (174p.)

Herbert Jevons (Forbes) to brother re working at bank; little gold coming in; diggers going to NZ; formation of Forbes cricket club, 16 February 1863 (File 3)

Herbert Jevons (Dunedin) to brother re new gold fields on west coast; social life, 17 August 1865 (File 4)

WSJ (Sydney) to brother; description of Sydney Harbour (3p.), 25 January 1855 (File 7)

WSJ (London, Liverpool, Paris, Sydney, Petersham) to his cousin, 28 Aug n.y. - [Jan 1859?] (File 1-10)

Re visit to exhibition of Australian minerals in Leicester Sq.; boarding Oliver Lang for Australia with his apparatus; his theory of an atomic system; his life in Sydney and work at the Mint; his interest in meteorology; introduction of responsible government; trip to Illawarra; assistant Bolton has gone to new diggings at Port Curtis; gold fever; geology of Braidwood diggings (part letter). (73p.)