Private Journal of a Voyage to Australia 1838-39 by James Bell and edited by Richard Walsh

Book Description

Secondhand. Good condition. Wear to book corners and edges, particularly at spine tail. Foredges are sunned. Dust jacket is in good condition with repaired tear to front cover. Interior and binding are still very good.

On 19 November 1838, James Bell, then aged 21, set out in the sailing vessel the Planter from St Katharine Docks in London to travel to Adelaide, an infant colony half a world away and not yet two years old. The journey usually took 130 days, but due to the captain's incompetence and the many misadventures encountered, the Planter took almost six months to reach its destination.

James Bell maintained a vivid and extensive record of his historic journey. His journal lay unread and unknown for more than 150 years before it surfaced in a country bookstall in England and was ultimately sold at auction to the State Library of South Australia. (book flap)

Introduction and epilogue by Anthony Laube.