AustLit

19th-Century Australian Travel Writing

These reminiscences of family life in the colony of South Australia have been attributed to Jane Isabella Watts (nee Giles 1824-1894). In the preface, the author dedicated the work to her nieces, stating that she began her journal in order to entertain them. She noted that her work was impeded by homesickness, and that it was at the request of her sister that she continued her narrative. These memoirs chronicled the author's departure from England, domestic occasions (such as dinner parties), with the narrative providing an account of daily life rather than specifically focusing on travel writing. The work concluded with original poetry, and a collection of letters from the author's sister. The text was republished in 1890 as Family Life in South Australia Fifty-Three Years Ago Dating From October, 1837. The dedication is signed J.I.W., an inscription that removes the anonymity of the earlier edition. The later edition omits the concluding material.