| Title: | Andrew Byrne, Australia, to "My Dear Father" |
|---|---|
| ID | 418 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Byrne, Andrew/26 |
| Year | 1886 |
| Sender | Byrne, Andrew |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | book and store keeper |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | New South Wales, Australia |
| Destination | Ireland |
| Recipient | unknown |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | son-father |
| Source | Donated by Ms M Greaney, 23 Brightwater Crescent, Totara Park, Upper Hutt, New Zealand |
| Archive | Centre for Migration Studies |
| Doc. No. | 205244 |
| Date | 04/09/1886 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | Document added by LT, 23:05:02. |
| Word Count | 557 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | A J Byrne Mohonga Post Near Albany New South Wales Mohouga Station New South Wales 4 September 1886 My Dear Father I received your letter this afternoon as I had left Wagga Wagga before the letter reached there it was sent on to Sydney and lay there for some time in the Dead Letter Office. My poor old father what must you have suffered these last few years, while I have been blaming you for not writing to me. I read your letter over three or four times before I thoroughly understood it, and even now I can hardly realise it all. Poor Mary dead and John, James and Joe in Australia and you herding for £1 a week. Good God what happened to you at all? What has become of all your old friends Ned Doyle, Tom Brophy and all the others. I have had a few ups and downs in this country, and trusted in some who afterwards proved very false friends, but they were only friends of a few months acqaintance not like those friends of yours; whom you have known a lifetime. I thought there were few men in the world who had more friends than you -- indeed only for that cutting from the news paper I would not have believed it. As you say the sadest [saddest?] thing of all is poor Mary's death, on the way out. well after all perhaps it is for the best - it would have been very hard for Mary to go as a servant out here, after being so long a mistress at home. I am very glad now that poor mother died before the trouble came. If there is any such place as heaven she is happy now so I hope is Mary. I am writing to Joe's address by this mail, and to the post office Sydney for James. I am also writing to a good friend in Victoria who, one time offered to send me money over here. I would not take it for myself, but I would for you if you would like to come out there. When I get answers to these letters I will write you again and see what can be done. I cannot, bear to think of you working for others, and if we could get you out here and take up a block of land we might all be happy together again, perhaps better off than ever. I am working now for a contractor, that is a man who undertakes to clear land of scrub and such like. He has between 20 and [30?] men working and gives them £25 and tucker [per?] [week?]. He gives me £5 a week extra for keeping his books and stores, and you will see by the enclosed note that he has some confidence in me, so if I hear from Joe or either of the others, and they have nothing better to do, I can get them work here at £25 per week. After shearing about 4 or 5 weeks from now. I had intended to go partners with another man and take a contract on our own account, but now of course if I can hear from any of my brothers, and they are not doing anything better, they can come with me if you get any of their addresses please write to me at once, and believe me dear father. Your affectionate Son Andrew. |
