| Title: | McMaster, William to his parents, 1853 |
|---|---|
| ID | 6402 |
| Collection | New Brunswick Letters |
| File | newbrunswick/37 |
| Year | 1853 |
| Sender | McMaster, William |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | wood chopper/digger |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Sydney, Australia |
| Destination | Ireland |
| Recipient | his parents |
| Recipient Gender | male-female |
| Relationship | son-parents |
| Source | |
| Archive | |
| Doc. No. | |
| Date | |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | |
| Log | unknown |
| Word Count | 590 |
| Genre | arrival, escaping and hiding in 'the bush', finding work, prospects |
| Note | |
| Transcript | This letter was from uncle William McMaster in Australia he was never heard tell of again he was mothers Brother his home was In Ireland Thos H Galbraith Sydney December 8 1853 Dear Father and Mother i take the first opertunity since i arrived in Sydney to write Those few line to you to let you know That i am in good health as this leaves me At present thank God for his Kind mercies To me hoping to find you all in the same Dear perents i had a great deal of Deficulty geting away From the ship but thank God i Got clear of her the captain proffered ten pounds reward for us But we mead our escape in the Bush the were Eight constables after us and came on us / and the were Three of us to Gether and the constables told us the Would tak us to Sydney and put us aboard of the Ship but we sead that the wer not fit to take us through the were twice the [compliment] so the [comensed] to Take hold of us so we [conceeded] after a Struggle We managed to Get away from the so we loged in the Bush that night so the next day we traveled Twelve miles and got work chopping wood that was a Job that we were not used to But in this country a man must turn his hand To anything that offers first Dear father and Mother i am working ashore in Sydney now But i don’t intend to stop in Sydney long after Christmas i am going to melbourne and then going up to the Diging. Dear parents this is a find [country] and i leck very well the are from ten to twelve pounds per month for seamen and if you Don’t leck to go to sea you can get plenty work ashore the are from Ten to Twelve shillings per day For working ashore in Sydney but the Board is very high the Board is on pound a week But the wages is Better in melbourne the Diggins is very Good as yet so i [intend] to try my luck at them But a person wants a little money to cary him him up for it is a good distance to them the [nearest] is ninety miles and from that to two hundred Dear parents I have not seen William [Arnett] yet But the is arrived in melbourne William [Knott] is in a Costing scooner and him and me is going up to the Digins together Dear parents i shall be Able to send you some money the next Letter Dear parents Dont fret about me Tho i ame far from you i ame still the same and i Dont forget you But it Dont be in my power to send anything yet – But Dear parents i shall soon be able to send you something for i can [Dow] very well in this country any man that Keeps from Drinking can Do very well in this country I wish James was out here he could do very well for this is the Best Country i ever was in i wish i had been out two years agow for the Times was Better a little Back Dear Father and mother let [Ritchard] Rodgers Know that his son [Richard] is well and him and me is working Together So no more at present But your Truly William McMaster When you [Writ] D to John Sparks Hent Street Sydney |
