AustLit

19th-Century Australian Travel Writing

James F. Bennett's (1820/1-1898) guide to South Australia encompasses the colony’s history, main industries (including exploration and survey, agricultural, pastoral and extraction potential and production opportunities), climate, Aboriginal populations, commerce, urban settings, and, information for migrants, up to 1842. His stated purpose was to address the ignorance of the British public about the colony, and to undo the damage done by previous works' "well-meaning but injudicious statements" (v). His work concluded with a description of Adelaide, colonial life (which he records as sociable, though lacking ceremony), and information for those intending to emigrate.