AustLit

19th-Century Australian Travel Writing

Captain T. Betts' An Account of the Colony of Van Diemen's Land, Principally Intended for the use of Persons Residing in India presented Van Diemen’s Land as a place that might serve as a sanitorium, "renovating the constitution of those who have suffered from their residency in India" (iii). This work was more specific in its audience than most emigrant guides, as it is organised particularly for those residing in India who intended to emigrate to Van Diemen's Land. It detailed the climate, land regulations, the best mode of getting from India to the colony, as well as providing descriptions of Hobart Town, the Aboriginal populations, the convict system, education, and society in the colony.