Australian Colonial Narrative Journalism:
In the absence of a colonial press, letters from the colonists, often written with the intent they be circulated widely or published, stood in for more formal types of reportage. Thomas Watling's letters home to his ‘Ever Revered Aunt’ in 1793, advised her that she could publish them “after the revisal by an abler hand”. They include descriptions of the Australian geography, fauna and flora; portrayals and commentary concerning the local Eora people; and criticism of various aspects of life in the colony, particularly the treatment of convicts. They were published 1794 in Penrith, England as Letters from an Exile at Botany-Bay, to His Aunt in Dumfries: Giving a Particular Account of the Settlement of New South Wales, with the Customs and Manners of the Inhabitants. (Scotland : Ann Bell , c.1794
