AustLit

Nineteenth-Century Travel Writing

Christopher Pemberton Hodgson (1821-1865), explorer, writer, diplomat and pastoralist, wrote a first-person narrative of his time in the Australian colonies. Hodgson arrived in 1840 and participated in expeditions before establishing a pastoral run on the Darling Downs in 1846. Written in a casual and jocular style, Reminiscences of Australia began with a warning to potential emigrants, imploring them not to leave England if they have the choice. In the course of his travels and various occupations, Pemberton Hodgson described both country and city life, work, and the habits of the colonists, flora, fauna, agricultural practices, as well as the Aboriginal populations, and the violent conflict that accompanied the taking up of land. The work closed with an account of his time with the Leichhardt expedition, presented in journal form, addressed "To the Editors of the Sydney Morning Herald.”