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Title Letter from William to John Graham, Russell Creek, Victoria
Author Graham, William
Date 11 Jul 1865
Document Type Correspondence; Manuscript
Reference HT 24780
Library / Archive Museums Victoria
Collection Name Diaries / Journals / Letters
Description Letter written by William Graham from Russell Creek in the Gippsland goldfields to his brother John in England. The letter refers to Mount Baw Baw, "the highest mountain in Gippsland", 20 miles from where William was prospecting. He had a gold claim and was working with two other unnamed men. The tone of his letter is optimistic, describing working the Tangil river and wanting to find a reef buried below. He describes having already "found a blow of a quartz reef last week, we could get a good show in a tin dish rough crushing with a pick ..." This degree of success must explain his desire and ability to take on some waged workers. William mentions receiving a Melbourne weekly paper in which he noted "the Road murder", "the confederates smashed" and "Lincoln assassinated". He refers to a number of relatives and/or friends throughout the letter, all at this stage unidentified, including Martha, Edward, Howard, Rogers, Molly, Emma, Mr and Mrs Foley and Mr and Mrs Martin.
Biographical Note / History It is not yet known when William arrived in Australia. He had two (known) brothers John and Henry, and one (known) niece Minnie. Minnie was born at Seacombe, England on 29 December 1867, well after her uncle William who was probably already in Australia by this time. Minnie migrated to Australia on 6 January 1889 and her future husband arrived from England, it is believed, in 1894. Minnie and Ralph had at least one child Mabel who was the last owner of the letter.
Theme(s) Arrivals: Ports and Early Experiences
Places Gippsland, Victoria, Australia
Nationality English
People Graham, William; Graham, John
Keywords gold rush, gold, emigration, family, prospecting, newspaper
Additional Information Please note: Some of the metadata for this document has been taken from the Museum Victoria catalogue.
Catalogue Link Museums Victoria Catalogue
Language English
Copyright Museums Victoria