Immigrant guide collection

Brief description

A collection of approximatly 100 published books, journals and newspapers that provide advice and suggestions to immigrants or people intending to be immigrants to the Australian colonies in the 19th century.

Notes

Parts of this collection are digitised and available on the ANMM web site www.anmm.gov.au

Significance

To immigrate or to remain at home? - Such a serious and in most cases permanent decision required considerable thought and research. Prospective immigrants would seek advice from not only family and friends but also associates who may have already immigrated, government agencies - such as the 'Land and Immigration Commissioners' and 'The Committee for Promoting the Emigration of Single Women to Australia' , immigration societies such as those established by Caroline Chisholm and from reading some of the increasing number of immigration publications including guides, newspapers, journals and periodicals which provided advice to those contemplating immigration. The collection contains a number of published, formal and informal guides to the Australian colonies containing all types of information such as what colony to go to, employment opportunities, choosing a ship, how to get government assistance, what to bring, who to travel with and what to do when you arrive. Some of these guides such as 'Immigration to South Australia', published by the South Australian Colonial Government in 1882 and 'The emigrant's guide to australia with a Memoir of Mrs. Chisholm', 1853 were official publications. Other guides were speculative ventures, produced by professional writers in England and Ireland such as William Henry Giles Kingston who although he never visited the Australian colonies wrote 'The Emigrant Manuals Volumes 1 - 4' (1851) and 'The Emigrant's Home' (1856).