Finding Aid for the M. Wright Diary of A Surveyor in East New South Wales, Australia, 1847
Cataloged by Jonathan Naito, with assistance from Jain Fletcher and Laurel McPhee, July 2004; machine-readable finding aid
created by Caroline Cubé.
UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
Manuscripts Division
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
© 2008
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: M. Wright Diary of A Surveyor in East New South Wales, Australia
Date (inclusive): 1847
Collection number: 170/296
Creator:
Wright, M.
Extent:
148 leaves : paper ; 280 x 210 mm. bound to 350 x 230 mm.
Abstract: The typed transcript of a diary by an Irish surveyor working in East New South Wales, Australia from July 1, 1847 to November
17, 1847. During this time Wright surveyed areas in the vicinity of Dungog, Newcastle, and Singleton. Wright discusses surveying
and life in New South Wales, and also includes an unfinished tale about an evil parson.
Language: Finding aid is written in
English.
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Administrative Information
Restrictions on Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library,
Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of
the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC
Regents do not hold the copyright.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], M. Wright Diary of A Surveyor in East New South Wales, Australia (Collection Number 170/296). Department
of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
Processing Note
Cataloged by Jonathan Naito, with assistance from Jain Fletcher and Laurel McPhee, July 2004,in the Center For Primary Research
and Training (CFPRT).
Biography
The manuscript suggests that M. Wright was Irish by birth. He was irregularly employed as a surveyor in New South Wales, Australia,
and during 1847 surveyed portions of Dungog, Newcastle, and Singleton.
Scope and Content
This volume is a typed transcript of a diary covering the period from July 1, 1847 to November 17, 1847. During this time
Wright surveyed areas in the vicinity of Dungog, Newcastle, and Singleton. He discusses personal, professional, and public
matters, including the change in governors in New South Wales from Sir George Gipps to Sir Charles FitzRoy, Mr. Edmund Besley
Court Kennedy's Cape York expedition, and the Commercial Bank scandal. Much attention is given to the Presbyterianism and
Scottish population in Australia. It also includes an unfinished tale about an evil parson that stops and starts at irregular
intervals throughout the manuscript.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Wright, M. --Diaries.
Surveyors --Australia --New South Wales --Diaries.
Related Material
Container List
ff. 1r-3r: the demise of Sir George Gipps
ff. 12r-16r, 33r-34r, 38r-40r, 56r-58r: M. Wright, "The Devil's Own Parson."
ff. 13r: Harbor survey of Newcastle
ff. 15r, 20r-21r: Mr. Kennedy and the exploring party; complaints about Sir T. S.
Mitchell
ff. 26r-33r: Newcastle and the arrival of Sir Charles Augustus Fitz Roy
ff. 63r: drop in price of land from 1837-1847
ff. 74r-80r: Dungog and Singleton
ff. 81r-90r: New Forest in Hampshire and Clarence Town
ff. 99r-100r: land regulation
ff. 101r-116r: Commercial Bank scandal
ff. 123r-25r: squatting regulation.
