The long farewell

by Don Charlwood

Don Charlwood read more than 120 immigrant diaries kept on the long sailing ship voyages to Australia, and numerous letters the settlers wrote home. He tells about the perils, the ships and their routes, accommodation on board, surgeons and health, messing and dining, pastimes and consolations, the crew and the new shore.Winner of the NSW Premier's Literary Awards' Ethnic Affairs Commission Award in 1982.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

340 pages, Hardcover

Published February 1, 1982

Reviews

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could not put this down. If your family travelled to Australia in the 1800s to start a new life this is a fascinating and hugely informative picture of their first step as emigrants- ie getting there, and the harrowing conditions they endured. If a book were capable of making a reader feel seasick this is the one! There is no reference to Australia itself, to the fact that it was already inhabited and that the arrival was part of a forced takeover, not a settling into a land that belonged to Britain. This was there, silently in the background, for my whole reading, sitting, again silently (because it was never referred to) alongside the reasons most of those people (especially the lower deck) left according to the diaries used to describe the journey. The grief an suffering is palpable. It was a strange thought that, given even the slightest hope of survival if they stayed, the majority would never have boarded those ships. Not because of where they were going to, that didn't rate one single mention. It was because the country they were leaving, poverty, a deeply embedded and iron clad social, political and economic cast structure that prohibited any sort of a decent life for individuals or families, famine, or force, they were leaving a home they loved. It is a sad, desperate and lonely corner in the multilayered history that is Australia.

[Norman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read about the early sailing ships that went to Australia

A very different and interesting read about the early sailing ships that took settlers to Australia. Captures the sheer horror and terror of the confined voyages.

[Philip Mann · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is one thing to look at a family tree and see the ships, dates and shipping times to Australia. It's another to read this book. Don Charlwood's book puts heaps of skin on the bare bones. My ancestors came out on German ships; according to this author, they were not as well regulated; I hate to imagine what their conditions were like in steerage; it's a wonder only one of my ancestors died on the 4-month trip and that my grandmother, then 2 years old, survived. The doctor's diary, as reproduced in this book, was exceptionally good to read; I think he was a master of understatement.

On a personal note, but on a less broad perspective, people who enjoyed this book might enjoy "Emigrants to Hahndorf: A Remarkable Voyage", by Captain Hahn of the Zebra, 1838, translated by Frank Rainer Huck, published by Lutheran Publishing House, 1989, which tells the captain's story of carrying an early load of "old Lutherans" to South Australia, from the booking, to the loading, to the journey and organising the purchase of land in the Adelaide Hills in the area now known as Hahndorf.

[Chris Vardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Startling , Earthy and informative , Through researching the Family tree , My Grand father 5 times back on Fathers side was a convict to Australia sentenced to life , and on my Mothers side 4 times back was also a convict 7 years but not sure were, how they made in is Astonishing. after reading The Long Farewell ... They passengers were Men and Women of Iron .

[Iñigo · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Long Farewell" offers an evocative and richly detailed account of 19th-century emigrant voyages to Australia. Drawing on personal letters, diaries, and ship records, Charlwood paints a vivid picture of the trials and aspirations of those who embarked on these perilous journeys.


The book captures the multifaceted experience of migration during the age of sail: The settlers’ motivations, ranging from economic hardship to dreams of prosperity, are juxtaposed with the harsh realities of the voyage (seasickness, cramped conditions, and the threat of disease were constant companions); the Role of Ships and Crews (meticulous details about the design and operation of emigrant ships, highlighting the skill and dedication of captains and crews who navigated these treacherous routes); and the Cultural and Historical Context (colonial expansion and economic migration), that sheds light on the forces shaping 19th-century Australia.

"The Long Farewell" is a masterful blend of narrative history and personal storytelling. It is a compelling read for those interested in maritime history, migration studies, or the Australian colonial era. Its empathetic portrayal of the emigrants’ journeys makes this book a poignant tribute to their resilience and determination.

[Dennis Rutzou]

This book should be compulsory reading for all those contemplating a cruise when the coronavirus pandemic subsides and life returns to normal. The diaries of these Intrepid travellers who journeyed from England to Australia in the glorious days of sail of the 1850s to 1880s, makes compelling reading. It was tough, touch, tough and those that died were interred to the deep very soon afterwards. Accommodation was dreadful, onboard sickness was rife in an era before antibiotics and modern medicine and in some respects the account is biased as the diary accounts don't come from steerage where things were at their worst, but from first and second class passengers who could read and write. whereas those in steerage were illiterate. But some used the journey to become literate, with the help of those who could. This is a thoroughly entertaining book that I greatly enjoyed.

[Ray Banks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read - every Aussie should see how 'tough' the first Aussies did. An eye opener.

[Bonnye Reed]

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[peter david mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent overall study.

All the bases are covered concerning a voyage to Australia in the age of sail. Especially vivid are the sea diaries of actual passengers.