A Different Earth: Cornish Pioneer Miners to Australia

by Max Beck, Philip Payton (Introduction)

A heroic story of suffering, hope and survival. When the potato blight hits Cornwall in 1847, Jane Dunstan (born in Wendron in 1814) rescues her large family, first by the long suffocating passage to South Australia, then 100 miles by bullock wagon to Burra's copper mines and finally by a 350-mile trek to the goldfields of Victoria. On the threshold of starvation when the potato blight hits Cornwall, Jane Dunstan (born in Wendron in 1814) decides to rescue her family from desperate poverty and her husband, Richard, from the dreadful conditions in the mines. She successfully applies for a 'free passage' to migrate to South Australia with their seven children aged from one to twelve. After suffering appalling living conditions in the cramped steerage quarters of the ship and the challenges of the sea during the three-month journey the family, on arrival in South Australia in 1849, travel 100 miles north of Adelaide by bullock wagon to the Burra copper mines. At Burra they live in an underground dugout in the banks of the Burra Creek and Richard, with his three eldest boys, works in the mine. For Jane, it's a dramatic time, with floods, a new baby born underground and the tragic loss of her husband and two daughters. On the discovery of gold in Victoria in 1851, Jane hires a bullock dray and driver to take her remaining six children on a courageous six-week, 350-mile overland trek to the Victorian goldfields. The story describes the difficulties of locating and travelling the trail, the working and the idiosyncrasies of the bullock team and its driver, Red. Jane has to adapt to living in the bush, foraging for bush tucker and dealing with pests and hazards along the way. On arriving at the diggings Jane is horrified by what she sees but ultimately she remarries, has three more children, bringing her total issue to eleven, and eventually finds a measure of peace. A Different Earth is based on the experiences of the author's great-great grandparents, Richard and Jane Dunstan.

394 pages, Paperback

Published March 31, 2016

Reviews

[Ken Sampson · Rating 5 out of 5]

[10 May 2016] You may not be aware that in the 1840s the collapse of the Tin industry and the Potato famine caused one of the most significant periods of emigration that this country has ever seen. The Cornish diaspora went to countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, Mexico, New Zealand and South Africa. They went to farm and to mine - in fact, there is a saying in Cornwall that 'a mine is a hole anywhere in the world with at least one Cornishman at the bottom of it'. This is the story of one such family - the Dunstans who left in 1849 and went, as did so many to South Australia (There is even to this day a 'Little Cornwall' in South Australia). Short, well-crafted chapters weave fact and fiction to create a very engaging and interesting, easy read. The characters are well described and the experience of Cornish life, tin mining, months on board ship, arrival at Port Adelaide, the trek to Burra and the work in its famous 'Monster Mine' and life in the river-bank dug-outs was beautifully explored. Then the tragedy and subsequent move to the Gold fields of Victoria concludes the story.

For anybody with Cornish ancestry - this story will probably be your story. Generally a great read with well chosen illustrations and a table of children and grandchildren. The story has been created by the author from a variety of sources and he does a good job to bring things to life. The family would not have kept their own account. My only negatives and they are very small, as I really enjoyed this book, was the absence of an index and the 'not-knowing' what was fact and what was supposition. This is a 'must-have' for anybody who loves unusual social history, Cornwall or early Australian history.