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Collecting licence fees, courtesy of Private (Robyn Annear).
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English author turned digger William Howitt predicts the devastation mining will bring, courtesy of Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans.
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English author turned digger William Howitt describes a scene on the road, courtesy of Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans.
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Howitt, William (1792 - 1879)
A well-known author from a Quaker family, the 60 year old William Howitt set sail for the Victorian goldfields with his two sons in 1852. He had only moderate success as a digger, but his two-year stay provided material for a number of publications. Variously described by historians as an ‘earnest Quaker’ and a ‘self-styled radical’, his criticisms of the Victorian goldfields' system reflect his hatred of injustice. His interests were varied, and he can be found reflecting on everything from the destruction being wrought on the environment to the torment of mice and flies. An observant, literary participant in life on the diggings, his works provide an invaluable contemporary account of events.
- References
- Howitt, William, Land, labor and gold: or two years in Victoria, with visits to Sydney and Van Diemen’s Land, Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, London, 1855. [ Details... ]
- Walker, Mary Howitt, 'Howitt, William (1792 - 1879)', in Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 4, Melbourne University Press, 1974. [ Details... ]
