An Australian Parsonage or, the Settler and the Savage in Western Australia explained

An Australian Parsonage
Author:	Janet Millett
Genre:	Social commentary
Pub Date:	1872

An Australian Parsonage, or the Settler and the Savage in Western Australia (1872) is an account of life in Western Australia, particularly York, written by Janet Millett, the wife of clergyman Edward Millett, who was the priest of Holy Trinity Church, York from late 1863 until early 1869. It has been described as one of three outstanding books by early settlers, who commented on 19th-century Australian life.^[1]

Writing

The book was “founded on a diary kept by the writer” while she was in Western Australia.^[2] Her husband, Edward, contributed some of the “latter chapters”.^[3]

Publication

The book was published in January 1872 by Edward Stanford, 6 & 7 Charing Cross, London.^[4]

Contents

The book contains “graphic sketches of the writer’s own experiences as a chaplain’s wife, during five years spent in Western Australia”.^[5] The book includes comments on

• The journey from Fremantle to York
• Life and personalities of York
• The difficulties of housekeeping
• Bushfires
• The summer heat
• The Aboriginal inhabitants
• Convicts
• Pensioner guards
• The sandalwood trade
• Publicans and storekeepers
• The truck system.

An index to the book is on website of The York Society.^[6] According to The York Society, some of the unnamed persons in the book may be as follows:^[7]

• The Irish priest on board ship on page 14 is Fr Matthew Gibney
• The Yorkshire lady on pages 9, 10, 32 and 33 is Mary Dinsdale
• The shoemaker on page 247 is likely to be her husband William Dinsdale Snr
• The French convict on page 250 is Aimable Duperouzel
• The settler on pages 118 to 120 and on page 176 must be John Taylor
• The schoolmaster on pages 405-406 was probably John William Veal.

Reviews

The book was reviewed 60 times in 1872 and in the following years, was cited as an important source of information and a valuable insight into the way of life in York at the time.^[4]

Notes and References

1. The West Australian, 13 November 1937, p.7.
2. The Inquirer and Commercial News, 21 February 1872, p.1.
3. Perth Gazette and West Australian Times, 1 March 1872, p.3.
4. Duperouzel, William Thomas, Sunset Over Mount Douraking p1 published 15 June 2019 https://duperouzel.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Milletts_Book.pdf
5. The Examiner, London, 17 February 1872, p.185 (top half).
6. Web site: History & Heritage. The York Society. 2024-05-06.
7. Web site: Index to An Australian Parsonage by Janet Millett. Rob Garton Smith. January 2022. The York Society.