The Archer Letters – Letter Eighteen
July 2, 2024
In this letter, Fr Julian expresses his appreciation for the enjoyable time he had spent with the Archer family the month before. He is now in Sydney en route to Bathurst.
Fr Julian describes the ship, the Wotonga, in which he journeyed from Melbourne to Sydney as “one of the very best boats you can travel in”. Maybe this was because it was relatively new, only built in 1876. The Wotonga was owned by the Australasian United Steam Navigation Company in Sydney but was wrecked on rocks off Port Macquarie on 2 January 1882. A very descriptive newspaper article about the wreck can be found in the Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser on Tuesday, 10 January 1882, page 3: http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/846157/38505
The Archer Letters – Letter Seventeen
This letter is to Mrs Archer, apologising for once again being delayed in his visit and asking for assistance for one of the women from a community he was trying to establish. This letter shows the esteem and trust in which Fr Julian held the Archer family. It is little wonder he enjoyed spending time at their home.
What is not mentioned is the reason for his delay in leaving Tasmania – he was, around this time, quite ill. In fact Fr Julian did not leave Tasmania until November 1876, a further delay occurring when Bishop Murphy asked him to take charge of the Oatlands parish for several months. He finally spent time with his good friends in January 1877.
The Archer Letters – Letter Sixteen
In his letter of 6.1.76, Fr Julian says he is enclosing a cryptogamic puzzle. Obviously he forgot to do this because the purpose of his letter of 22.1.76 is now to send the Fungus! The two letters allude to his involvement with the Tasmanian Royal Society whose monthly meetings both stimulated his scientific work and gave him a forum for sharing his reading and research.
The Archer Letters – Letter Fifteen
Fr Julian is in the Huon district, south of Hobart, where he is giving a most successful mission. He mentions receiving 18 people into the Church and the footnotes give evidence of the esteem in which he was obviously held as an orator. The timber on which he recorded the number of communions and confirmations has been removed from the Geeveston church and is now on display in the Julian Room of the Josephite Mission and History Centre at New Town, Hobart.
The Archer Letters – Letter Fourteen
In his letter to William Archer on 12 October 1875, Fr Julian writes from Hobart where he seems to be busy about many things.
It seems Fr Julian had delayed answering William Archer’s last letter and had received, with both surprise and pleasure, a second one “tumbling in on the heels of the first”. As usual, there are requests to be attended to and views to share, particularly about plant life.
The Archer Letters – Letter Thirteen
In a letter written from South Brisbane on 4.12.1873, we see for the first time Fr Julian Tenison Woods using the †JMJ sign at the beginning of his letters.
We also learn a little more of the Archer family (both the high and low moments of their life) and of Fr Julian’s time in Northern Queensland. He describes being ill from ague, a malarial disease consisting of fever, chills and sweating. Little wonder that he expressed the wish to spend summer in the cooler climate of Tasmania!
The Archer Letters – Letter Eleven
View Letter 11 written from Fitzroy Terrace in Melbourne on 1 September 1866: