Embedded Files
In 1878, Arch, aged 14, and his brother, James, aged 21, were camped in the Pyrenees, on the north east side, near Redbank, their home being at Mountain Hut on the south side. James had a licence to cut timber in the area for 1876/8 and for nearby Stuart Mill in 1879, so they were probably there felling timber and stripping the bark.
Why Arch, rather than James, wrote the letter home is unknown. Perhaps James thought he would be more successful in his requests for his boots, ”best shirt and scarf”, and “a few shillings” to be sent to them if Arch asked for them. Perhaps James, as the adult, was working too hard on the heavy jobs to write. We will never know this, nor why he wanted his glad rags. Were the attractions at a nearby homestead, or a night in Redbank, or perhaps even in Avoca on the way home to Mountain Hut if they were to go around the mountains rather than over them. Certainly the letter shows that Arch., for his 14 years, had a remarkable command of letter writing, and a quaint turn of phrase, giving a glimpse into the conversations of the time.
What is more remarkable is the family story that the letter was carried from their camp to their home in Mountain Hut by their dog. It's unknown whether this was a regular, planned occurrence, or just an opportunity which arose. Of course, if it were the latter, it was taking a risk that the requests would never arrive. For whatever reason, the letter was kept by the original family, and has been handed down through the male descendants of Arch.
The meaning of the first line of the letter - "Pedro came out on the Monday night" is not known. It seems to have been written in response to an interest by, or request from, the parents for that information. Who Pedro was is unknown. There was a Pedro family living at the time at Homebush, around 25 kilometres away, Pedro could have been the first name of a friend, and it is possible that it was the name of a dog which knew how to "come out to the camp", or even the dog which carried the letter back to Mountain Hut.
In 2001, the letter and its story, with background information on the family, was submitted to the "Letters from our Heart" project, which was undertaken by The Weekend Australian and Australia Post for the Australian Federation Celebrations in April that year. The aim of the project was to find the best letters written by ordinary Australians to demonstrate the life of the colonies and Australia itself.
Arch's letter was chosen, and included, with accompanying photos of Arch, his horse, house, his family and Mallee Roller, (as seen at Archibald Henry McVicar) along with an explanatory article, in their joint “Letters from our Heart” supplement to that newspaper in the April.
Left: The 2002 hard cover edition, with the invitation from the publishers for Ian McVicar (as the submitter of the photographs and the original letter) and myself (text) to attend the launch in Sydney on 24/4/2002
In 2002 the letter, article and photographs were republished as one of a collection of 100 letters written by ordinary people representing the history of Australia. The collection, entitled Letters from our Heart – the Lives of Australians through Correspondence, was published by Hardie Grant Books. The title page photograph is of Arch’s wife, their five eldest children, and his brother in law and business partner, Will Glover, standing in front of the McVicar house in Avoca. Arch and his horse, and son Archie’s friend, a boy Ross, have been mistakenly cut off by the lay out editor! However, the full photo appears in the text with the letter. Additionally, on the contents page, is the photo of the Mallee Roller which Arch had had made at Avoca.
The cover of the later paperback version has the full photo of all the above people on both the front and back covers. I’m quite sure that neither the two McVicar boys, nor their parents, ever thought that such things would result from the short letter, written 122 years before in the hills behind Redbank and delivered to the other side of the mountains by their dog.
Right: The later, paperback version
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse