Lot 8 Lester's Avenue

Bathurst NSW 2795

17 June 1854

 Dearest Sister,

 How are you? All is well here, but I wish I was back in Sussex with you. I'm sorry I haven't written yet, seeing as we've been here for two months now, but I lost my all writing paper and have only bought new now.

 The journey from Sussex to the Melbourne port took many months. Oh, dear Sister, never have I felt so seasick in my life! I wish we was back home with you, but I really had to go with Jonathon, for Charlie, little Mary and I could not have stayed alone in our small cottage.

 How good little Mary has been for this time. I have never seen a baby behave so well on a ship before, what with all the rolling. Charlie wasn't at all seasick, but enjoyed climbing the riggings and talking with those foul-mouthed sailors. I didn't like it one bit, but Jonny told me to go easy on him and let him have some fun. Ah well, it ain't much better here. All these fellows going around swearin' and yellin'. Charlie is already picking it up.

 There are all sorts of folk that've come from all over the place, some from places around England, but others with yellow skin, and some with real dark blackish skin, and some, well some are in the middle! The worst are the Americans though. They make so much noise, always cursin'.

 The weather here isn't so good either, so hot and dusty. It's not very clean. Mary got Whooping Cough and we thought it was the last of her, but then she pulled through and got better, the little angel.

 Jonny went to work straight away. He was panning and he found a little bit of gold which got us a bit of money. He was so pleased with himself, since most of the gold was gone by then. He gave me some of the money to go into town to the shops to get some new dresses for me because I had holes and frays all over mine.

When I got to the so-called town, I found it was not at all how I had expected. There was a butcher's shop with flies covering every inch of the meat, so much that you couldn't even see the fleshy bits. There were only a couple of other shops: a blacksmith, a woman selling stale vegetables, an odd job man, two women working as dressmakers, a tent with some men in it for a bank, the same for a police station, and an old man selling anything and everything in a shack.

 I went over to the dressmakers and said hello to them. I soon found out that they were English too and had both come from London with their husbands and children. Their names were Sally and Linda and they were happy to make me two skirts and one dress that should last me a while. I found out that Sally and Linda both live on Lester's Avenue as well and Sally lives on Lot 10, just two lots away from us. Sally is going to give them to me when they're finished, she'll be able to just drop them over!

 Anyways, I found out from Linda, (she seems to know all the happenings around Lester's Avenue) that there is Chinese family living nearby as well and that they eat chicken feet for their supper! I found it atrocious. After chatting a while longer, I went back to the butchers and bought the least maggot ridden load of mutton for dinner and headed home. As I walked over the shortcut over the diggings, a cry was heard all over the goldfields.                

 "Joe comin'! Joe comin'!"

 The call was relayed over the shafts, and I saw many diggers scurry down their shaky ladders, blowing out their oil lamps as they went. Then from right behind me a trooper on a horse came galloping up waving a shot gun around wildly. The fellow yelled at me rudely, "Watch where ya goin' Lady! Move it!"

 I was so astonished at his manner that I ran home, only to find Jonny looking pretty grumpy (he does have a bit of a hot temper, I must say). He told me that the licenses were too dear to be buying them every month, even with the little bit of gold he found. That was going into new mining equipment, since he is starting shaft work on the morrow.  I don't like him doing shaft work because it is so much more dangerous than panning, but he has his mind set.

 That's about all the news I've got so far. Since then I've just been hangin' about the tent, chatting with Sally and Linda. There ain't much to do around here for women, except cleaning, although Sally and Linda have taken me on at their dressmaking shop, (you always have told me I had fine stitches). I started there only two days ago.

 Jonny isn't mining with a license anymore either, and I'm worried he's going to get caught. You have to pay a 10 pound fine if you're caught. 

 Dear Janet, when are we going to see each other again? For now though, give my greetings to George and my love to Mama, but I'll be writing to her as well.

 Yours Lovingly,

 Penelope