Edmond de Boissieu manuscript written on board La Favorite on the Laplace voyage, detailing Sydney society, ca. 1831

Title	Edmond de Boissieu manuscript written on board La Favorite on the Laplace voyage, detailing Sydney society, ca. 1831
Subject	Australia--Discovery and exploration Australia--Social life and customs New South Wales--History Sydney (N.S.W.)
Category	1. Settlement
Author	Boissieu, Edmond de
Keywords	Blaxland family Governor Darling
Current holder	State Library of New South Wales
Date	January 1, 1831
Link	https://collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/record/Yj7oJEx9
Series number	MLMSS 9913
Item number	Yj7oJEx9
Access rights	Digitised
Rights	Out of copyright Please acknowledge: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales
Place	Sydney
Language	French
Description from source	0.05 metres of textual material (1 box) - manuscript in ink on 4 folded sheets (16 pages including 3.5 blank pages)
Physical format	Manuscripts
Abstract	Edmond de Boissieu documented his stay in Sydney in detail and this previously unrecorded manuscript describes many domestic details of households such as Governor Darling’s, Chief Justice Forbes’ and, particularly, the Blaxland family’s. Boissieu also met (and passed judgement on) Alexander Macleay (afflicted with ‘great ugliness’), Francis Forbes' wife (‘one of the most pleasant women in Sydney’), Colonel Dumaresq, John Manning, John Kinchela, Francis Rossi, Richard Jones, Dr Fattorini and William Bland. Boissieu describes at length the various assets of many of the ladies of the colony (both married and eligible) and the events to which he is invited such as balls, dinners and outings. The manuscript may have been intended for publication, as Boissieu goes to some trouble to explain the English customs he encounters, as if to educate other young French officers who may be considering visiting or settling in the colony. The manuscript is particularly notable for the detail furnished by Boissieu about his main hosts, the Blaxland family. He describes the Blaxland property at Newington, then goes into some detail about the women of the family, particularly the daughters – their marital status, physical and mental attributes and personalities. Boissieu lists the gifts that are bestowed upon him by his hosts (and those he presents in return). Dr Fattorini presented him with a case of stuffed and mounted birds. On the day he left to rejoin the ship, Boissieu was presented with a male and female platypus and a "sabre en bois garnis d'os tranchoeurs", said to have come from Torres Strait.
Related resources	https://www.zotero.org/groups/4688363/oama/items/3VVZF5MG/
Date accessed	March 28, 2023