Journal of a Voyage to Australia 1855-56

There is a stained glass window in St James Church which is dedicated to the memory of Irish-born Rev Myles Edmund Athy OSB. During research into the background of people to whom windows in the church were dedicated, the existence of the journal kept by Athy during his voyage from Liverpool to Australia in 1855-56 came to light. It is held by the National Library of Ireland. The Library provided a photocopy of the journal in 2009. Some sections of the handwritten journal are very difficult to read, and transcribing it has revealed interesting aspects of Athy’s life and his links to significant Catholic identities both in England and Australia.

It is with the permission of the National Library of Ireland that this transcription is being published.

Anne Wark is a long-time parishioner of St James Parish, Glebe, in an area formerly referred to as being Forest Lodge. Her first book was a primer on the windows of St James Church, with brief biographies of those to whom windows are dedicated. Armour of Light. The Stained Glass Windows of St James Church Forest Lodge, those to whom they are dedicated and their families was published by St James Parish in 2010.