The Cruise of H.M.S. Galatea

In 1867, Prince Alfred, Queen Victoria's second son, commissioned the Galatea for a voyage around the world which would include the first royal visit to Australia. Stopping along the way in Rio de Janeiro and Cape Town, Alfred was received with great ceremony at each port of call. These visits provided the ship's chaplain John Milner (1822-97) and the artist Oswald Brierly (1817-94) with ample material for this chronicle, published in 1869, which gives background details of each region alongside scenes from the tour, enhanced by illustrations based on Brierly's sketches. The authors drew on various recollections and writings, including a letter from Alfred to his brother describing an elephant hunt in South Africa. The tour was abruptly curtailed in Sydney when a Fenian sympathiser attempted to assassinate the prince, an act which boosted support for the British royal family.