Historical information

Charles Griffith was born in Kildare, Ireland in 1808. He studied at Trinity College, Dublin acquiring a B.A. in 1829 and an M.A. in 1832 before being admitted to practice as barister. In 1840 he emigrated to Australia arriving in the Port Phillip District in November 1840. Soon after arriving he and his friend James Moore formed a business partnership and acquired land in the Parwan Valley near Bacchus Marsh. This land had been in the possession of a Mr. McKenzie who agreed to sell his land and sheep to Griffith and Moore. The property they acquired came to be known as Glenmore. The partnership with James Moore lasted until 1848. In 1846, whilst in Ireland, Griffith married Miss Jane Catherine Magee, then returned to Glenmore and later took his nephew, Molesworth Richard Greene, into partnership, which arrangement proved to be long and prosperous. In 1857, they bought runs at Mount Hope and Mount Pyramid, which they kept until the days of free selection. Griffith led an active and successful public life. He was a member of the new Victorian Legislative Council in 1851, and was later an elected representative of the Legislative Assembly 1853-1859. He occupied many important public positions, including that of magistrate for Bacchus Marsh. Griffith was a devout Anglican and hosted Bishop Charles Perry at his station near Bacchus Marsh in 1849. He died in 1863 at his home in South Yarra.

The diary is a detailed account of Griffith's voyage from Ireland to Australia and of his early months in Melbourne. After this it covers his early months establishing himself on his property, Glenmore, near Bacchus Marsh. The timeline of the diary stretches across 1840 and 1841. Griffith was an educated gentleman who made detailed observations about the environment he found himself in. The diary is particularly notable for Griffith's commentary about his interactions with people from first nations, and reveals some of his thinking about Colonial policies directed at first nations people. The diary also includes some sketches of individual first nations people along with some sketches of flora and fauna. The final part of the diary includes a glossary of Aboriginal words Griffith was familiar with.

Physical description

Digital file. PDF format. Digitised by State Library Victoria from photocopied pages of a hand-written transcription of the original diaries written by Charles J. (James) Griffith in 1840 and 1841.