[MELBOURNE; LA TROBE FAMILY] Martha Browne, wife of colonial merchant Octavius Browne : entire letter to Henrietta Macartney, daughter of the Dean of Melbourne. Isle of Wight, September 1855.

Manuscript in ink, [6] pp. duodecimo (130 x 90 mm); headed ‘Orchard Leigh, Bonchurch, Sept. 29’, the letter is addressed ‘My dear Henrietta’, and is signed at the foot ‘your very affectionate friend, Mrs Browne’; original folds, clean and crisp; accompanied by its original mailing envelope, addressed to ‘Miss Macartney, care of Revd. John Brougham, Dunmore East, Waterford, Ireland’, with 1d red postage stamp, reverse with circular ‘VENTNOR / SP 29 / 1855’ in blue, Waterford transit mark of 2 October 1855, and horizontal DUNMORE EAST arrival mark in black;

A previously unpublished private letter which well illustrates the interconnectedness of Melbourne’s colonial elite of the 1840s and 1850s, whose various ties and friendships were maintained even after they had left Australia to live in Ireland, England or Switzerland.  

The letter was written by Martha Swete (Cummins) Browne (1816-1893), wife of successful colonial merchant Octavius Browne (1809-1876). Her correspondent is Henrietta Macartney (1837-1919), daughter of Anglican Dean of Melbourne Hussey Burgh Macartney (1799-1894), who at the time the letter was written was visiting family in Ireland.

On an early visit to Melbourne Octavius Browne had become friends with Georgiana McCrae: her portrait of Octavius, painted in 1841, is now in the State Library of Victoria collection. It was through an introduction from Georgiana, who was a close friend of the Cummins family, that Octavius came to meet his wife, Martha Swete Cummins, in London. Octavius returned to Melbourne in 1847 with Martha and young sons Charles and Ernest. They remained in Melbourne until 1854, when Octavius retired to live at his property in Bonchurch on the Isle of Wight. During their time in Melbourne the Brownes developed close friendships with the McCrae, Perry, Macartney, Lonsdale and La Trobe families; Martha’s letter contains much news about the La Trobe children, in particular, with whom it is clear Henrietta wished to stay in touch.

FULL TRANSCRIPT OF THE LETTER:

‘My dear Henrietta,

Many thanks for your letter & for your dear Mamma’s enclosed in it, both of which gave me very much pleasure. I am much interested in your account of your various travels, & delighted that you are enjoying such a happy visit to Ireland, & to so many dear relatives. You are laying up a treasure of precious remembrances to take back to your Australian home – & I always look upon a store of sweet memories as something gained for life. I would not part with one of them. Many such I have brought with me from dear Melbourne, in which your beloved Parents bear a large part.

Thanks for your kind enquiries about little Gerald – he is a fine healthy boy now & very pretty & engaging, but he is not the Baby now, it has pleased God to give us another dear little boy, just a fortnight old. I have been much better since he was born, but was very ill for some time before – indeed, when your former note arrived I would gladly have answered it, but was quite unable. I am still confined to my room, & obliged to write this lying down which makes it such a scrawl. The same cause has prevented me lately from writing to your dear Mamma. Charlie & Ernest are at school at Cheam in Surrey.

Eleanor La Trobe’s address is “Maison de Montemollin, Neuchâtel, Switzerland”. I have seen a good deal of Agnes who is a charming girl. Charlie La Trobe is grown a fine boy – very tall – they & their Papa were staying with the Lonsdales near us, while the Revd. Peter La Trobe, Miss La Trobe (ie “Aunt Charlotte”) & his daughter Louisa spent a fortnight with us. Louisa is also a very nice girl of 16. She has just gone to school at Montmirail in Switzerland for two years to finish. Agnes is 17 – she is a tall fine looking girl. She is at school in England, the same school that Mrs Perry was brought up at. Mademoiselle Béguin is still with Lilly & Cécile – but I think they will soon come to England.

I am sorry to hear that your hand does not make faster progress, but as your general health is strengthened I trust it will improve, surely though perhaps slowly.

I do not know your address in Dublin so must send this to Dunmore to be forwarded. I am not able to write more just now, but am always, dear Henrietta, your very affectionate friend, Mrs Browne.

[PS] Mr Browne is in London just now.’