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One of the biggest Cornish festivals in the world is the biennial Kernewek Lowender in Australia's Little Cornwall. Thoroughly foreign sounding names like Wallaroo, Moonta and Burra Burra are now synonymous with the Cornish in Australia. Cousin Jacks flocked to these places to work underground. In 1859 copper was discovered at Wallaroo in South Australia and at neighbouring Moonta. This area became 'Little Cornwall' (the picture on the right still stands in Moonta today). Mining machinery was brought straight from Cornwall as was the culture - Cornish Methodism, Cornish wrasslin and Cornish pastys. At one time the area round Wallaroo, Moonta and Kadina had the biggest concentration of Cornish people outside of Cornwall. Elsewhere the Cornish had an equal hold on society - in Broken Hill in New South Wales and in Kalgoorlie in Western Australia; and in Ballarat and Bendigo where they joined the Victoria gold rush. In 1866 the copper mines collapsed in Cornwall. The potato blight had started to bite in 1840 so now the Cornish were ripe for moves to the New World. The fledgling nations of Australia and New Zealand needed a population and were prepared to pay the fare of people from Britain to get there. The Cornish took advantage of this in their thousands, despite the long and dangerous sea journeys involved. Cornwall's hard rock miners flocked to Australia, but Cornish smiths and shepherds, doctors and engineers were also needed in New Zealand. Twentyfive-year-old Annie Olds' diary of the voyage on board the Ben Nevis bound for New Zealand in 1882 is still cherished by her family in NZ and was passed to Cornish World by Chris Clarke (nee Olds) whose family are settled in New Zealand still. July 3rd Rose this morning at about half-past-five having been kept awake all night nearly with baby so this morning I soaked his feet in mustard water and after breakfast I told the Captain he was sick so he came at once to see him and sent down the head steward with milk and castor oil. July 4th Rose about seven feeling thankful to our Heavenly Father that out dear baby is better. This morning we are 17 hundred miles from our Dear old Native Land. How are our dear ones at home? We dream of them. July 7th Rose this morning at seven o'clock as Mrs Brundell called to me & said her baby was in a fit. I went for Mr Brundell at once but the poor child died in the fit. Poor little fellow 12 months old last Monday. It was laid covered in a Union Jack for four hours and then sewn in canvas. The service was said at the poop ladder, the sailors sang and then as Mr Young said 'we commit his body to the deep' they let its body slip from the board into the sea. At the splash in the calm waters I felt it was our child and I could almost have plunged in after it. I could not help weeping but the mother and father merely shed a silent tear. We felt very thankful to God that it was not our child and he is better after his illness may the Lord keep us ever thankful for his many mercies. Monday 24th Five days today since we set sail & not crossed the line yet [the equator], they say we shall take four months at this rate, we've had contrary winds nearly all the way, she went 120 miles on Saturday and only ten in the right direction. May's head is come out in humers all over. We cut her hair close to her head. The heat and change of food caused it. We spend most of our time on deck it is so hot in the lower decks. I think the sailor's life a harsh one. Friday 28th July Been rather poorly owing to the roughness of the sea. The sea comes over the side but we don't mind, we are going faster ten miles an hours in the right direction. The sailors say July is the roughest time for going round Cape Horn and by being delayed July will be out before we go round so I dare say it is for the best |