Southward Bound Information - History SA

To emigrate or to remain at home? This question, so final in its implications, was
faced by all emigrants regardless of their financial or social standing.
The considerations were many:
• Parting from family and friends
• The risk and the fear of unknown hardships on the journey.
• The remoteness of Australia. (Were they committing themselves to a lifetime of
loneliness? Would they be able to adapt?).
In the majority of cases the alternative (remaining in Europe) was equally
depressing. The optimistic tried to persuade themselves and those they were
leaving behind that they would soon make a fortune and return. Very few did.
PREPARATION
Once the decision to migrate had been taken the emigrant had much to arrange
because the decision was virtually irrevocable.
For the poor the task was relatively simple, gather together the few possessions
they owned and wait for the call to join a ship for the journey.
Wealthy emigrants could employ an agent to assist in arranging freight space, to
assemble their equipment and to organise their luggage for transportation to the
point of departure. In addition the agent undertook to oversee the loading and
packing of equipment leaving the wealthy emigrant with relatively little to do in
preparation for the journey.
For the middle classes (those with some equity in the form of land, equipment or
stock) preparations for the journey were far more difficult.
-Unwanted or unneeded items had to be liquidated.
-Remaining possessions had to be transported to the point of
departure.
-Organising the safe transfer of surplus funds to South Australia.
-Finding suitable accommodation while awaiting departure
(These were all major problems because support was extremely limited).
The ship was to provide provisions in accordance with the scale laid down under
the current Passengers Act,(see following section “CONDITIONS”) but the
passengers had to provide everything else for their personal comfort during the
voyage.