A fine copy of Salvado’s memoirs.
“Salvado was one of the heroic missionaries of the nineteenth century, at first travelling with a group of Aborigines and then settling at New Norcia in Western Australia, where he and his compatriots founded a mission. Although this of necessity involved the destruction of many of the traditions of Aboriginal life, he was a sympathetic and reasonably well-informed observer of the Aborigines. Few missions were managed as well as that at New Norcia, which offered at least partial sanctuary in the midst of the holocaust of the nineteenth century…” (People, Print and Paper).
In 1845, Salvado arrived in Western Australia and travelled with the newly consecrated bishop of Perth, Dr John Brady, who was genuinely concerned with the treatment of Aborigines by the white settlers. In collaboration with James Scully and James Drummond, Brady founded a mission on the Victorian plains in 1846, which he entrusted to Salvado. The mission was moved to New Norcia once it became clear they were trespassing on the leases of the Macpherson’s. Despite initial hardship, Salvado established good relations with the local Aborigines and soon began to learn their language and customs. This work includes a description of natural history, the convict system, political history and the progress of the Catholic missions. Of greatest significance, however, is a twelve page Aboriginal-Italian vocabulary.
Ferguson, 15421; Howgego II, S7.
