IRELAND (John).
The Shipwrecked Orphans; a true narrative of the shipwreck and sufferings of John Ireland and William Bayley, who were wrecked in the ship Charles Eaton, on an island in the South Seas...
Originally published in England in 1838, this is a scarce copy of a delightful publication for children. Indeed it is one of the earliest juveniles to be set in Australia. The Charles Eaton departed London in December 1833 with a crew of 22 and about 30 passengers, 25 of whom were children from the Emigration Society. The work begins ominously with the author stating that he didn’t know how to swim and was nearly drowned when he fell into the Thames on embarking. The Eaton was wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef and the survivors made their way to a nearby island where all but two of boys were killed by the natives. These two, the author and William Bayley, were traded to a less hostile tribe and spent the next four years with them. Eventually, they were rescued and brought to Sydney. Ferguson, 4078a; Muir, 3720; cf Hill, 869.
