An original manuscript Journal belonging to the late Reverend Lancelot Threlkeld, missionary to the Aborigines in the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie areas in the 1820s onward has been digitised and uploaded to the University of Newcastle’s Virtual Sourcebook for Aboriginal Studies in the Hunter Region.
We sincerely thank Mrs Marjorie Raven, great grand daughter of the late Reverend Threlkeld for her permission to publish this important Journal. We also thank her son Lindsay and grandson Blake for preparing the digital files on CDrom for us.
The original Journal which covers the period from December 1828 to around February 1846 is now lost, and presumably formed part of a series of Journal diaries. It originally was in the possession of an owner in Cattai. Prior to his death, the manuscript was lent to Mrs Raven, who then lent it to the Mitchell Library who digitised the full manuscript including additional papers belonging to Mrs Raven.
The Journal was then returned to the owner, and following his death, subsequently lost. Every avenue of locating it pursued by Mrs Raven has come to no avail causing great concern for the fate of such an important historical document to Hunter Region and the Australian nation.
Its importance to local indigenous and non indigenous researchers at the University and wider regional community is inestimable.
It is vitally important and urgent that we track down the original and ensure that it is preserved and stored in a proper archival temperature and humidity controlled environment. It therefore greatly appreciated if anyone knowing the present whereabouts of the original could contact us on archives@newcastle.edu.au or 02 49215819.
The full digitised copy of this Australian regional treasure can be downloaded below:
Threlkeld, L.E. (Lancelot Edward), 1788-1859.
[Manuscript] A Journal Kept By Lancelot Edward Threlkeld.
Note: We recommend firstly downloading the document to your computer by right mouse-clicking on the link and then choosing ‘Save Target As’. Then, pick a location on your computer and click ‘OK’. The file will be downloaded to your computer and you can track its progress. Please bear in mind that it is a large file, and so may take some time to download depending upon your connection.
Special Collections, UON Library 
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Even at 65 Mb it is too large for the current writer to download. If you do download it please check the year 1842 to see if Threlkeld mentions the visit of Rev. W. B. Clarke.
I am researching “Kur-kur-kur-ran. The name of a place in which there is almost a forest of petrifications of wood of various sizes, extremely well defined. It is situated in a bay in the N.W. extremity of Lake Macquarie. The tradition of the aborigines is that formerly it was one large rock, which fell
from the heavens and killed a number of blacks, who were assembled where it descended, they being collected together in that spot by command of an immense iguana, which came down from above for that purpose. In consequence of his anger at their having killed lice by roasting them in the fire, those who had killed the vermin by cracking were previously
speared to death by him with a long reed from Heaven … When the iguana saw all the men were killed by the fall of the stone, he ascended up into Heaven, where he is supposed now to remain, and they point out the stars which they say represent his form in the sky.”
Thank you,
Dr John G. Byrnes
I would like to download a copy of this journal. However it seems to be unavailable. Every time I click on the link it tells me it cannot be found. Where can I get it from please.
I am very interested as it seems my mothers family appears in it a number of times.
Hi Gail, We’ve fixed the link now, so you should be able to download it. We are switching servers at present and so some of our links will not work, thanks for bringing it to our attention. Regards, Gionni
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