Travels in Eastern Indonesia as Reported in the Darwin Press, 1870s-1920s
The early British settlements in north Australia relied on Kupang on Timor and other ports of eastern Indonesia for communications and supplies. Following the establishment of a permanent settlement at Port Darwin in 1869, travel to eastern Indonesia from north Australia became more frequent. Many who went north sought trade or other business, but the expansion of shipping connections meant that travel for pleasure also became a possibility. This paper considers accounts of some of those travellers as reported in the Darwin press from the 1870s to the 1920s.
Steven Farram is Senior Lecturer in History at Charles Darwin University. His research interests include the politics and history of northern Australia and Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia and Timor-Leste. For more, see Dr Farram’s staff profile.