Description
On horseback, with his moustache and Panama hat, Elwes was mistaken for a local. "Ferried over the Nepean river, I began my ascent of the Blue Mountains. At three o’clock I reached the Weatherboard and walked down the valley to see one of the greatest sights in Australia. Following a little stream I came on an enormous opening, as if a valley had suddenly sunk down. It could not be less than 1000 feet deep and is surrounded by steep sand-stone cliffs. The small stream that runs from the Weatherboard falls into the chasm, but the cliff was so steep, projecting on each side in huge buttresses, that I could not see the fall from any part".
This is a page from a unique leather-bound volume of Robert Elwes’ travelogue 'A Sketcher's Tour Round the World', first published 1854, (see page 290 for corresponding passage).
The book contains the printed text of the manuscript but remarkably, the monochrome wash illustrations are hand painted by Elwes. The book bears a handwritten inscription ‘Mary F Elwes from her affect. husband Robert Elwes Jan 25 1878’, dated after Robert Elwes became ill at Congham, his Norfolk home. On 28th January 1878 , their youngest daughter Violet noted in her diary: “Papa much worse”. Less than three months later, Robert Elwes died on 17th April aged 58.
Image Licence
All Rights Reserved
Image Credit
Courtesy of a private collector
Location
Wentworth Falls, Blue Mountains, Tasmania, Australia
Country
Australia
Tags
Category
Landscapes & Seascapes
