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This is the first of two diaries by anthropologist and photographer Francis Gillen. Written in 1875, it records his experiences as a young man travelling along the Overland Telegraph Line from Adelaide to work in Alice Springs - a journey which would form the basis of his later work. The diary, introduced and with notes by Francis Gillen's grandson, Robert Gillen, includes a foreword by historian Philip Jones.

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9781743056851

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Francis James Gillen was born somewhere in the vicinity of Cavan, near Adelaide, in South Australia. His birth was registered in the Little Para Post Office on 28 October 1855. His parents, Thomas and Brigid (nee McCann) Gillen, were married in County Cavan, Ireland, on 13 January 1855. They set sail from Plymouth in Cornwall on 28 March 1855, on the sailing ship Sea Park. They arrived at Port Adelaide on 25 June 1855. Little is known of Francis's early life, except that his family moved to Clare, north of Adelaide. Francis began to earn his own living at the age of 11; he joined the Public Service as a telegraph messenger in Clare on 15 January 1867, earning £30 a year. When he was 15, Gillen was transferred to Adelaide as a junior assistant at £80 per annum. From this time he received some education, studying at night at the School of Mines. In the early 1870s, the construction of the Overland Telegraph Line ensured rapid promotion for those in the Service who were prepared to serve in the Northern Territory. In 1875, Gillen was posted to the Overland Telegraph Line at Alice Springs as an operator at £120 p.a. He left Adelaide on Good Friday, 26 March 1875, and commenced the journey described in this diary. Dr Robert Spencer Gillen is the grandson of F.J. Gillen.

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