Letter to mother Sarah Harris in Nelson, 1 January 1862

Jan 1th 1862

My dear Mamma

Mr Des Voeux sailed last night so this is a melancholy beginning of the new year for Mrs Des Voeux, and even I feel that I have a great responsibility: Mr Des Voeux’s implicit faith in my doing all in my power for Mrs Des Voeux. She is subject to very strange attacks in the night which as the Drs cannot see they cannot understand.

As soon as it can be arranged we shall all live together.

Mr Des Voeux may perhaps sail from Sydney direct to Nelson. I have sent a small parcel to Mrs Standish which he will give to you as my photograph is in it for you and papa. If he goes to Taranaki first Mrs Standish will forward it to you. If not, will you send the parcel to Mrs Standish. Tell papa if he sends me the photos by post I can get them framed here, mine cost ten shillings. You will most likely see Mr Des Voeux.
– – – –
Emily

MS copy of letter to mother Sarah Harris, Nelson. Written in Hobart, Tasmania, 1 Jan 1862.
Copying date unknown. Briant collection. Single folio, watermarked ‘Hammond’s Trademark.’

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NOTES

This letter, written on the same watermarked bond paper as its companions from Hobart, was found in a different part of the family archive in 2024. It lends substance to the probability that Emily copied more of her 1860s letters than the 12 that have been recovered.

Mr Des Voeux sailed last night
Charles Des Voeux left Hobart for Melbourne on the Tasmania 30 Dec 1861. He arrived in Sydney on the Rangatira 12 Jan 1862 and departed for NZ a few days later, travelling to Nelson, Auckland and New Plymouth before returning to his family in Hobart in March. See ‘Shipping,’ The Advertiser (Hobart) 31 Dec 1861: 2; ‘Shipping,’ Sydney Morning Herald 13 Jan 1862: 4.

She is subject to very strange attacks in the night
Emily’s role in the Des Voeux household and her responsibility for the welfare of Katharina Des Voeux becomes apparent. The exact nature of Katharina’s illness is unknown but it seems to have begun after the birth of her first child Charlotte in 1855. See ‘Des Voeux Chronology’ 1855-59.

As soon as it can be arranged we shall all live together.
Emily is homesick and clearly does not intend to spend four years in Hobart, but her family may not have had room to accommodate her in 1862. Edwin Harris did not purchase 34 Nile St in central Nelson until 1864 and the Harrises lived there in a two-storeyed home for the next 60 years.

I have sent a small parcel to Mrs Standish which he will give to you as my photograph is in it
Possibly the full-length portrait of Emily in a crinoline, taken by Alfred Bock in his City Photographic Establishment at 140 Elizabeth St, Hobart, and still in the Harris Weyergang Album Photographique. See ‘A letter from Emily Harris 1862,’ 3 Feb 2025.

Tell papa if he sends me the photos
The photographs Emily refers to have not been identified.