Mary Watson diaries
Collection
Contained in this accession are the diary kept by Mary Watson while she lived at Lizard Island; loose diary leaves kept by Mary Watson while drifting over the Barrier Reef and on No. 5 Island of the Howick Group; copies and transcript of these diaries; a copied photograph of Mary Watson; birth, death and marriage certificates; a genealogical table and photocopied clippings. All original items are in Rare and Restricted. Also included are contact prints of the loose diary leaves as well as negatives for four of these pages. All copies and transcript in Box 9109.
Mary Watson, nee Phillips (1860-1881) was born in Cornwall, to Mary Phillips and Thomas Oxnam and emigrated with her family to Australia in 1877, living first at Maryborough. Mary married Robert Watson in May 1880, who with his partner Percy Fuller, established a beche-de mer fishing business at Lizard Island on the Barrier Reef. Mary accompanied her husband to the island with Fuller, Mr Green, two Chinese workmen - Ah Leong and Ah Sam, and several South Sea Island labourers.
Out of copyright.