Ellen Clacy
Women on the gold fields For the benefit of ladies England, Ellen noted the evidence of women on the gold fields: "In some tents, the soft influence of women is pleasingly apparent: the tins are as bright as silver, there are sheets as well as blankets on the beds, and perhaps a clean counterpane, with the addition of a dry sack or piece of carpet on the ground; whilst a pet cockatoo, chained to a perch, makes noise enough to keep the ‘missus’ from feeling lonely when the good man is at work." On the treatment of women on the gold fields, Ellen’s notes: "Although rough in their manners and not over select in their address, the digger seldom wilfully injures a woman; in fact, a regular Vandemonian will, in his way, play the gallant with as great a zest as a fashionable about town – at any rate, with more sincerity of heart".
Gold