Category Archives: Annie Brassey

Brassey Institute (part 3)

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Further wonderful finds today thanks to the lovely Zoe at Hastings Library, furthering my research about the Brassey connections to ‘the biggest farm in the world’ in Canada as well as discovering accounts of Annie’s final days.  

Unearthing more evidence as to the nature of Brassey links with Canada, and possibly Bexhill, but certainly Assiniboia.  I think I have found out as much as is possible regards ‘the biggest farm in the world’ short of visiting the area. Itinerary of travel is coming together beautifully, with the (twenty)first draft in a spreadsheet now on the kitchen table for tweaking.

Reading Annie’s son, TAB’s account of the last days of her life was an unexpected discovery and most touching. A very moving account of the intimate details of family life and illness aboard the ‘Sunbeam’.  Annie’s last journal entry refers to a visit to Thursday Island, Queensland, TAB also documents their weighing anchor in Port Darwin before embarking on the journey home. My travels will take me to Darwin, and crosses Annie’s path at many locations through Australia, a trip to Thursday Island may sadly be a little out of reach (although I hold out hope it may somehow be possible).

The following photographs have been taken with kind permission by Hastings Library, and are from Annie’s first journal (from what I can gather) of her Tour of Scandinavia in 1859, before she was married.  Seeing her handwriting, touching the paper and noticing how she would write carefully as the words approached the edge of the page and all attempts to finish a particularly long, ill fitting word caused it to bend slightly and get squashed, are all details that have helped me connect much more closely with this lady, whom little is written about. A desire to have more of a sense of Annie as a person, has begun to be realised.

Annie Allnutt's Journal - Tour of Scandinavia, 1959 (with kind permission of Hastings Library)

Today’s Research: featuring Annie Allnutt’s Journal – ‘Tour of Scandinavia’ (1859) (with kind permission of Hastings Library)

journal extract 1959

Extract of Annie Allnutt’s Journal (1859) Last paragraph (with kind permission of Hastings Library)

1959 Journal dried flowers 2

Loose leaf at back of journal of pressed flowers (1859) from Annie Allnutt’s ‘Tour of Scandinavia’ (with kind permission of Hastings Library)

1959 Journal dried flowers

Loose leaf at back of Journal of pressed flowers- from Annie Allnutt’s ‘Tour of Scandinavia’ (1859) (with kind permission from Hastings Library)

Photographs

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Another day spent at Hastings’ Brassey Institute has brought a greater sense of connection between the journeys Annie made and my own travel plans.  While only a small number of places will be visited treading in her footsteps, it has become more important to do so.

Hastings Library very generously gave permission for some of Annie’s journals and albums to be photographed.  So, in follow up to my last post…here are the photographs of Madai Caves, Borneo from Annie’s expedition on 13th April, 1887:

Black bird's nests caves, Borneo "looking awkward"

Black bird’s nests caves, Borneo “looking awkward” (with kind permission of Hastings Library)

"inside"

“inside” (with kind permission of Hastings Library)

"Encampment of Eraan (who collect the nests) at mouth of cave"

“Encampment of Eraan (who collect the nests) at mouth of cave” (with kind permission of Hastings Library)

These are the only photographs of the caves, certainly the only ones in the album, after what was a pretty gruelling expedition through rain forest.

"a bunch of bird's nests on a rattan"

“a bunch of bird’s nests on a rattan” (with kind permission of Hastings Library)

…and a sample of the bird’s nests in question, with thanks to Julian Porter at Bexhill Museum:

birds nest photo - Bexhill Museum Julian

a sample of bird’s nest retrieved from Borneo expedition on ‘The Last Voyage’ in 1887 (image courtesy of Bexhill Museum, UK).

 

 

Caves in Borneo

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Research today has focussed on the time Annie Brassey visited Borneo. In particular of the caves where bird’s nests are collected for making bird’s nest soup. I had been under the impression that a visit to one of these had been responsible for Lady Brassey contracting malaria. My journey passes through Malaysia and Indonesia and I am trying to establish the possibility of locating and visiting such a cave.

Entrance to Madai Caves‘The Last Voyage’ documents time spent in Singapore before sailing around the coast of Borneo. This included stopping at Brunei, Sarawak and Elopura (now known as Sandakan).

“I had been very anxious to go to the black bird’s-nest caves of Gomanton, but was assured by everybody that the difficulties would be found insurmountable. All agreed that it was absolutely necessary to await the return and the report of Messrs. Walker and Wilson, who had gone to Gomanton to survey the road…A shorter expedition has been therefore proposed, and it is arranged that we shall cross the bay and look at the bilian-wood cutting…The distant views of Sandakan are very fine, as is also the aspect of the north bluff of the island of Balhalla, where the best white birds’-nests in the world are found, and are collected at terrible risk to life and limb…we found Messrs. Walker and Wilson, now on their way back from the caves, of which they gave an interesting description. They seemed, however, to be firmly impressed with the idea that it would be impossible for us to visit them, the difficulties of the expedition being far too great for anyone unaccustomed to Borneo jungle-life. They had been obliged to swim rivers, wade through mud up to their arms, sleep in damp caves, and endure other hardships not very conducive to health in a malarious district.” (The Last Voyage, Brassey, pp178-180).

Up for a challenge, I am nonetheless reluctant to be swimming rivers, wading through mud up to my arms and sleeping in damp caves. However, it is looking as though visiting the caves of what is now referred to as Gomantong Caves in the Sabah region of Malaysia, may be a little easier today. From preliminary research it seems that these are a more practical destination than the Madai caves on the North East coast of Borneo. There are a number of sketches which illustrate this part of Annie’s journeys, the one below shows Annie’s journey, the one above features the entrance to the caves.

It might make a difference if I received this kind of treatment…

Bird's nest Caves at Madai

Plans developing nicely

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Conscious that my posts have been dominated with news of research and detail of Annie Brassey, I am sharing some more today, albeit with reassurance that my own travel plans are developing nicely.

A fabulous day of research has been spent, pouring over journals and photograph albums collated by Annie. I have an emerging sense of her, reading early journals help to make contact more directly with this intriguing woman. More time is to be spent studying these treasures, but for now I’m particularly delighted to learn of her trip to Canada in 1872 which included time in Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec and Montreal as well as the Niagara Falls.

My own travels may be somewhat less luxurious or organised than Lady Brassey’s, but there will be many parallels and cross overs, not least of the places hoped to visit. A more specific itinerary is currently in development and will include train travel that will follow the trail of at least some of Annie’s trip in Canada, before going on to New York (another destination enjoyed by Lady B).

In the mean time, some images from Hastings (England) and the Brassey Institute, named after Annie and her husband. Now the town’s library, it houses some of the journals and photograph albums collected by Lady Brassey:

Brassey Institute

Brassey Institute

…and the steps leading down to it (and the seafront which was gloriously sunny and warm today):

Brassey Steps, Hastings

Hastings Museum and Art Gallery

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After an unpromising start to summer, the British obsession with the weather is coming into its own with a beautiful couple of weeks passing.  Despite this, the sunshine was shunned yesterday for a productive afternoon at the Hastings Museum and Art Gallery.  Time was spent instead pouring over volumes of press cuttings and box files of letters, so carefully held, despite the incomplete and out of sequence clippings.  The history of these are almost as interesting as what they hold, acquired by the Museum in 1985 they have lived a mysterious life of their own throughout much of the twentieth century.

Rich finds included photographs of the farm at Indian Head, Canada, and a paper by Lou Taylor placing Annie’s daughter Constance very much at the forefront of the naming of the ‘Sunbeam’ yacht.  Both of these I shall return to another time, but of particular interest are the newspaper clippings pertaining to the sad loss of Lady Annie Brassey during the Last Voyage.

Letter of condolence to Lord Brassey:

“…To her noble generosity and kindly, ready influence and sympathy for religion, philanthropy, and social life we owe a vast debt of gratitude.  May you all receive strength and consolation from the Infinite Treasury of Divine Love.”

“Visitors from places so remote as Honolulu and New Guinea signed this document.  The sheets when collected were handsomely bound in mauve morocco and gold…recently presented to Lord Brassey”

[Lord Brassey wrote as follows] “I am deeply touched by the expression of sympathy which you have so kindly sent me in the form of an address illuminated with much taste.  I thank from my heart the sixteen hundred friends and sympathisers who have signed the address.”                                                (printed in Hastings News June 8th 1888)

 

In The Sussex Daily News dated May 7th 1888, it details a letter received from Lord Brassey sent to the Hastings Town Council:

“I desire to express to the corporation of the Borough of Hastings my heartfelt thanks for the assurance of sympathy I received from them on the painful occasion of the death of my dear wife.  she loved Hastings and it was a great aim of her life to do what she could to promote the welfare and happiness of its inhabitants.”

Adelaide & Ambulances

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On this day (6th June) 1887, Annie was visiting Adelaide, Australia, during “The Last Voyage”. In her book, of the same name, she describes a busy morning working on her Ambulance paper (and rising early to do so) but struggling with her arm. The paper was to be presented after lunch as a speaker at a meeting.

After breakfast she is met by Sir Thomas Elder (among others) at the Zoological Gardens, before visiting the Botanical Gardens. Most delighted to learn of the collections, she describes particular interest in the eucalypti. Annie attended the Ambulance Meeting after lunch (meal times were always recorded!), where she presented her paper. It is understood to have been a successful meeting and was followed by a dinner party at Government House with a “small reception and some nice music” (from ‘The Last Voyage”).

From St John’s Ambulance “history women”, the link between them and this trip to Australia is clear:

“Her book, The Last Voyage, is of particular interest in St John Ambulance history in Australia because after arriving at Albany in Western Australia in May 1887, the Sunbeam spent fully four months in Australian waters, visiting many towns and cities. In most of the places the Brasseys visited Annie sought to arouse interest in St John Ambulance first aid training. In two of the capital cities, Sydney and Brisbane, she provided the impetus for establishing local St John Ambulance centres.” (cited from St Johns History Women, written by Ian Howie Willis, 2010).

Annie received her first aid certificate in 1877 and was committed to others being trained as well following her own experiences:

“Her interest in first aid had been aroused after recovering from burns when her crinolined skirt had set fire when she had stood too close to a naked flame. She insisted on her servants being trained in first aid; and she organised first aid classes in all the villages for miles around ‘Normanhurst’. She also raised money for St John Ambulance by throwing the Sunbeam open to visitors; and while abroad she promoted St John Ambulance wherever she went.” (Howie Willis, 2010)

I am intrigued by the continuing threads running through my research of Annie and her legacy around the world.