"Australia Felix: Impressions of Victoria", in The Leisure Hour.
London: W. Stevens, 1877. Nine parts of Isabella Bird's article on Victoria, appearing in the 1877 edition of "The Leisure Hour." Bird (1831 - 1904) was an explorer, writer, naturalist and photographer, and the first woman to be elected Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. Bird traveled to Australia, Hawaii, the American west,and through Asia and the Middle East.
In Part I Bird describes Melbourne as "the great capital of Australia Felix, the child of gold and wool, not thirty eight summers old" (p39), and concludes with approval of Victoria, "In solid, substantial progress Victoria has outstripped even the most go-ahead of the Western States of America, and bids fair to be the "Empire State" of our Pacific Empire" (p472).
Published complete in nine parts: p. 39-44, 87-92, 149-152, 183-186, 218-220, 249-252, 313-318, 413-416, 469-476 including engraving. 4to, 9 disbound issues each approximately 16pp, January 20, 1877 to July 28, 1877. Trove 45826543 at the National Library of Australia and the State Library of NSW. Very good condition. Item #25924
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