Julia Farr Diaries

Australian-born Julia Farr grew up in a prominent Adelaide family with strong connections to the Anglican Church and to the work of John Coleridge Patteson, Missionary Bishop of Melanesia from 1861 to 1871. In 1878, Patteson’s successor, Bishop John Selwyn stayed with the Farr family and this may have been a catalyst in Julia Farr’s subsequent visit there in 1892 at the invitation of Selwyn’s successor, the Rev. John Palmer.

Julia stayed for a time with Alice Comins, wife of the Rev. Richard Comins.  Julia returned to Norfolk Island again in 1894 and worked for six years at the Melanesian Mission station known as St Barnabas.  Her work there included teaching, sewing for the students who arrived each year aboard the Southern Cross and nursing, which was her main activity. Crawford, Janet. “Unpretending labours”: Julia Farr and the Melanesian Mission. 2004.

Julia Farr’s diaries have been described as the perfect account of the life of a single female missionary living on Norfolk Island.  Nearly every diary begins with the ship leaving with her last journal, which she sends off to her family so they can hear about her life here, and hopefully send it back with letters and much needed items. Because the diaries serve as a personal letter to her family, the diaries are very open and descriptive, filled with personal messages and comments that paint a detailed picture of the Island and the Mission.

As a woman missionary, her days were very busy.  An average day began at 7, or earlier if nursing was involved, a communal or social breakfast, then an English or Mota service or sometimes both, this was followed by a quick cup of tea, then she would teach the Melanesian students, separated into three classes. Then another cup of tea followed by nursing, sewing, social calling, letter writing, cooking, arrowroot making, printing, cleaning and evening chapel.

Nursing played a major part of Julia’s life as she was trained as a nurse, and many nights and days are sacrificed to watching over the sick or dying, changing putrid bandages and poultices, lancing, dressing and washing, boiling towels, delivering babies as well as assisting in the operating room which for some time was the “sewing room” also used as a class room, sick bay and social room for parties.

As much about social events has been recorded as with nursing. Julia always had time for social calls, wild horse riding, social games, weddings, picnics, gardening, tennis, teas and parties. The arrival of a ship was always a big event and receiving of letters like gold.

A major responsibility for a missionary woman was to play chaperone to the young Melanesians, particularly the young single women. Julia would take them for a walk along the cliffs, or to Bumboras for a paddle. Even though a lot of these walks involved woman’s chores such as collecting wood or picking fruit it gave Julia a chance to sit and read or write her diary as she watched over the girls.

She writes quite a lot about her “girls” and other Melanesians telling their life stories, sometimes she writes about the Melanesians more than the missionaries themselves. 

She writes quite a lot about her personal feelings, the ups & downs, the loneliness, isolation, the lack of correspondence, the hardships of Mission life especially for women and her continuous struggle with her faith, sometimes doubting it all.  

A fair bit of her personal thought goes in to describing and commenting on the other missionaries, she is quite honest about them some times brutally so, talking about their physical, mental and emotional states also commenting on her own state, even down to what their wearing!   The summary of her diaries is a general overview of the events. The daily life of sewing washing etc has been left out but in no way forgotten as dramas occur here too,