A Cabinet for Lady Franklin - 2003

blackwood, eucalypt, copper, silk

1400h x 700w x 400d

Lady Jane Franklin arrived in Hobart in 1837, with her husband Sir John Franklin who had been appointed Lt. Governor of Van Dieman's Land.  He held the post for 6 years.

Lady Franklin was an intrepid traveller and prolific writer, recording her experiences in her journal and letters. Reading her journals, one gains a sense of her intense interest in everything she saw and experienced.

She is best known in Tasmania for the 1842 overland expedition from Marlborough to Macquarie Harbour, returning to Hobart by sea via Port Davey. The route through the “New Country” can be traced by the names of the Franklins and their acquaintances bestowed on various landmarks.

I have made this portable writing table and cabinet for Lady Franklin to use whilst on her various journeys.  Apart from some letters written to her sister from the “New Country” there appears to be no journal entries. Perhaps the journal has been lost, or, perhaps if she had taken the desk with her, we may now have her account of a “somewhat perilous journey we made this autumn to Macquarie Harbour”.