Letter from Bulmer 20 April 1880
Transcription - Page 3
affair in my early days.
No. 4 [I think marriages were - crossed out]
[seen by - crossed out] I have known men
have two and three wives
but the Blks tell me some
had four + five though I
suspect not often, sometimes
the parents had a difficulty
getting their daughter
married to a proper person
within class limits. They
would often give their
daughters to the man
who had one already
to obviate the difficulty.
I think the rule has one
wife + the plurality the
exception.
No 5. With regard to the
conditions of marriage I
think the parents' consent
Document Details
Date
20 Apr 1880
Letter From
Bulmer, Reverend John
Letter To
Howitt, Alfred William
Author
—
Country
Australia
Colony/State
—
Holding Institution
Museums Victoria
Collection Name
Alfred W. Howitt Collection
Registration Number
XM 82
Medium
Letter
Region
Gippsland
Locality
Lake Tyers
Summary
"The letter discusses the region around the junction of the Darling and Murray Rivers. Content also relates to the Gippsland District. Discusses social organisation and marriage laws and customs. Reply to A.W. Howitt's questionnaire and questions relating to language. Also mentions ""Wallace's Australasia"" when speaking of languages."
Physical Description
Letter, handwritten in ink. Signed and dated. Three folded sheets, eleven pages. Vertical, red-pencil line through text on three pages. Condition: fair; small tears along central folds; slightly tattered upper edges.