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Jacob Scheef letters (4) 8 June 1885

My husband's family are very fortunate as his great grandfather, Jacob Scheef travelled on holiday to Germany from Armidale, NSW from May to September 1885. While visiting remaining members of his family he sent many letters back to Australia and kept a diary of his time away from home.


Jacob Scheef - personal collection






John Elder Aden
the 8 June 1885
My Dear Wife and Children
I am having the chance now to let you know how I am 
getting on since I left Adelaide where I sent my last 
letter from. First my health and appetite is very good 
and in general I am well placed with the eating on the 
ship board as we have always fresh meat and potatoes 
the bread is even new and of first class quality Now I am going 
to let you now about the progress we made and the sights 
we have seen. Adelaide is a very nice Town but a good 
deal smaller then Melbourne it has a splendid Botanical 
Garden but the harbour where we laid on was the open sea 
We stopped one day at Adelaide and left on the 18 May in 
the evening on the 19 we saw the last of South Australia 
the 23 saw the last land of Australia and on the 24 passed 
Cape Luewin the 2 June stopped at Diego Garcia 
for 4 hours but only a few of us were allowed to go on land 
the Islands look splendid with palms a very forest of them 
but the inhabitants are either to lazy or too stupid to make 
the best use of them as they brought not a single thing to 
us for sale on the 5 June passed the Equator the 7 
sighted the Northern most Cape of Africa and lost sight of 
it this morning this night we will be in Aden which is 
in Asia our voyage is on the whole a bad one as we 
have always headwind and very rough weather we 
only used the sail 4 days since we left Sydney a 
distance of over 7 000 miles we had some concerts and 
negro minstrel amusements when the weather permitted it 
we are over 200 passenger on board amongst them 9 
Germans which are representing Germany from Austria to 
Holstein our population is of ages from a few days to 
over 70 years old. there is great difference in a steamer and a 
sailing ship in bad weather it is only childs play on a 
steamer.

Your loving Husband and Father
Jacob Scheef

they charge one shilling for this letter


These two paintings of Diego Garcia were painted by Harold John Graham in 1885. The second probably answers why "only a few of us were allowed to go on land." It looks like the John Elder may have been anchored off shore and thus only one rowboat went ashore. Why was Jacob one of the few? Did he pay for the privilege?


Beach and trees at Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory, 1885? 
Public Domain National Library of Australia

Eclipse Bay including a rowboat with four crew and four passengers
Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory, February 1885
Public Domain, National Library of Australia




My Maps - Google


Jacob's journey so far.

 early May - Armidale
12 May - left  Sydney
16 May - Melbourne
16 May - Cape Otway
17 May - Largs Bay, Adelaide
24 May - Cape Leeuwin - Western Australia
2 June - Diego Garcia
8 June - Aden


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