Christmas Day and Boxing Day in Australia 1857
An Aussie Christmas in 1857
Each year at Christmas, I wonder what our ancestors who had settled in Australia in the 19th century, would think when facing their first Australian Christmas. It must have been a huge shock to them. The following article gives an idea of their experience:
from: The Argus, Melbourne, Vic: 1848-1957, Friday 27 December, 1867, page 51
The anniversary of the great Christian festival, on Wednesday, was celebrated in Melbourne in the manner which has assumed with us all the regularity of established custom. In the morning, religious services were performed in the various places of worship connected with the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches, at which large audiences assisted; and the customary festivities of the season were observed by all classes with as much heartiness as any time since the early settlers sat down to their first Christmas dinner in this colony, surrounded by the now almost extinct aborigines. The busy scene enacted on the previous evening at the Eastern market, and in the shops of all the provision dealers, sufficiently showed the satisfactory circumstances under which preparation was being made for that day on which
” E’en from the peasant to the lord
A turkey smokes on every board”
and to judge from the crowds of contented looking people who were to be seen bargaining for the classic sirloin and materials for the huge plum pudding of the old, English Christmas dinner, there has been no merrier Christmas spent here than that just passed.
There were, no doubt, silvery voices, jolly songs, and festive boards, surrounded by brave company to grace the good cheer; and let us hope, that in this lime of feasting and wassail, the unfortunates in the various charitable institutions, who have spent merry Christmases too in their days of prosperity, were not altogether forgotten in the mansions of the rich.
The day was somewhat cloudy and threatening, and a smaller number of people than usual, spent their Christmas in the open air, as Australians are wont to do. A considerable number of excursionists ventured out, nevertheless; and a great many pleasure seekers betook themselves to the companionship of “the sad sea waves,” at Queenscliff, Brighton, St. Kilda, and Schnapper Point. The parks and public reserves were rather thinly attended, and the river had little of a holiday appearance to show.
The suburban railways were kept tolerably busy, but it was anything but a day of bustle and excitement, and the city was almost as quiet as on Sundays. Of Boxing Day, however, the Christmas holiday par excellence- there will be a very different story to tell.
BOXING DAY.
The first burst of the Christmas holidays is now over, and in a few days we shall have forgotten them, in favour of a little proper excitement about the New Year. Upon the whole, it has been very pleasant, although things promised differently. Christmas Day broke disagreeably: a hot wind lightly fanned us with an air that made the perspiration come out like beads on the forehead and weigh heavily on the lungs. As the good folks came out of church in the morning the wind shifted to the south, and the popular enjoyment was increased by at least 300 per cent.
However the wealthier classes might have managed it, the poorer people, to whom holidays are rare, would have felt it keenly; and on them would have come the full force of the many temptations to drink in excess which the sirocco brings. The cool breeze continued throughout yesterday, which was one of the most beautiful days of the season, and consequently the chief outdoor amusements of the day, the fête at the Zoological gardens, the cricket match, and the review, were crowded with pleasure seekers, who got what they looked for.
It was thought by some, that our Christmas pleasures would be somewhat curtailed because of the money spent in receiving the Duke. If the fact be so, it has not appeared yet, and is only known to those whom it concerns. On every side all classes seem to have ” gone in” for pleasure with unabated eagerness, and apparently with purses ordinarily full. The reason of this is, it may be, that Victorians, at least those of Melbourne, are gradually learning thriftiness, and find that they have in the past allowed their pleasures to cost them a little more than they need. Be that as it may, the metropolis and the whole colony are making high holiday, and, it is to be hoped, thanking Providence for the weather that has made the Christmas of 1867 so delightful. We shall notice in detail a few of the more prominent events and amusements of the day.
*Please note: Punctuation and paragraphs have been added to the above transcription for ease and speed of reading
The above post was also published on Tracking Down The Family on Wordpress: https://jonesfamilyhistory.wordpress.com/2023/12/17/christmas-day-and-boxing-in-australia-in-1857/
1867 ‘CHRISTMAS DAY.’, The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), 27 December, p. 5. , viewed 12 Dec 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5786891