The year is 1838, and James Bell a young man from Scotland has said goodbye to his family and the love of his life, and has made his way to Southampton to embark on the voyage of a lifetime. He was one of more than 90 passengers who boarded the “Planter” ship on 23 November 1838, all eager to reach their new homeland South Australia in a few short months. Little did they know what was in store. And if it wasn’t for James Bell writing in his diary, we wouldn’t have known what would have happened on the one of the most adventurous, tragic, exciting, and exhausting voyages ever. Sound intriguing? It is … Titled “A Journey To Australia: A Journal by James Bell“, the book is the diary of a guy who migrated to South Australia in 1839, and in my opinion it’s is just as exciting as any thriller book I’ve read. I would go as far to say that it is one of the most AMAZING books I’ve ever read in my life. In fact I wrote about this title a little while ago when I actually discovered that Mr Lonetester’s 3x great grandparents were on this voyage. Anyway I’ve now finished this book, and what can I say, but WOW!!! It is truly phenomenal, and yet this is no work of fiction. James Bell was one of the passengers on the voyage of the “Planter”, and fortunately for us he was well-educated, and decided to record his voyage. The voyage was long (six-months-long), and tumultuous in every way possible, and James recorded what turned out the be a voyage from hell. He wrote about the condition, the drunken parties, the captain’s “incompetence”, the women...
