1888 Diary

His diary entries until 12 June records life aboard the new P&O steamer Victoria.¹⁾ It gives his impression of the ports the ship calls in on the way to Melbourne: a much faster trip than in previous decades due to the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and the use of steam rather than sailing ships. The latter had its drawbacks as its steam was generated by coal: on 16 May he recorded that he 'was nearly suffocated til past 9 - could not go out on account of the coal dust' when the steamer was reloading with coal. The passengers were still strictly segregated into different classes, with TLM-P travelling first class. He appreciated a concert put on by the second class passengers, played serious chess and read incessantly. The books he read included The Head Station, a novel of Queensland life written by his daughter Rosa. He wrote that he was 'much interested altho had read it twice before' (entry for 14 May).

As with his other diaries, this one reveals his curiosity and eagerness to learn. On 25 May he records that he had a long conversation with a man who had helped survey the Suez Canal. As shown in his books, the conversation also reflected contemporary concern about the onslaught science was making on the belief, as held by his mother, that the Bible should be read literally. The surveyor, TLM-P wrote, had witnessed sudden surges of waves up to 15 feet (4.5 metres) high - a phenomenon that he thought accounted for Moses' miraculous parting of the Red Sea.

In this diary, TLM-P reveals that Burke was compiling the family's entry in Burke's Colonial Gentry, with TLM-P going to considerable trouble to ensure that the correct genealogical information was recorded. Such entries were an important means of consolidate his family's gentry status.²⁾ He also ensured that he participated in all the activities of a visiting 'gentleman' - in Melbourne he paid a guinea as a month's subscription to the elite Melbourne Club, left his calling card at Parliament House, and visited Government House.

TLM-P was curious, protective of his family's status, but above all a bushman with a love of horses - a trait he passed on to his eldest son Thomas de. M. M-P. On 8 May he recorded that he went to a bullfight at Gibraltar. There was no glamour in it for him, with his main comment being that he 'Saw two unfortunate poor old horses destined to be killed, they did not look worth much.' Similarly in July when he visits Maroon, he notes the welfare of his horse before that of his family - including one grandchild [check which] who had narrowly escaped drowning. In August, he is back in Melbourne visiting the Melbourne Exhibition but reserving his most enthusiastic description for the 'the pride of Victorians', the Flemington horse races.

In 1888, TLM-P was 69-years-old, a sick man who would die four years later. Even so, his retained his stamina for travel. From the time he embarks at Melbourne to his return to England, he is constantly on the move. He travels to Brisbane and Maroon, back to Melbourne, returns to Queensland, and finally embarks on his return trip to England. The diary also reveals that travel was not cheap: his entry for 10 September records that in the last 11 months, he had transmitted £1,500 to England - some $201,750 in 2017 values. Hotel rooms cost around £1 and tipping was customary: TLM-P's tips ranged from one shilling to porters for carrying his luggage, to £1 to his cabin steward. When in Sydney he stayed with his mother-in-law at her home Rockend in Gladesville, tipping two servants there 10 shillings each - an amount that may have doubled their weekly wage.

Perhaps as part of his parliamentary duties, on 23 June he visited a high security jail on St Helena Island in Moreton Bay. His conclusion was that it was 'remarkably clean and orderly; too good for a prison.' Despite representing the interests of squatters, he showed more compassion for small selectors trying to carve out a living on (too) small parcels of land: 'There seems to be a great land hunger. Now the more selections taken up the better but I can hardly see how they will make it pay - the labour and expenses of clearing is great; they deserve to succeed.'(entry for 5 July).