Diary of a Lady's Maid: Government House in Colonial Australia, Journals of Emma Southgate, 'Between Stairs' Servant, 1884-1886

Here, brought to light for the first time, is the diary of Emma Southgate, lady's maid to the wife of the Governor of Victoria, Lady Loch. While she lived and worked with the other servants, Emma accompanied Lady Loch to Sydney, for instance, sharing the luxurious railway carriage and marvelling in her diary at all its fittings - 'lavatories, brushes, combs, towels, sponges and dressing room.'

While the diary spans only the years 1884-86, it covers the sea journey from 'Home' to Australia and visits to big station homesteads and provincial cities in four states. It also contains many of the maids' behind-the-scenes comments on the grand functions of Marvellous Melbourne. These are sometimes cheeky and irreverent but always entertaining and quite without guile. Formal newspaper accounts of the official events reproduced near Emma's accounts makes for an intriguing and contrasting exposition of the rich lives of our early Governors and their hard-working servants.