Section 1 - Journals

Series 02: Journal of a tour in Holland, 12 February - 22 March 1773

Number of documents

1

Provenance note

This journal, previously located at DL MS 101, was part of the personal library of Sir William Dixson which was bequeathed to the State Library of New South Wales in 1952. Dixson's bequest was formally handed over when the Dixson Library was opened in 1959.

Sir William Dixson had acquired the journal from the Honourable Edward Stanhope who had purchased it when it was offered by Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge at auction in London on 17 June 1880.

Background note

Following the withdrawal of Joseph Banks' party from the second Pacific voyage under the command of James Cook, Banks undertook little other travel outside England. On 12 February 1773, however, he did set out on a visit to Holland in company with Charles Greville, Captain John Bentinck and Bentinck's son William. They arrived in The Hague the following evening where they were met by their host Count William Bentinck.

From The Hague the party travelled to Leiden and visited the university where they were shown the zoological collection, the herbarium and the botanical garden. A trip to Haarlem followed before travelling to Amsterdam where Banks spent time at the university viewing botanical collections and drawings.

In the city of Utrecht, Banks was guided through the university's botanic garden. In Rotterdam, he and Greville were guests of the Rotterdam Society for Literature.

Finishing their journey in and around The Hague, Banks and his friends arrived back in London on 22 March.