THE luck of the Irish descended upon Bendigo Library this week with its historical collection receiving a major boost.
Will Shaw of County Tyrone in Ireland was in Bendigo to present the library with original letters written from the Bendigo goldfields to his family in Ireland in the 1850s.
Mr Shaw has generously donated four letters to the Bendigo Library’s historical collection.
The letters, which are in incredibly good condition, were found by accident when Mr Shaw was cleaning out a spare room.
The documents were uncovered, carefully packed away in a trunk, among letters from all over the world, written to various family members.
While Mr Shaw had previously held on to the letters for years, the desire to learn more about his family history has seen him seek out Bendigo Library with the valuable collection.
Bendigo Library manager Vivien Newton said the library was “thrilled to receive this rare piece of early Bendigo history”.
The original letters are written from a William V Moat, who was living on the Bendigo Goldfields, and three of them were sent to Mr Moat’s uncle, Richard Humphrey Shaw, who is the great great grandfather of Mr Shaw.
The letters are written from Fiddler’s Green, Possum Gully and Sandhurst, all settlements on the Bendigo goldfields, and are dated 1852, 1853 and 1854.
Mrs Newton was impressed with the letters, describing Mr Moat as a “descriptive, articulate writer” and commenting on the “amazingly good condition” of the letters.
Mr Shaw was happy to donate the documents to the library, saying money was no issue, and  it was the social history that was important to him. Because of poor record keeping in Ireland, Mr Shaw has very little information about Mr Moat and family history, and hopes to uncover the mysteries of his family tree, in conjunction with the library.
Bendigo Historical
Society president Jim Evans was on hand to witness the presentation.
Mr Evans described the gift as another important addition to Bendigo’s records and said he was thrilled to see the originals.
The letters are a welcome addition to the library’s historical collection, as according to Mrs Newton, there is a lack of eyewitness accounts of everyday life on the Bendigo goldfields in existence, especially ones as early as 1852.
In the letters, Mr Moat colourfully describes living conditions in Bendigo, speaks about the prices of everyday goods such as butter, sugar, tea and tobacco, and warns family members ardently against dreams of gold prospecting.
These documents are an important historical insight into the life of a gold prospector, even if at times the conditions described are somewhat dire.
The letters will be displayed upstairs at the Bendigo Library until December 13, at which point they will be put away while library staff work on the transcription.
Mrs Newton said the library plans to publish the letters, along with additional research, as part of the its impressive historical collection.
“The letters will add to the depth of our local history collection and be supported by the Bendigo Regional Archive Centre as it develops in early 2008.”