MSS SET 307 ROBERT TOWNS AND CO. Papers, 1828-1896. M.S., Letterpress, printed 65 boxes, 25 vols; 11m Acquired February, 1917, from William Edward Watson, a partner in Robert Towns and Co. from 1884 until 1912. Robert Towns, 1794-1873, was born in Northumberland, England, and came to Sydney N.S.W. in 1827, ship's captain of the trading vessel Bona Vista. In 1832 he brought out his own ship The Brothers. The following year he married Sophia Wentworth, half-sister of W.C. Wentworth. Towns settled in Sydney, at Miller's Point in 1843 and was appointed mercantile agent to Robert Brooks and Co., London. During the 1850s Towns' ships traded throughout Melanesia bringing back sandalwood, coconut oil and trepang for sale to China. Sir Alexander Stuart became Towns' partner in 1855; their business was named Robert Towns and Co. Both men were closely associated with the Bank of NSW serving as directors and presidents of the bank. In the 1860s Robert Towns and Co. invested extensively in land in North Queensland, sometimes in partnership with Sir Charles Cowper, and became involved in the wool trade. With John Melton Black, Towns built a harbour at Cleveland Bay to provide access for his ships to transport wool. The settlement which grew up was named Townsville in his honour. A cotton plantation employing labour brought under contract from Melanesia was set up on the Logan River, Queensland. At the age of 70, Towns moved to Cranbrook, Rose Bay in Sydney, where he died on 11 April 1873. CONTENTS Item No. A FOREIGN LETTER BOOKS 1846-1886 1-35 Letterpress books (36) include copies of business letters from Robert Towns and Robert Towns and Co. to traders and agents worldwide, including San Francisco, Calcutta, London, Hong Kong, Manilla and Batavia. B COLONIAL LETTER BOOKS 1855-1888 36-110 Letterpress books (74) include copies of business letters from Robert Towns and Co., Sydney, to traders and agents in Australasia, including Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Wellington, NZ, and to ships' captains in the Pacific. Towns, Robert & co., papers, 1828-1896 1 ML MSS 307 Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW C GENERAL LETTER BOOKS 1844-1856 111-121 i Letter books (11) include ms copies of business letters from Robert Towns and Co., Sydney to ships' captains and to traders worldwide, including Manilla, Calcutta, Sydney and Batavia. ii Letter books 12-18 include ms copies of 122-128 letters from Robert Towns and Co., to their agents Robert Brooks and Co., London. iii Letter book 19 contains letterpress copies of 129 letters from Harran and Coleman, R. Town's agent in Townsville, to traders in Sydney and Brisbane and ships' captains. iv Synopsis letterbook 20 contains ms. synopses of 130 letters from R. Town and Co., to agents and traders worldwide. v Letterpress books 21-24 include copies of 131-134 business letters from Robert Towns and Co., to traders in Melbourne. (Letterpress books numbered 25-30 were not received by the Library). vi Letterpress books 31-41 include copies of 135-145 letters from Robert Towns and Co, South Brisbane to Robert Towns and Co., Sydney. vii Letter books (2) contain ms. copies of letters 146-147 from Robert Towns to Robert Brooks and Co., London and traders in Australia, including Melbourne, Moreton Bay and Sth. Brisbane. D PRIVATE LETTER BOOKS 1858-1873 148-168 Private letterpress letterbooks (21) contain copies of letters from Robert Towns and traders and agents worldwide. During Towns' visits to London, letters are addressed from there. Some letterpress copies of personal correspondence are included. E BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE 1828-1896 Mainly letters to 169-203 Robert Towns and Co. from business partners, mercantile agents, with related papers. Towns, Robert & co., papers, 1828-1896 2 ML MSS 307 Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW A FOREIGN LETTER BOOKS, 1846-1886 Item No. Letter book Sept 1846 - Mar 1847 1 Mar 1847 - Nov 1847 2 Aug 1849 - May 1850 3 May 1850 - Mar 1851 4 18 Oct 1851 - 19 Aug 1852 5 Aug 1852 - Feb 1853 6 22 Jul 1853 - 9 May 1853 7 11 Mar 1854 - 16 May 1854 7 Foreign letter book No. 1 Oct 1856 - Sep 1857 8 Foreign letter book no.2 Sep 1857 - Jan 1859 9 Foreign letter book no.3 27 Jan 1859 - 11 Jun 1860 10 Foreign letter book no.4 13 Jun 1860 - 30 May 1861 11 Foreign letter book no.5 31 May 1861 - 22 Sep 1862 12 Foreign letter book no.6 18 Sep 1862 - 21 Aug 1863 13 Foreign letter book no.7 20 Aug 1863 - 21 Oct 1864 14 Foreign letter book no.8 21 Oct 1864 - 13 Feb 1866 15 Foreign letter books no.9 & 10 17 Feb 1866 - 28 Feb 1867 16 (in one vol.) Foreign letter book no.11 Feb 1867 - April 1868 17 Foreign letter book no.12 Apr 1868 - Jun 1869 18 Foreign letter book no.13 Jun 1869 - Jul 1870 19 Foreign letter book no.14 Jul 1870 - Jul 1871 20 Foreign letter book no.15 Jul 1871 - Jul 1872 21 Foreign letter book no.16 Jul 1872 - Aug 1873 22 Foreign letter book no.17 Aug 1873 - Jul 1874 23 Foreign letter book no.18 10 Jul 1874 - 14 Jun 1875 24 Foreign letter book no.19 Jun 1875 - Jun 1876 25 Foreign letter book no.20 Jul 1876 - Jun 1877 26 Foreign letter book no.21 May 1877 - Feb 1878 27 Foreign letter book no.22 16 Feb 1878 - 2 Nov 1878 28 Foreign letter book no.23 2 Nov 1878 - 19 Jun 1879 29 Foreign letter book no.24 Jun 1879 - Oct 1880 30 Foreign letter book no.25 Feb 1880 - Jan 1881 31 Foreign letter book no.26 27 Jan 1881 - 7 Jul 1882 32 no.27 wanting Foreign letter book no.28 Aug 1883 - Apr 1885 33 Foreign letter book no.29 Oct 1884 - Dec 1885 34 Foreign letter book no.30 Dec 1885 - Dec 1886 35 Towns, Robert & co., papers, 1828-1896 3 ML MSS 307 Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW B COLONIAL LETTER BOOKS, 1855-1888 Item No Letterbook no. l Nov 1855 - 20 Mar 1856 36 Letterbook no.2 Mar 1856 - Jul 1856 37 Letterbook no.3 Jul 1856 - Oct 1856 38 Letterbook no.4 Oct 1856 - Mar 1857 39 Letterbook no.5 Mar 1857 - Jul 1857 40 Colonial letterbook no.6 3 Jul 1851 - 29 Nov 1857 41 Colonial letterbook no.7 30 Nov 1857 - 16 Apr 1858 42 Colonial letterbook no.8 19 Apr 1858 - 13 Oct 1858 43 Colonial letterbook no.9 14 Oct 1858 - 15 Apr 1859 44 Colonial letterbook no.10 15 Apr 1859 - 11 Oct 1859 45 Colonial letterbook no.11 Oct 1859 - Apr 1860 46 Colonial letterbook no.12 23 Apr 1860 - 3 Sep 1860 47 Colonial letterbook no.13 8 Sep 1860 - 23 Jan 1861 48 Colonial letterbook no.14 23 Jan 1861 - 27 May 1861 49 Colonial letterbook no.15 28 Mar 1861 - 23 Sep 1861 50 Colonial letterbook no.16 28 Sep 1861 - 3 Dec 1861 51 Colonial letterbook no.17 13 Dec 1861 - 2 Apr 1862 52 Colonial letterbook no.18 3 Apr 1862 - 12 Aug 1862 53 Colonial letterbook no. 19 12 Aug 1862 - 16 Dec 1862 54 Colonial letterbook no.20 13 Dec 1862 - 28 Apr 1863 55 Colonial letterbook no.21 28 Apr 1863 - 11 Aug 1863 56 Colonial letterbook no.22 10 Aug 1863 - 8 Jan 1864 57 Colonial letterbook no.23 8 Jan 1864 - 5 May 1864 58 Colonial letterbook no.24 6 Mar 1864 - 23 Sep 1864 59 Colonial letterbook no.25 23 Apr 1864 - 8 Feb 1865 60 Colonial letterbook no.26 8 Feb 1865 - 15 Jun 1865 61 Colonial letterbook no.27 15 Jun 1865 - 20 Oct 1865 62 Colonial letterbook no.28 20 Oct 1865 - 9 Feb 1866 63 Colonial letterbook no.29 9 Feb 1866 - 28 May 1866 64 Colonial letterbook no.30 28 May 1866 - 21 Sep 1866 65 Colonial letterbook no.31 21 Sep 1866 - 7 Jan 1867 66 *Colonial letterbook no.32A 8 Jan 1867 - 18 May 1867 67 *Colonial letterbook no.32B “ “ “ 68 * (vols rebound and encapsulated from one vol) Colonial letterbook no.33 May 1867 - Sep 1867 69 Towns, Robert & co., papers, 1828-1896 4 ML MSS 307 Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW Colonial letter book no.34 Sept 1867 - Feb 1868 70 Colonial letter book no.35 Feb 1868 - Jun 1868 71 Colonial letter book no.36 Jun 1868 - Oct 1868 72 Colonial letter book no.37 Oct 1868 - Feb 1869 73 Colonial letter book no.38 Feb 1869 - May 1869 74 Colonial letter book no.39 May 1869 - July 1869 75 Colonial letter book no.40 July 1869 - Oct 1869 76 Colonial letter book no.41 Oct 1869 - Jan 1870 77 Colonial letter book no.42 Jan 1870 - May 1870 78 Colonial letter book no.43 May 1870 - Aug 1870 79 Colonial letter book no.44 Aug 1870 - Dec 1870 80 Colonial letter book no.45 Dec 1870 - Mar 1871 81 Colonial letter book no.46 Mar 1871 - Jun 1871 82 Colonial letter book no.47 Jun 1871 - Oct 1871 83 Colonial letter book no.48 Oct 1871 - Feb 1872 84 Colonial letter book no.49 Feb 1872 - Jun 1872 85 Colonial letter book no.50 Jun 1872 - Sep 1872 86 Colonial letter book no.51 Sep 1872 - Jan 1873 87 Colonial letter book no.52 Jan 1873 - Jul 1873 88 Colonial letter book no.53 July 1873 - Nov 1873 89 Colonial letter book no.54 Nov 1873 - Jun 1874 90 Colonial letter book no.55 8 Jun 1874 - 10 Jan 1875 91 Colonial letter book no.56 Jan 1875 - July 1875 92 *Colonial letter book no.57A July 1875 - 14 Sep 1875 93 *Colonial letter book no.57B 15 Sep 1875 - 2 Dec 1875 94 *Colonial letter book no.57C 2 Dec 1875 - Feb 1876 95 *(vols have been rebound and the leaves encapsulated) Colonial letter book no.58 Feb 1876 - Oct 1876 96 Colonial letter book no.59 Oct 1876 - May 1877 97 Colonial letter book no.60 22 May 1877 - 28 Nov 1877 98 Colonial letter book no.61 May 1878 - Mar 1879 99 Colonial letter book no.63 Mar 1879 - Nov 1879 100 Colonial letter book no.64 Nov 1879 - May 1880 101 Colonial letter book no.65 May 1880 - May 1881 102 Colonial letter book no.66 May 1881 - Aug 1882 103 Colonial letter book no.67 Aug 1882 - Nov 1883 104 Colonial letter book no.68 Nov 1883 - Nov 1884 105 Colonial letter book no.69 Nov 1884 - Aug 1885 106 Colonial letter book no.70 Aug 1885 - May 1886 107 Colonial letter book no.