Abstract

The Crimean War and Australia 's Communications and Media History

At the beginning of the 1850s there were high hopes in the Australian colonies that the establishment of government-subsidised steamship mail services between Britain and Australia would regularise the flow of news and hence enable a more predictable and productive economic, political and social engagement between the colonies and the Mother Country. There was also a growing awareness that colonial expansion by European powers and increasing globalisation of shipping and trade meant that wars amongst European states were increasingly likely to have global ramifications. Feelings of insecurity were exacerbated by the irregularity of communication and by the unreliability of much news from overseas. As it turned out, there was little improvement in communication between Britain and Australia throughout the 1850s. Steamship services, first introduced in 1852, were plagued by technical and commercial failure. Furthermore, the Crimean War had a major impact on services as the demand for troopships it generated diverted steamship resources from the Australian route to the Mediterranean. Just when news from Europe was most eagerly wanted by colonial Australians, the system of mail steamships which promised the long sought for regularity in its flow was withdrawn, replaced for a period by unpredictable sailing packets.

Peter Putnis and Sarah Ailwood
University of Canberra