Emily Skinner, vibrant, observant, eternally young-at-heart, emigrated from Britain to Australia in 1854. Not only did she keep a ship-board journal, she later recorded her reminiscences of a colourful life as a miner's wife.

Here, published for the first time, is Emily's account of a voyage half-way around the word to marry her sweetheart. She evokes wild storms, sea sickness, the malaise and boredom, the gossip and intrigue. Her impressions of the young town of Melbourne follow, as well as her recollections of what is now the town of Beechworth and the surrounding goldfields.

Emily reaches across the years with her vivid descriptions contrasting the realities in her workday life—cooking, washing, childminding—with the wild dreams and aspirations of the miners. This personable account speaks to every reader as a refreshing and energetic story of a pioneering life which was tough and rigorous but always embraced.