News From the Antipodes The Australian Letters of William Griffiths Reese (1906 - 1909))

William Griffiths Reese was not quite three years old in the summer of 1861 when his family, who had converted to Mormonism in Wales, left their homeland to settle in Utah's Cache Valley. Forty-five years later, in 1906, when William was married and the father of nine children, he answered a call to serve as a Mormon missionary in far-off Australia. During the twenty-seven months of his missionary labors, William also served as the Australian correspondent to the Logan Tri-Weekly Journal. It was an unusual arrangement, but William took his assignment seriously, producing an article at least every other week--seventy-six in all. This book contains all of these articles, along with an introductory biography, an epilogue, footnotes and illustrations. Elder Reese's communiques evince an intellectual curiosity and a desire to educate himself about Australia. The government, culture, economy, agriculture, law, racial issues and political climate all drew his study and comment. He took the opportunity to attend cultural and sporting events, observing and commenting on personalities of the day. His letters provide a fascinating glimpse of the Australia of the early twentieth century, as seen through the eyes of a Mormon missionary from rural Utah.