Harry's Letters
A Journey Through the 1920s

Introduction:

In 1924, Harry Gordon Gracie, a 24 year-old bank teller, was asked by the Treloar family of Tamworth to accompany their son, Bill, whose doctor had advised treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, United States. Bill apparently suffered from an ailment which the Australian specialists felt could not be adequately dealt with in Australia. Thus he was sent to one of the world's centres of learning and healing, the Mayo Clinic.

Harry's trip lasted six months. The pair left Sydney in August 1924 and headed across the Pacific Ocean via New Zealand and Tahiti to San Francisco where they stayed and toured for a couple of weeks. They then travelled overland for Bill's treatment in Rochester where they stayed for four weeks. Following this they went on to New York (overland via Chicago and Buffalo) and then London for 2 months. While in London Harry visited Paris before returning to Sydney via the Suez, leaving Bill in Cornwall to continue his recovery.

This website attempts to restore some of Harry's memories by way of letters and postcards written by Harry and photos taken by Harry and Bill. There are also many links to web sites containing information relevant to his experiences (mostly contemporary).

Most of the letters were addressed to his father Arthur Gracie, "Abergavenny", French St, Artarmon, NSW, Australia. This is now a mixed residential and industrial suburb five minutes on the freeway north of the Sydney Harbour Bridge (although the bridge was not opened until 1932). Sadly all of the stamps have been removed (although thankfully they have been carefully removed and the envelopes remain).

Table of Contents:

To start your journey through these letters I can see no better way than Andrew's tantalising introduction followed by the Premier's letter of introduction.

If you find that these pages load too slowly then you may prefer the text only versions. By viewing the text only versions you will not get any of the links or photographs. Also, not all proof reading corrections have been made to the text only versions.

You may also be interested in how the letters made it to the web.

1. Life aboard ship (1)
   (RMS Tahiti 2p letter, 17 Aug 24)

2. Life aboard ship (2),   Wellington,   A night out in Wellington (Vaudeville)
   (RMS Tahiti 6p letter, 22 Aug 24)

3. Rarotonga (Cook Islands),   Papeete (Tahiti),   Cheap champagne and entertainment,   Life aboard ship (3)
   (RMS Tahiti 6p letter, 3 Sep 24)

4. San Francisco,   Oakland & Cafeterias,   Sightseeing (Presidio, Golden Gate),   Oakland (again), Piedmont, Clairmont,   Hotel Whitcomb (Hot & Cold Water on tap)
   (San Francisco Hotel Whitcomb 5p letter, 9 & 10 Sep 24)

5. Cliff House postcard
   (San Francisco 'Cliff House' postcard, 10 Sep 24)

6. Los Angeles, Hollywood, Bernheimer Gardens, Grand Canyon, (Grand Canyon Postcards), Pikes Peak, Mayo Clinic (1), The Almighty Dollar, Prohibition
   (Rochester 7p letter, 23 Sep 24)

7. Rochester, Mayo Clinic (2), Mayo Clinic (3), The Buffalo Coat
   (Rochester Hotel Campbell 4p letter, 1 Oct 24)

8. Rochester, Kieren's Shack, Lake Zumbro, The Icon of Cork
   (Rochester Hotel Campbell 3p letter, 15 Oct 24)

9. Chicago, Ziegfeld Follies in Chicago?, Detroit and Niagara Falls, New York, Broadway
   (New York Hotel Martinique 6p letter, 26 Oct 24)

10. On board SS Homeric, Chinatown, The Bowery, New York sightseeing, New York postcards, Ugliest woman in the world
    (White Star Line S.S. "Homeric" 4p letter & postcard, 3 Nov 24)

11. London - Hampton Court
    (Regent Palace Hotel 2p letter, 9 Nov 24)

12. Bill's health, Crystal Palace, Wimbledon
    (Australia House, London 3p letter, 27 Nov 24)

13. News from home, Madame Tussaud's, London Museums, Underground, Fog
    (Regent Palace Hotel 7p letter, 3 Dec 24)

14. London and Cambridge
    (written on "The Aquagraph!") (Folkestone 2p letter, 11 Dec 24)

15. Channel Crossing, Boulogne to Paris, Au Bon Accueil
    (Paris, Hotel St Petersbourg 4p letter, 12 Dec 24)

16. So this is Paris, Gay Paris, Montematre by night, Paris Sightseeing, Versailles, Shopping
    (Paris, Hotel St Petersbourg 7p letter, 15 Dec 24)

17. Cornwall
    (Xmas and getting ready to come home)
    (Helston, Cornwall 2p letter, 23 Dec 24)

18. The trip home
    (Editorial and photos)

19. Two days out of Fremantle
    (Perth Orient Line 3p letter, 1 Feb 25)
    (including the last page and envelope with British Empire Exhibition postmark)

Last updated : 15 October 2004

For the record, Harry and Bill remained friends, both living into their 70s.

This website is dedicated to Nancy Louise Byrne (née Gracie)
eldest daughter of Harry and Kath Gracie
(16 Dec 1929 - 14 Apr 2001)

© Most images and all text are owned by
the estates of the Gracie and Treloar families.
No part of this site may be used
or reproduced without consent.
300dpi images are available on request for non-profit purposes.
Click here for Andrew's contact details.
Click here for Sam's contact details.