Coming South 1886

In 1886, Tom Roberts painted "Coming South," capturing a scene aboard a ship steaming towards Australia, a land of both promise and uncertainty for its passengers. The painting offers us a snapshot of 19th-century emigration and invites reflections on identity, class, and gender. Consider the women in their varied attire: some in dark, heavy clothing, perhaps representing the working class or recent widows, others in lighter colors, suggesting a different social standing. What does it mean to leave one's home and community, to embark on a journey toward the unknown? The ship becomes a microcosm of society, where old hierarchies meet new hopes. Roberts, an English-born artist who made his own journey to Australia, captures the emotional weight of such a passage. "Coming South" asks us to contemplate the courage, resilience, and complex motivations that drive individuals to seek new lives, and the ways in which these journeys shape both personal and national identities.