Mrs Catherine MacLeod travelled through Bacchus Marsh in 1853 and kept a diary of her activities. She was a friend of Emily Bacchus (nee Denton), wife of Henry Bacchus. Her observations provide interesting insights into the activities of the Bacchus family in the 1850s, the general social conditions of the Bacchus Marsh district and in particular the state of the roads and the difficulties of transportation. Her diaries also cover her travels to Geelong, Melbourne and Penola in South Australia. The full diaries in their original form are held by the State Library of Victoria. The sections relating to Bacchus Marsh are held in a typescript copy by the Bacchus Marsh and District Historical Society. The Bacchus Marsh sections were used in parts of 'The Bacchus Story: A History of Captain W. H. Bacchus and his Son, by Betty Osborn, published in 1973.