The Fine Arts. Mr Silvester Diggles, piano tuner, music teacher and artist, first came to Brisbane via the steamer Boomerang in November 1854. On board, Silvester was in interesting and distinguished company. The legal profession was represented by Mr Justice Therry, Mr Perry, Mr Purefoy and Mr Pring – all on their way to holdContinue reading “Mr Diggles and the Choral Society.”
“Sketching Brisbane Town.”
Silvester Diggles (1817-1880) was sent north to Moreton Bay on the Boomerang steamer in November 1854 to repair and tune the pianofortes of the district. He found a town crying out for musical instruction, art and entertainment, and decided to bring his family north to Brisbane Town early in 1855. He advertised his services inContinue reading ““Sketching Brisbane Town.””
“We are here in a universe of wonders.”
The art of Silvester Diggles. Silvester Diggles (1817-1880) settled in Brisbane with his family in early 1855, after a brief but much-appreciated visit to the area as a musician and piano-tuner the previous year. The townspeople of Brisbane read his advertisements for his musical instrument repair business, and noted that he also instructed in musicContinue reading ““We are here in a universe of wonders.””
On this day: A scene in the Supreme Court.
6 March 1882. On 6 March 1882, a sensation occurred in the Queensland Supreme Court. It was reported on for weeks afterwards, debated and dissected endlessly. It was a conflict between two well-known – the Honourable Justice George Rogers Harding and the barrister, Mr. Frederick ffoulkes Swanwick. Justice Harding (1838-1895) was a distinguished jurist andContinue reading “On this day: A scene in the Supreme Court.”
If only crocodiles actually did this…
It would make a pleasant change from their usual activities. Adelaide Express and Telegraph Saturday 11 December 1886. Alas, this striking sheet music cover is all that seems to remain of The Pioneer Schottische. Perhaps it is enough to have these fanciful dancing “alligators” forming the word “schottische” almost a century before Sir Elton cameContinue reading “If only crocodiles actually did this…”
Machine breakers, mutiny, and Moreton Bay: the voyages of the Eleanor, 1831.
The Eleanor was a trading ship, built at Calcutta in 1821 [i]. She worked trade routes from Asia to England before being contracted to transport an unusual group of convicts to Australia – hard-working, honest men who had taken part in industrial action. The Machine Breakers “The men per Eleanor were landed on Monday lastContinue reading “Machine breakers, mutiny, and Moreton Bay: the voyages of the Eleanor, 1831.”
The Young Ones.
Two teenaged criminals who went from Moreton Bay to Norfolk Island. [This is the second in an occasional series that examines the fates of the convicts who had “to Norfolk Island” written against their names in the Moreton Bay Register.] Two of the convicts who went to from Moreton Bay to Norfolk Island arrived inContinue reading “The Young Ones.”
One Hell after another.
Convicts who went from Moreton Bay to Norfolk Island. Edward Doolan’s short life was punctuated by a series of extremely bad decisions. It ended because of one of them. His story is part of a series of posts about the Moreton Bay men who went on to serve time at Norfolk Island. Only a fewContinue reading “One Hell after another.”
The A-Z of Old Brisbane: from Gaythorne to Gumdale.
Gaythorne. Gaythorne, on Brisbane’s north side, nestles between Enoggera and Mitchelton. Over the years, it grew from homestead farms to modern suburbia. The Pickering family established their homestead and farm, “Rosehill” there, and grew a family of five, some rather fine grapes, and wine from those grapes (the quality of the wine is lost toContinue reading “The A-Z of Old Brisbane: from Gaythorne to Gumdale.”
How did we see in the New Year in the past?
Noise was made. Sleep was murdered. Drunken fools could not be kept off racecourses. But, by the end of the 19th century, the celebration had developed into a family-friendly fireworks display. 1849 – the town’s 1000 or so inhabitants huzzaed. A bit. For a while. HOW 1849 CAME TO BRISBANE. (From our Windmill Reporter.) WhenContinue reading “How did we see in the New Year in the past?”
Moreton Bay and More 