The year was 1866. The Colony of Queensland was six years old, and free settlement had been permitted in Moreton Bay for twenty-four years. The vastness of Queensland, and the rapid expansion required to make the economy function created a demand for skilled migration.
Ships bearing hundreds of (predominantly) German and English skilled migrants were always a welcome sight in the Bay. Sometimes the landings went terribly – the Immigrant ship arrived in 1850, riven with typhoid. Sometimes unimaginative officialdom collided with basic human nature and shenanigans ensued.
A DISTURBANCE arose in the Immigration Depôt yesterday evening amongst the immigrants by the ship Rockhampton, who came up during the day. It was caused principally by some of the married men, who objected to leave the females’ department at the hour appointed by the regulations of the depot.
At about 8 o’clock there was a sort of free fight, which lasted until a detachment of police came in, and during which missiles, such as teapots and other kitchen utensils, were diligently used.
The police, after some trouble, succeeded in securing two of the ringleaders, and marched them off to the station. This appeared to have a quieting effect upon the remainder, and comparative order was restored.
The following day, Thomas Crouch and James Sparkes were fined 10 shillings each. There was no repeat of the donnybrook of the 8th of September, and apart from two families who contracted fever, they all settled in nicely.
There must be something about assisted immigration that sets the teeth on edge– the uncertainty, the long voyages, the officious officials. A decade or so later, my great-great grandfather, also an assisted immigrant, was fined for telling officialdom what it could do with its mops and brooms. In some detail, apparently.
Brisbane Courier (Qld.: 1864 – 1933), Saturday 8 September 1866, page 4
Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld.: 1866 – 1939), Saturday 8 September 1866, page 7
Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld.: 1866 – 1939), Saturday 8 September 1866, page 7
Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser (Qld.: 1861 – 1908), Saturday 29 September 1866, page 3
Moreton Bay and More 