In the early 1860s, a family sits on the verandah of a neat little timber hut – the sturdiness and workmanship of which are belied by the rough-looking bark roof. On a nearby station, weary station-hands gather outside similar shelters.
A few years later, a neat outback town grows out of the red soil. There are wide streets and attractive low-set public buildings. And ladies. And larrikins.
Family sitting on the verandah of a timber bush hut at Roma in the 1860s.Station hands on a property near Roma between 1870-1880.Courthouse, Roma 1875. (The place in Roma where ladies could be observed, but not on this occasion, apparently. Perhaps the lone gentleman was waiting for the next lady-spotting social gathering.)Post and Telegraph Office in Roma, 1875. Outback townsmen liked to stand in front of infrastructure.McDowall Street, Roma 1875. The individuals pictured here are probably having a close social encounter, given the exacting personal space requirements of Australians in general, and outback Queenslanders in particular.Methodist Bush Mission in Roma 1906. Perhaps visiting Roma to provide an example of Christian virtue to the heedless larrikins and their band-disrupting activities.Avenue of trees along McDowall Street, Roma 1891. Truly a haven for those craving a spot of social isolation.Overshot Dam near Mount Abundance in the Roma Area.Distant view of Roma in 1899.Wall chart (poster) of Roma firms, ca. 1895. (The entry entitled “Aerated Water Cordial Factory and Roma Soap Works” had me rather puzzled, until I zoomed in and realised that they were adjacent businesses, not a fiendish plot to poison the cordial-drinking population of Roma.)
Dalby Herald and Western Advertiser (Qld.: 1866-1879), Saturday 31 May 1873, page 2. Western Star and Roma Advertiser (Qld.: 1875-1948), Saturday 15 July 1882, page 2.
All images are from the digital collection of the State Library of Queensland and are out of copyright. AI colourisation by Copilot.
Moreton Bay and More 