[For the uninitiated, Wikipedia explains why the name Dag or Dagg might amuse an Australian: “Originally a word meaning the dried faeces left dangling from the wool on a sheep’s rear end, the word dag is more commonly used in colloquial Australian English to refer to someone’s unfashionable, often eccentric or idiosyncratic style or demeanor togetherContinue reading “Henry Dagg’s Narrow Escape”
Author Archives: Karen B
Amateur historian and writer.
A Disorderly House, a Fire and a Murder.
The woman on the riverbank. On Friday 6 July 1883, a group of boys rowing up the Brisbane River noticed a person lying on the riverbank at North Quay. They pulled over to check, and discovered that it was a young woman, who had clearly been dead for several days. The lads went to fetchContinue reading “A Disorderly House, a Fire and a Murder.”
An Eventful Year for Roma – 1873
Roma was a young and thriving western town in 1873. It was surrounded by vast pastoral holdings – these were of great economic benefit to the region, but provided something of a mixed blessing when it came to power dynamics, politics and the law. January – Escapees, Floods, Oddfellows and the Gaol. A notorious escapeeContinue reading “An Eventful Year for Roma – 1873”
Dr Norman’s Address to the Jury
(A companion piece to “And who might you be, Sir?”) In April 1876, Samuel Norman (alias Abrahams, Hope, Martin and Hunter) was put on trial for larceny as a bailee at St. George. He had borrowed a horse from a Mr Payne, neglected to return it or pay for it, and then exchanged the horseContinue reading “Dr Norman’s Address to the Jury”
And who might you be, Sir?
The colonies in the 19th century provided a delightful playground for any number of bounders, rogues, rascals, and cads. All one really needed was an English accent and an air of authority, and the far-flung, gullible colonials would open their pocketbooks and parlours. An Englishman who liked to pose as an aristocrat married a goodContinue reading “And who might you be, Sir?”
The Crew of the Hopeful
Contemporary Accounts of the Crew Members. The voyage of the Hopeful labour recruiting vessel from May to July 1884 ended with criminal charges and death sentences (quickly commuted) for several senior crew members. It was the first time that charges against people engaged in that traffic had “stuck,” and resulted in the kind of penaltiesContinue reading “The Crew of the Hopeful”
The Witness for the Prosecution
At the commencement the feeling against the accused was very, strong, but as the story unfolded itself, and the crown witnesses were found, with one exception, to be coloured people-the solitary exception being a disgruntled ship’s carpenter belonging to the Hopeful-some of whose evidence was strongly suspected of being tainted, a complete revulsion of feelingContinue reading “The Witness for the Prosecution”
The Career of “Professor” Russell in New South Wales.
Well, this might have worked in rural Queensland, but the good citizens of Newcastle did not feel the need to make “Dr. Sir George Russell” part of their medical fraternity. The bright lights of Sydney A few months later, Professor Russell fetched up in Sydney, opened premises at 146 William Street, and began to advertiseContinue reading “The Career of “Professor” Russell in New South Wales.”
The Career of “Professor” Russell in Queensland
Part 1 – the professor of the comb and scissors 19th century Queensland was a place where a person could change their fortune and make a new life. In some cases, people completely reinvented their lives. An ambitious hospitality worker married her way up to the squattocracy, not troubling herself with the messy and expensiveContinue reading “The Career of “Professor” Russell in Queensland”
January 12, 1872: The Attorney-General Causes a Scene.
On January 12, 1872, Attorney-General Ratcliffe Pring attended Queensland’s Parliament in a rather excitable condition. His behaviour in the House led to his expulsion, then his arrest in Dalby while carrying out Circuit Court duties. (This is a repost of the Ratcliffe Pring story.) A Detective hits town On Monday 22 January 1872, a plainclothesContinue reading “January 12, 1872: The Attorney-General Causes a Scene.”
Moreton Bay and More 