Karen B

Courtroom Sketches

The glories of 19th century court reporting have been explored here before, with the emphasis on the flights of fancy indulged in by the Moreton Bay Courier’s scribes. As wondrous as the Courier’s prose can be, it could never compete with the Police Register columns of Bell’s Life in Sydney and Sporting Reviewer. Here areContinue reading “Courtroom Sketches”

Portraits in Crime Part 2

Some of the Stories Behind the Longreach Collection Charles Fox was convicted of false pretences – he had passed a cheque for £4 that was valueless. He made a reasonable impression on the Judge by pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity, but he couldn’t supply any character references. He’d lost them. He looks pretty confidentContinue reading “Portraits in Crime Part 2”

Portraits in Crime Part 1

In the late 1890s, Queensland Courts began granting probation orders, and regional police stations and lockups started to record the released offenders with photographs and detailed descriptions. The photographs here are from a collection at the Queensland State Archives, Photographic records and descriptions of released male prisoners – Police Station, Longreach, 01/01/1889 – 31/12/1899. ManyContinue reading “Portraits in Crime Part 1”

Reviewing a Much Sought-After Work

(From our Windmill Reporter.) This publication has at last been most unexpectedly placed in my hands. It is a second edition of a work for which the same authors had found a great demand for, but which was only indifferently got up. The new plate is a vast improvement and causes the production to beContinue reading “Reviewing a Much Sought-After Work”

After the Disappearance, Another Death.

April 19, 1879. Maryborough, Queensland. Robert Aitken’s disappearance continued to vex the Maryborough police. The river had been dragged, indigenous divers had been sent in to explore its murky depths, and no trace of the man had been found. Aitken’s personal life had been examined, and although there were some questions about the sequence ofContinue reading “After the Disappearance, Another Death.”

The Latest News for March 20 (1847)

One event dominated the news on 20 March 1847 – the recent wreck of the steamer Sovereign, and the loss of 44 lives. The murders of Andrew Gregor and Mary Shannon six months earlier still haunted the Courier and its readers. Page 1 The front page was, as usual, the place for advertising. First, MrContinue reading “The Latest News for March 20 (1847)”

The Latest News for March 17 (1849)

The Moreton Bay Courier was published every Saturday in the 1840s, and on Saturday 17 March 1849, the edition gave readers all of the latest news (only three months late for overseas news!), letters and advertisements. As was the custom at the time, the first page was devoted to classified advertising. Readers were informed thatContinue reading “The Latest News for March 17 (1849)”

A Most Mysterious Disappearance

Maryborough, near the river. Sunday 06 April 1879. THE NEIGHBOURS By his estimation, it was around 4 am when Mr Holme was woken by the sound of raised voices on the other side of the river. It sounded like a scuffle, with a woman crying out, “Stop it! Oh, stop it!” There was a loudContinue reading “A Most Mysterious Disappearance”

Ratcliffe Pring: the Attorney-General who was arrested.

NOTABLE BRISBANE PIONEERS On Monday 22 January 1872, a plainclothes police officer from Brisbane was spotted on the streets of Dalby. He loitered about all day, making himself conspicuous, although the residents of that town weren’t sure what he was looking for. That is, until he enquired about the time a certain coach would arriveContinue reading “Ratcliffe Pring: the Attorney-General who was arrested.”

The Grub Train and the Emu Hunt That Never Was.

Prince Alfred visits Queensland. We bowed and scraped to Prince Alfred. We inflicted upon him massacred anthems and a series of mismanaged receptions. The children of St Mary’s at Ipswich made a banner that got his name wrong –Welcome Alfreda? We might have bored him, and almost certainly irritated him, but at least we didn’tContinue reading “The Grub Train and the Emu Hunt That Never Was.”