John Longbottom FIGHTS THE LAW At York in January 1817 a young sailor was convicted of burglary and sentenced to seven years’ transportation to New South Wales. Even for a man accustomed to sailing, the prospect of a journey to the other side of the planet would have boggled the imagination. The fact that aContinue reading “A Notorious Rogue and Vagabond”
Author Archives: Karen B
Amateur historian and writer.
The Rake’s Progress
In the Queensland Police Service Watch-house Entry Books, a photograph of a respectable-looking middle-aged man is accompanied by a string of aliases, each more bizarre than the last. He could be the local vicar, but for all of those names. He was imprisoned for bigamy, something that was far more common in those far-off daysContinue reading “The Rake’s Progress”
Incipient Signs of Rowdyism in the Streets.
In the late 1840s, colony of Moreton Bay and its surrounding districts had been open to free settlers for several years, but was struggling with the need for labour, institutions and infrastructure. The convict buildings left about the place had deteriorated, and there was little economic stimulus to create new facilities for the town. TheContinue reading “Incipient Signs of Rowdyism in the Streets.”
People in the 1860s and 1870s – Group Portraits
How photographers presented the people of Queensland Photography was a relatively new art in the 1860s and 1870s in Queensland. There were enthusiastic amateur snappers, like G.H. Verney, and professionals who journeyed through the Colony, capturing the people they met. Sometimes group photos have individual details that fascinate the modern eye. Here’s a selection ofContinue reading “People in the 1860s and 1870s – Group Portraits”
The Convict Pirates of Norfolk Island Seize the Barque Lady Franklin.
A Piratical seizure, a journey to the south seas, a court martial and a decades-long international manhunt. In December 1853, the last of the Norfolk Island Pirates, already under sentence for their misdeeds in Moreton Bay, faced the Court at Hobart Town and pleaded guilty to stealing the launch at Norfolk Island. Property of HerContinue reading “The Convict Pirates of Norfolk Island Seize the Barque Lady Franklin.”
The Convict Pirates of Norfolk Island Visit Moreton Bay
The excitement in town on Wednesday and Thursday was such as has not been witnessed by the oldest inhabitant. It was actually possible to see four people in the streets together, and many and conflicting were the rumours and fears. Moreton Bay Free Press, 1853 A Strange Vessel at the Bay On 25 March 1853,Continue reading “The Convict Pirates of Norfolk Island Visit Moreton Bay”
November 14, 1842 – Captain John Clements Wickham appointed Police Magistrate at Moreton Bay.
Captain Wickham, whose name adorns streets, terraces and a park in Brisbane, held public office in Brisbane from 1842 until Separation in 1859, when he ceased duties as Government Resident and handed over to the Colony’s first Governor. Surviving photographs show a thoughtful-looking gent with an impressive set of white whiskers almost obscuring the lowerContinue reading “November 14, 1842 – Captain John Clements Wickham appointed Police Magistrate at Moreton Bay.”
Before there was Google, there was Pugh’s Almanac.
Want to know what happened on this day in history? The office bearers of the Ancient Order of Foresters, Court Fortitude, No. 2701 (Fortitude Valley) for a particular year? What to plant in one’s kitchen garden in August? The signals in use at the Brisbane Signal Station for a vessel from the New Hebrides? WhenContinue reading “Before there was Google, there was Pugh’s Almanac.”
What have you been doing with the strait waistcoats?
Because every now and then research on something else entirely leads to a hidden gem. From the Colonial Secretary to the Superintendent of the Lunatic Asylum: “Sir, In reply to your Letter of the 1st instant, I request to be made acquainted with the manner in which the straight waistcoats already provided for your establishmentContinue reading “What have you been doing with the strait waistcoats?”
DIRECTIONS FOR RESTORING THE APPARENTLY DEAD.
In the course of researching coup de soleil, or sunstroke, in early Queensland, I came across this article in the Maryborough Chronicle. Not only does it have the most wonderful title, it gives a picture of first aid used in the 19th century. A good deal of what Dr Silvester directed is still part ofContinue reading “DIRECTIONS FOR RESTORING THE APPARENTLY DEAD.”
Moreton Bay and More 