The ability to control one’s child, especially one’s male child, was a mark of successful parenting in the 19th century. For families of the middle class and respectable working class, children were expected to make themselves generally useful and be subject to parental control before they began to work to help support the family (generallyContinue reading “The Uncontrollable Child”
Author Archives: Karen B
Amateur historian and writer.
Juvenile Justice in the 19th Century.
On board the Proserpine, hardened juvenile offenders mixed with small children with desperately unhappy backgrounds. Life was exceptionally harsh in the 19th century for children from impoverished families, and with no social security, crime was an option. The main difference between today’s tales of horror and the Victorian stories is that today there are Federal andContinue reading “Juvenile Justice in the 19th Century.”
Young Patrick's life of crime.
He was born at sea in 1855, and grew up in the Irishtown district of Ipswich. By 15 he was called a hardened criminal by the newspapers. When Patrick Long boarded the Hulk Proserpina in 1871, his parents were no longer in the picture, and although the hulk was supposed to be a reformatory and industrial school, there wasContinue reading “Young Patrick's life of crime.”
The fortunes of Edward Robinson Starkey
The Hulk Proserpine The Hulk ‘Proserpine’ was used as an Industrial School and Reformatory for boys in trouble in the late 19th century. Neglected children under ten years of age mixed with repeat offenders in their late teens on board the ship. Every entry in the admission Register told a tale – usually of familyContinue reading “The fortunes of Edward Robinson Starkey”
The Scandalous Mrs Bailey.
The brief reign of an adventuress in Brisbane Town. Brisbane Town in 1847 was a rough and ready place. Free settlement had been permitted since 1842, but settlers faced an almost complete lack of amenities and commerce. Prior to the skilled immigration movement of Dr Lang, women fell into several distinct categories: wives of GovernmentContinue reading “The Scandalous Mrs Bailey.”
Convict Insolence and Insubordination at Moreton Bay
By the end of the 1830s, the penal settlement of Moreton Bay was winding down operations, and those serving there knew this only too well. There was little chance of being sent to Norfolk Island – even notorious characters were finding themselves fairly respectable work. Constable George Brown, formerly the most flagrant of the Bay’s absconders,Continue reading “Convict Insolence and Insubordination at Moreton Bay”
Mr Higgins and his menagerie.
Charles Higgins had an eventful life in the Colony of Queensland. He kept pet tigers at Toombul, when it was then in the country. He ran a menagerie of exotic wild animals in George Street in the heart of Brisbane Town, suffered a severe mauling at same, donated iguanas to the Museum, and featured in a numberContinue reading “Mr Higgins and his menagerie.”
February 20, 1872 – the death of Andrew Petrie.
DEATH OF MR. ANDREW PETRIE, SEN. The death of the oldest free resident in our community and colony, is an event not to be allowed to happen without notice; and the aged, revered, and useful citizen who has just left our world for a better was no ordinary man. The name of ANDREW PETRIE isContinue reading “February 20, 1872 – the death of Andrew Petrie.”
February 18, 1867 – Mr Perry was found sane.
How did Courts deal with mental illness in the Moreton Bay era? Today, expert evidence would be sought prior to a trial as to the fitness of the defendant to stand trial. Psychiatrists and psychologists could be called for the defence at trial. The jury would be asked to decide on the balance of allContinue reading “February 18, 1867 – Mr Perry was found sane.”
February 17 1873 – Mayors at ten paces.
Today the town of Drayton has more or less been absorbed by the city of Toowoomba on the Darling Downs of Queensland. It was a town in its own right in the 19th century, a lovely little hamlet established in 1842, and was one of the oldest settlements in Queensland. Some of the charming oldContinue reading “February 17 1873 – Mayors at ten paces.”
Moreton Bay and More 