Board of Inquiry Above – left to right: the Board who heard Frank Bowerman’s charges. Left: Auditor-General Frederick Orme Darvall, Surveyor-General Sir Augustus Charles Gregory, Collector of Customs William Thornton. The official Board of Inquiry into three charges of misconduct against Frank Sydney Bowerman was convened with a speed modern public servants would find astonishing.Continue reading “Bowerman’s Board, Trial, and the Aftermath.”
Category Archives: Colonial Secretary Correspondence
Dalby, Leyburn and Infamy – Frank Bowerman’s Turbulent 1868.
Until October 1868, as far as the public knew, Frank S Bowerman was a minor civil servant on the Darling Downs. He was appointed as Police Magistrate at Leyburn in March. The first hint that all was not as it should be came with a story in the Dalby Herald on 10 October, in whichContinue reading “Dalby, Leyburn and Infamy – Frank Bowerman’s Turbulent 1868.”
The Bowermans in Queensland.
The first member of the Bowerman family to venture into what is now Queensland was Henry Boucher Bowerman in 1835. In the 1850s, his sons Henry, and later Frank took up residence on the Darling Downs, both keen to improve their prospects. Henry Bowerman and Coorangah Station. Henry Bowerman junior was a respectable, rather modestContinue reading “The Bowermans in Queensland.”
The Bowerman Inheritance.
Assistant Commissary Bowerman and family. The Bowerman family arrived in Sydney in 1825, where Henry Boucher Bowerman had been assigned as Assistant Commissary General. He spent time working at Port Macquarie, then Parramatta, where Frank Sydney Bowerman joined the family on 7 March 1828. Henry Bowerman senior became part of the colonial gentry, with goodContinue reading “The Bowerman Inheritance.”
The Attempted Assassination in Brisbane.
FS Bowerman. Part 1. 24 November 1868 At 9:30 in the morning of 24 November 1868, Arthur Simmonds, a storekeeper in Albert Street, Brisbane had a slightly unusual customer. A tall, thin auburn-haired man, with the dress and manner of a gentleman, who bore a rather distracted air. After looking around the store, the gentlemanContinue reading “The Attempted Assassination in Brisbane.”
The Man Behind the Watercolour.
The Painting. It is the earliest image of Brisbane that isn’t an architectural drawing. I’ve used it extensively, and it’s beloved by local historians. It’s May 1835, the 3rd to be precise, and a civil servant named Henry Bowerman is standing on the south bank of the Brisbane River, sketching the convict settlement on theContinue reading “The Man Behind the Watercolour.”
The Mystery of the First Convict at Moreton Bay.
Who was John Anderson? The very first entry in the Chronological Register of Convicts at Moreton Bay is that of John Anderson, per Baring 2, making him (technically) the first Moreton Bay convict. John Anderson was described in the Moreton Bay records as being 23 years old, a sailor and sailmaker who hailed from Leeds.Continue reading “The Mystery of the First Convict at Moreton Bay.”
The Incredible Life of Anthony Best.
Convict at Moreton Bay 1827-1833. The Cordwainer’s stolen pillow-case. In Hull Packet of 24 October 1809, Messrs Croudace and Stork proudly announced the opening of the Hull Coffee-Roasting Office. No longer would the flavour of Hull’s coffee be injured by London Traders’ careless stowage, or by moisture damage through carriage by sea. It would beContinue reading “The Incredible Life of Anthony Best.”
An Honest, Persevering, Sober and Vigilant Man – at Moreton Bay?
I have known Robert Harvey for some time and believe him to be a sober, honest and industrious character and as such recommend him. Henry Cowper. I do hereby certify that Robert Harvey has conducted himself much to my satisfaction, and I received from Lt. Miller a most excellent character of his behaviour at theContinue reading “An Honest, Persevering, Sober and Vigilant Man – at Moreton Bay?”
The Life and Death of Caleb Atkins.
The wonderfully named Royal Cornwall Gazette, Falmouth Packet, and General Advertiser of Saturday 30 March 1816 contained a peculiar mix of news. There was the death of the “Indian Juggler,” whose sword-swallowing act had gone horribly wrong. A servant had words with his master, and killed the man with a dung-prong. A trunk of clothesContinue reading “The Life and Death of Caleb Atkins.”
Moreton Bay and More 