CHRISTMAS IN THE CONVICT ERA. Christmas 1828 occurred on a Thursday, and the indefatigable Peter Spicer did not record it in his diary (Return of Works Performed), however the entry for Friday 26 December 1828 records: Perhaps not feeling what little Christmas spirit was to be had in the settlement were the 131 patients inContinue reading “Christmas at Moreton Bay: from the Convict Era to Separation”
Category Archives: Courts
The Wild Scotchman’s Life after Crime
James Alpin McPherson’s criminal career came to an end at Gin Gin on 30 March 1866, when a group of local men recognised him and arranged an impromptu posse. They had the advantage of being better horsemen and shots than the police. The Maryborough Chronicle described his capture: “A man answering to his description hadContinue reading “The Wild Scotchman’s Life after Crime”
A Brief History of bushranging in Queensland. Part 3.
1865 – The year that everything changed. We cannot omit to notice a very happy result of the advantages likely to accrue from telegraphic communication, adverted to by a gentleman who charged himself with what may be deemed the representation of the moral and religious aspect of the question. This gentleman stated that he foresawContinue reading “A Brief History of bushranging in Queensland. Part 3.”
The Cranky Cobbler of Brisbane Town
James McAuliffe was a native of Carlow, Ireland. A compact 5 ft 3 ¼, he had brown hair, hazel eyes and a ruddy and freckled complexion. He was educated enough to read and write and was married with two sons and a daughter when, out of desperation or foolishness, he stole some clothing. Brought beforeContinue reading “The Cranky Cobbler of Brisbane Town”
The indictment of the bushranger “The Wild Scotchman”
Before I publish the third part of A Brief History of Queensland Bushranging, I wanted to share the indictment of James Alpin McPherson, alias The Wild Scotchman, who bailed up and stole from the mails relentlessly in the mid 1860s. He did not injure any of his victims, and this is why this particular bushranger was ableContinue reading “The indictment of the bushranger “The Wild Scotchman””
November 1, 1849 – the arrival of the Mount Stuart Elphinstone.
The Mountstuart Elphinstone arrived in Moreton Bay on 01 November 1849, with transported convicts and convict exiles on board. The local burghers went out to meet the ship, and selected the best (or least worst) of those on board to work on stations and in businesses about South East Queensland. The convicts were then disembarked,Continue reading “November 1, 1849 – the arrival of the Mount Stuart Elphinstone.”
“Silence that dreadful bell!”
During the trial of the cause of Beauchamp v. Waller and another, in the Banco court yesterday, May 17, a funeral knell sounded persistently from the adjacent tower of St. James’ Church, to the evident discomposure of the leading counsel for the plaintiff, who complained angrily of “that dreadful bell” to the Chief Justice. HisContinue reading ““Silence that dreadful bell!””
A Brief History of Bushranging in Queensland. Part 2.
Free Settlement to Separation to the Gold Rushes of the North. Bushranging – once the term used to describe escaped convicts – gradually came to mean armed robbery and a life spent on the roads, dodging the law. In the 1820s and 1830s in New South Wales and Tasmania, men like Jack Donohue “The WildContinue reading “A Brief History of Bushranging in Queensland. Part 2.”
“Quack-quack-quack,” 21 September 1858
The spectators at the Brisbane Police Office, on Tuesday last, witnessed a singular exhibition of a respectable man, (a resident in the western suburbs) being brought up before that august Bench, under warrant, for using offensive language in the hearing of one of our majestic Beaks, (the usual process of issuing a summons to appearContinue reading ““Quack-quack-quack,” 21 September 1858″
Murder at Moreton Bay – 18 September, 1849
On 18 September 1849, Owen Molloy went to the gallows in Sydney for the murder of James Leonard. He died penitent, admitting his guilt and warning the large crowd gathered for the gruesome spectacle, to avoid the demon drink. There was a sensational coda to Molloy’s story, but more of that later. James Leonard wasContinue reading “Murder at Moreton Bay – 18 September, 1849”
Moreton Bay and More 