On 11 September 1847, three men working as sawyers on the Pine River came under attack from a group of indigenous people who were armed with spears and waddies. William Waller and William Boller died, and James Smith was injured, but survived to give evidence to the Coroner. James Smith was working a two-man sawContinue reading “Death on the Pine River – September 11, 1847”
Category Archives: Indigenous People of Moreton Bay
All the news fit to print – September 5, 1850
A glance through the Moreton Bay Courier of September 5 1850 shows the reader the era in Brisbane Town in a nutshell. Rosewood was out in the never-never, and locals banded together to discourage (in their worldview) indigenous raiders. This was the time when relations between determined free settlers, and dispossessed indigenous people was at itsContinue reading “All the news fit to print – September 5, 1850”
Jack Bushman’s Tale – Part 4
The final part of Jack Bushman’s story is about his life as a “free” man, and includes a shooting at Brisbane’s indigenous people known as the “York’s Hollow Shooting”, which occurred in December 1846. The murders of Mary Shannon and Andrew Gregor in October that year had made white settlers fearful of the local aborigines, and keenContinue reading “Jack Bushman’s Tale – Part 4”
Convict Runaways – “Duramboi” Davis Returns.
1842 Several factors combined to bring Duramboi back to Moreton Bay in 1842. His life amongst the indigenous people of the Fraser Coast would have become known to Europeans soon, due to the setting up of sheep stations near his family’s traditional lands. Explorers were mapping the Colony. And the times were changing. 1842 wasContinue reading “Convict Runaways – “Duramboi” Davis Returns.”
Convict Runaways. James “Duramboi” Davis.
This is the first in a series of posts on the life of James Davis or “Duramboi”. The best-known convict absconder from Moreton Bay, he was considered a very bad character in his teens but after 14 years with the indigenous people of the Wide Bay area, went on to be an Interpreter for indigenousContinue reading “Convict Runaways. James “Duramboi” Davis.”
The men of the Stapylton Survey
Who were the men who took part in the ill-fated survey party in 1840? Granville William Chetwynd Stapleton was the youngest son of Major-General Granville Anson Chetwynd Stapylton, born in 1800. He married Catherine Bulteel in 1825, and decided to make his career in the (very) New World in 1828, becoming an Assistant Surveyor inContinue reading “The men of the Stapylton Survey”
Murder at Mount Lindesay – the trial of Merridio and Nengavil.
On June 15 1840 Dr Ballow gave his report on oath to Commandant Gorman, and a week later, having reviewed the evidence thus far, Gorman issued an order to apprehend the men believed to be responsible for the deaths of Stapylton and Tuck, and the attempted murder of Dunlop. Colony of New South Wales, toContinue reading “Murder at Mount Lindesay – the trial of Merridio and Nengavil.”
Murder at Mount Lindesay – the deaths of Stapylton and Tuck.
On the morning of 31 May 1840 the surveying party run by Assistant Surveyor Stapylton was camped in the bush near Mount Lindesay in South East Queensland. The Assistant Surveyor was an English gentleman of 40 named Granville William Chetwynd Stapylton, youngest son of a very grand family, and grandson of the 4th Viscount Chetwynd.Continue reading “Murder at Mount Lindesay – the deaths of Stapylton and Tuck.”
From the Trial Book of Moreton Bay – Indigenous people
For millennia, the indigenous people of Moreton Bay lived in and travelled about their country without external disruption. There had been the occasional sighting of ships in the distance, a surveying boat now and then, and a few brief sightings of Europeans, but they had not had their lands entirely taken over. The establishment ofContinue reading “From the Trial Book of Moreton Bay – Indigenous people”
From the Trial Book of Moreton Bay: Bushrangers
In early 1839, the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement was about to be “broken up”. Aside from a basic staff and 39 convicts to maintain the place, the inmates and their Regimental masters were preparing to be sent to Sydney. Doubtless there was a great deal of relief on all sides. Before the breaking-up, a groupContinue reading “From the Trial Book of Moreton Bay: Bushrangers”
Moreton Bay and More 