Imagine being a Census collector in the 19th century – particularly in the vast but sparsely populated Colony of Queensland. Travelling by road and river to remote hamlets, shepherd’s huts and stations in all weathers and probably at some personal risk, in order to determine who lived where, who did what, and what were theirContinue reading “Census Time in Colonial Brisbane”
Category Archives: Moreton Bay
A Desperate Breakout Attempt
Brisbane, 1853 In 1853, the Brisbane gaol was located at the old Convict Female Factory in Queen Street (where the Post Office is today). Those in charge of the settlement decided that perhaps it was not ideal to have the lady prisoners in such proximity to the gentleman prisoners, lest improprieties should arise, and theContinue reading “A Desperate Breakout Attempt”
Pioneer Life in the 1870s – the William Boag Photographs
In 1871, a photographer named William Boag arrived in the Colony of Queensland, and took his camera and portable darkroom on the road, exploring Brisbane and surrounds, then venturing south-west to Stanthorpe in 1872. Boag had previous experience in studio photography in Sydney, but it was out on the road, capturing people and places thatContinue reading “Pioneer Life in the 1870s – the William Boag Photographs”
A Man Apart.
CONVICT SNAPSHOTS: EDWARD STEELE Imagine being a person of colour in 1808. Now imagine being a person of colour in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1808. Your skin colour would be the first, and often the only, thing anyone noticed about you – a situation that did not change through your whole life, no matter whereContinue reading “A Man Apart.”
New Countries, New World
Convict Snapshot: John McDowall New York, 1771 John McDowall was born in New York in North America in 1771, a subject of the English Crown, like all New Yorkers at the time. As a little boy, he could explore the countryside and farmland of Manhattan, at least until the Revolutionary War and pre-war skirmishes madeContinue reading “New Countries, New World”
Habeas Corpus and a Sudden Visitation of God
Convict Snapshot: George Baxter George Baxter had led a law-abiding and successful sort of life until he got a job with rules he didn’t fully understand. He was a veteran of the 95th Regiment, and part of the Royal Veterans’ Company formed to populate New South Wales with useful, non-criminal settlers once their service wasContinue reading “Habeas Corpus and a Sudden Visitation of God”
What do you have to do to go to Moreton Bay?
A survey of some early cases Criminal sentencing is a polarising topic – it’s not harsh enough on some criminals, too harsh on others. The press and public periodically lament the judiciary’s lack of community awareness. Life means life etc. Modern Australia does not have the death penalty, but it was well and truly onContinue reading “What do you have to do to go to Moreton Bay?”
Classifieds in Old Brisbane Town
Newspaper classified advertisements can provide an invaluable insight into the wants and needs of a time and place. Some are utterly inexplicable to modern readers. Here’s a selection from various decades. THE EARLY YEARS Wants and needs were pretty basic in the first decade of free settlement. Trade, buildings, getting the mail. The Experiment wasContinue reading “Classifieds in Old Brisbane Town”
From Kangaroo Point to the Mountstuart Elphinstone
As seen by the Windmill Reporter, 3 November 1849. Our Windmill Reporter was a regular feature in the early days of the Moreton Bay Courier. Claiming to reside in the Old Windmill in Spring Hill, the writer observed local growth and progress. In this dispatch, the author notes the first signs of civilisation at KangarooContinue reading “From Kangaroo Point to the Mountstuart Elphinstone”
A Notorious Rogue and Vagabond
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”
Moreton Bay and More 