Rowdyism in Rockhampton

Rowdyism is our most prominent fault, and this prevails most while the steamers are in. The Courier’s Rockhampton Correspondent, 1861 Rockhampton surged into existence rather suddenly, from a few demountable public buildings thrown together in response to a nearby gold rush in 1858, to a thriving and beautifully planned young city in the early 1860s.Continue reading “Rowdyism in Rockhampton”

Lost Friends, Advertisements and Bizarre Requests

Lost Friends, Advertisements and Bizarre Requests The wants and needs of Colonial Queensland come alive in their classified advertisements. Heart-rending tales of separated families sat beside requests for emu skins, and someone to take on their 11-year-old son (state terms to Mr. Doorey). Not to mention miracle hair restorers, moral circuses, and a strange deviceContinue reading “Lost Friends, Advertisements and Bizarre Requests”

A Horsewhipping for Christmas

Mr Wimble publicly horsewhipped Mr Draper, editor of the Cairns Chronicle, on Christmas night, owing to some personal remarks published in the Chronicle reflecting on Mr Wimble’s private character. Police Court proceedings will be taken against Mr Wimble. [i] Public horsewhipping was a peculiarly 19th century method of dealing with a private grievance. It wasContinue reading “A Horsewhipping for Christmas”