1606 Luis Vaez de Torres was on his way to Manila when bad weather forced him to take a detour below Papua New Guinea. On his way, he charted the coastline, stopped for provisions, claimed everything he saw for Spain and fought with indigenous people of the Islands, taking a small sample of the furiousContinue reading “Luis Vaez de Torres charts the straits – August 30 1606”
Category Archives: On This Day
Brown the Bushranger and Mr Wenzel – August 29
On August 29, two German men were executed, six years apart, for crimes committed on the Darling Downs. The sentences on both men were hotly debated in the letters pages of Queensland’s newspapers. 1870 Brown the Bushranger. In 1870, a 20 year old German bushranger with many aliases, lost his short and extremely colourful lifeContinue reading “Brown the Bushranger and Mr Wenzel – August 29”
A frightful accident – August 28 1879
1879 – FRIGHTFUL ACCIDENT. A frightful accident (says the Warwick Argus), resulting in the death of one man, named William John Burton, and injuries more or less serious to seven others, occurred at the Big Tunnel, on the Stanthorpe railway works, about half-past 11 on Thursday morning. From particulars gleaned from trustworthy sources, we learnContinue reading “A frightful accident – August 28 1879”
The killing of a hawker and the destruction of a church – August 27
1865: Murder of a young German hawker On this day in 1865, a young German hawker named Henry Bode went to collect some debts from farmers on the Logan River. He was not heard from again. Bode was quite young, only 21, and made his living in his new country by walking long distances, sellingContinue reading “The killing of a hawker and the destruction of a church – August 27”
Moreton Bay and More 