A Quiet Day at Ipswich.

The cases before the Magistrates, translated from the original Moreton Bay Courier,1850. IPSWICH. Tuesday, 23rd July. Two of the genus homo, named respectively Arnold and Tasker, the latter commonly called “Gooseberry,” appeared on warrant this morning, before our resident Magistrate, to answer the complaints of Mrs Deborah Grocott, alias Howell, or Howard, and her friendContinue reading “A Quiet Day at Ipswich.”

Love in the Bush.

With a translation from the original Moreton Bay Courier, 1846. This is the Victorian equivalent of a gossip blind item. My one-sentence translation is below. LOVE IN THE BUSH. We have been informed that the blind god[i] has been making great havoc lately on Darling Downs; and that a sad misadventure has befallen an ancientContinue reading “Love in the Bush.”

The Plebian Tyranny.

Or, how Moreton Bay dealt with the Servant Problem in the early years. Tackling the subject of the 19th century “servant problem” conjures up ideas of exacting upper- and middle-class ladies bemoaning a few specks of dust left on the mantelpiece. In our first years of free settlement, a servant could be a shepherd, labourer,Continue reading “The Plebian Tyranny.”

A Strange Man in a Strange Land.

Only he knew how his name really should have been recorded and pronounced. He was best known as Kimboo[i], and all we know of him comes from his interactions with European employers and the courts. He was born in China around 1820. He stood around 5 feet, 2 inches, and was described as neat, pleasant-lookingContinue reading “A Strange Man in a Strange Land.”

They meant well.

They meant well. They probably did some good, they undoubtedly caused some harm. Content warning – this article discusses children who were separated from their biological parents, as well as some words used at the time to describe children of different developmental levels. In the period 1865 – April 1867 that this article covers, thereContinue reading “They meant well.”

Prisoner No. 1 at Moreton Bay. Thomas Billington.

The Amity Convicts. A parade, a crowd and a picked pocket. On 4 July 1818, a distinguished lawyer and reformer named Sir Samuel Romilly was being conveyed about the City of Westminster in triumph, having been returned first in the poll. It was an uncommonly fine day, and Sir Samuel rose frequently to bow andContinue reading “Prisoner No. 1 at Moreton Bay. Thomas Billington.”

The Huguenot and the Chinese Interpreter.

In 1871, Charles Dean married Temperance Bouchard at Fortitude Valley in Brisbane. Nothing terribly unusual about that – both were single and of marriageable age. However, the backstory of their lives, and how they came to meet and eventually marry each other is quite extraordinary. The groom was a Singapore-born Chinese businessman and interpreter. TheContinue reading “The Huguenot and the Chinese Interpreter.”

The Mistakes of a Night.

Or, an exercise in translating from the original Moreton Bay Courier into plain English. 19th century journalists were prone to wordiness. They could use that tendency to create wildly amusing observations that bring that time and its people vividly to life. They could also use that tendency to expand a small incident into, well, this.Continue reading “The Mistakes of a Night.”

Let There Be (Electric) Light.

On this day, 9 April 1883. On 9 April 1883, the Edison company conducted the first ever demonstration of electric lighting in Queensland at the Government Printing Office, Brisbane. The representative of Edison was the wonderfully named Major S. Flood Page (General Manager, Edison’s Indian and Colonial Electric Light Company, Limited of London). The languageContinue reading “Let There Be (Electric) Light.”

On this day – the capture of John Alexander Herrlich, 8 April 1870.

A small detachment of police had been searching for a murder suspect through bushland around Toowoomba for nearly two months. The man they were hunting was John Alexander Herrlich, a German man in his fifties, who was wanted for the murder of Martin Klein on February 12. Herrlich had shot and killed the man forContinue reading “On this day – the capture of John Alexander Herrlich, 8 April 1870.”