This rhetorical question asked by King Henry II was taken literally by some of his more brutish knights, who proceeded to Canterbury to take the life of Archbishop Thomas à Becket. Moreton Bay Commandant Patrick Logan must have mused on that statement in 1829, when the Church of England decided to extend its chaplaincy toContinue reading “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?”
Tag Archives: Colonial Secretary Correspondence
The Health of the Colony – Free Settlement
FROM CONVICT HOSPITAL TO GENERAL HOSPITAL Sick people – please advise The years 1841and 1842 saw settlers, servants, merchants and labourers moving into or through the township. It seems to have escaped the notice of the Government that these people might need services and infrastructure in order to carve out their existence in Moreton Bay.Continue reading “The Health of the Colony – Free Settlement”
Please, Governor, may we also have a Gaol?
For a place with a lot of prisoners about, and a population fond of indulging in ardent spirits, Moreton Bay was sorely lacking in a place to house criminals. There was a small lock-up in the Police Station, which occupied a part of the former Convict Barracks. It was only suitable for very short stays,Continue reading “Please, Governor, may we also have a Gaol?”
Please, Governor, may we have a hospital?
In January 1848, Captain Wickham, Government Resident for Moreton Bay, received a letter from the Colonial Secretary’s Office in Sydney, ordering the closure of the Convict Hospital at Brisbane. The result was that everyone and everything had to go – patients, paupers, medicines, furniture – the lot. What couldn’t be sold was to be shippedContinue reading “Please, Governor, may we have a hospital?”
The Infernal Vagabond of a Woman
In April 1840, a young convict servant to Mr Robert Dixon, a Surveyor at Moreton Bay, was sent to Sydney on the Cutter John. Unusually, her fare and rations were paid directly by Mr Dixon, rather than the Government. A year later, she would figure in a trial at Moreton Bay that arose from aContinue reading “The Infernal Vagabond of a Woman”
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”
What have you been doing with the strait waistcoats?
Because every now and then research on something else entirely leads to a hidden gem. From the Colonial Secretary to the Superintendent of the Lunatic Asylum: “Sir, In reply to your Letter of the 1st instant, I request to be made acquainted with the manner in which the straight waistcoats already provided for your establishmentContinue reading “What have you been doing with the strait waistcoats?”
Moreton Bay and More 