Two weeks of sweet Spring freedom are drawing near for the State’s schoolchildren. Let Colonial Queenslanders be your guide to recreation and getaway ideas. So, let’s make sure we’re dressed as formally as possible, and remember to bring your paints and brushes or your new-fangled camera. In and Around Brisbane A Trip to the GardensContinue reading “Holidays Ahoy!”
Tag Archives: Early Photographs
Uh, Wish You Were Here?
Brisbane and Queensland Postcards through the years Ah, postcards. Memories of the luridly-coloured “Greetings From Sunny (insert own sunny destination here),” sent from faraway places like Caloundra and Burleigh Heads. Well, it took us half the day to get there, what with the ancient Fiat’s radiator overheating as we trundled along behind slow caravans, andContinue reading “Uh, Wish You Were Here?”
Ordinary Lives
Brisbane on camera 1870-1900 A Draper’s Business in Queen Street A moment in Queen Street, captured by photographer Richard Daintree, presumably from a window across the street. The building at the far left is a “commerce court”, and C W Fegan & Co are open for business in a building proudly established in 1861. TheContinue reading “Ordinary Lives”
Who Lives in a Place Like This? Part 1.
The Sketch Map of Brisbane Town in 1844, and the stories behind it. A rough, sketched map of Brisbane town in 1844 reposes in the John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. It is attributed to Carl Friedrich Gerler, who arrived in Brisbane as a missionary to the Zion Hill establishment in 1844. The buildingsContinue reading “Who Lives in a Place Like This? Part 1.”
The Five Stages of Inebriation and the 19th Century Scribe.
The court reporters of the 19th century had a distinctive turn of phrase. Flowery and humorous when describing the fairly harmless activities of the town tosspots, their penny-a-lining output is best illustrated by “The Five Stages of Inebriation,” a series of photographs taken in the 1860s by Charles Percy Pickering. (These gems, currently reposing theContinue reading “The Five Stages of Inebriation and the 19th Century Scribe.”
Vice-Regal Families
Being Governor of the Colony of Queensland was not an easy task. The Colony separated from New South Wales in 1859, with the arrival of Sir George and Lady Bowen, transitioning to a State in 1901 with Lord and Lady Lamington. In between those dates, the men and women of the first families were testedContinue reading “Vice-Regal Families”
Life on the Rivers
A leisurely tour of river views from the 19th century. No raging torrents or floods, just peaceful river views.
Richard Daintree Photographs
Englishman Richard Daintree joined the Victorian gold rush in the 1850s. He had no success in prospecting, but became a geologist, surveyor and photographer. Here are some of his photos of outback Queensland in the 1860s. Gold prospecting was a long, hard, often fruitless slog. Daintree’s photographs of the area, and the characters who workedContinue reading “Richard Daintree Photographs”
Inns and Hotels of Renown
A guide to places to stay from 1870 to 1890. Rock of Cashel Hotel, Sugarloaf, via Stanthorpe, Queensland, ca 1870. Unidentified photographer. State Library of Queensland. Britannia Hotel in Stanthorpe, 1872. Photographer: William Boag, c. 1838-1878. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Miner’s Refuge Hotel at Broadwater near Stanthorpe, ca 1872. Photographer: William Boag,Continue reading “Inns and Hotels of Renown”
The Chinese Question in Queensland.
1850 – 1860: The answer to our economic prayers. In 1850, Moreton Bay looked forward to the arrival of 108 Chinese labourers, brought in by the ship, Favourite. All had been indentured to employers prior to landing, and competition for their services had been fierce. More Chinese workers were promised. We could hardly wait. TheyContinue reading “The Chinese Question in Queensland.”
Moreton Bay and More 