“Like most of his class, he continued constantly drinking.” Moreton Bay Courier, 1847 Henry Caldicott’s life was looking up. He had some money in his pocket, a ticket of leave, and some time off. He’d come from a station on the Logan after boiling down season and was in Limestone (Ipswich), and ready for aContinue reading “All for refusing a drink.”
Tag Archives: Ipswich
“One of the greatest scamps about the place.”
James Hamilton was trouble. A tough labouring man with a penchant for stealing horses, and the kind of fellow who would make life very difficult for any police officer sent to arrest him. Ipswich Chief Constable Edward Quinn had few men to spare when a warrant for Hamilton’s arrest arrived at his station. He choseContinue reading ““One of the greatest scamps about the place.””
Imagine if it happened today.
Two children are playing on a bridge. A driver, who has had a couple of drinks, gets out of his vehicle and tries to throw one of the children into the water below, tearing her jacket. He turns his attention to the younger child, a five year old boy, and throws him from the bridge.Continue reading “Imagine if it happened today.”
Ellen the Cutter.
She went by many names, but the nickname “Ellen the Cutter” was the one that the press and public remembered best. How she came by that nickname was never explained but it seems to have been in common use in Ipswich when she first came to the attention of the constables in the early 1850s.Continue reading “Ellen the Cutter.”
Consulting AI to Depict the Quiet Day in Ipswich.
AI image generators are fascinating things. I knew that I probably shouldn’t have. But sometimes the temptation is simply too much. I just had to go and play with image generation software to help tell the Ipswich Courthouse stories. The first story, that of the drunken man who sells his horse for too little, thenContinue reading “Consulting AI to Depict the Quiet Day in Ipswich.”
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.”
How NOT to Win Friends and Influence People in Colonial Queensland – Part 1.
Dr. Frederick Cumming, M.D. Ipswich Dr. Frederick Cumming spent sixteen years in Queensland, living and working in Ipswich, Drayton, Brisbane and on the diggings near Gympie. Due to his somewhat combative nature, combined with a perhaps misguided desire to influence local politics, his time in the Colony was a turbulent one. In later years, heContinue reading “How NOT to Win Friends and Influence People in Colonial Queensland – Part 1.”
The Man Who Invented His Life
In December 1865, a man named James Keane recorded his history in the Register of Admissions to Dunwich Benevolent Asylum.[1] It was certainly impressive: “Arrived in Sydney by the Shamrock from Liverpool A.D. 1845. Employed by Messrs. Stenhouse and Hardy Solicitors, Elizabeth Street, Sydney. Was for a considerable time Editor of the “Moreton Bay Courier”Continue reading “The Man Who Invented His Life”
The Grub Train and the Emu Hunt That Never Was.
Prince Alfred visits Queensland. We bowed and scraped to Prince Alfred. We inflicted upon him massacred anthems and a series of mismanaged receptions. The children of St Mary’s at Ipswich made a banner that got his name wrong –Welcome Alfreda? We might have bored him, and almost certainly irritated him, but at least we didn’tContinue reading “The Grub Train and the Emu Hunt That Never Was.”
Policing the Colony
Policing in the early days at Moreton Bay had its challenges. There were hundreds of convicted criminals about – former convicts on tickets of leave and in indentured service. The free men and women of the town tried to foster a sort of civic pride and dignity, but their efforts were undermined by an itinerantContinue reading “Policing the Colony”
Moreton Bay and More 