More threats to public safety and happiness from the early days of European settlement in Brisbane. Termagants The Victoria Hall seemed to be the only part of Brisbane that welcomed termagants, and that was for theatrical purposes only. The idea that women might get drunk and/or fight was simply too much for the Courier. InContinue reading “The Further Hazards of Old Brisbane”
Tag Archives: John Clements Wickham
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”
George de Winton’s Memories of Moreton Bay
George Jean de Winton had a long and distinguished career in Her Majesty’s 99th Regiment, and many years of it were spent in Australia and New Zealand. He was stationed in Van Diemen’s Land, Sydney, Port Macquarie, Norfolk Island and Moreton Bay. His memoirs (out of copyright and now online), show a man of goodContinue reading “George de Winton’s Memories of Moreton Bay”
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?”
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”
Who Lives in a Place Like This? Part 3.
The Sketch Map of Brisbane Town in 1844, and the stories behind it. 31. Taylor Shappart There was no Taylor Shappart in Brisbane in 1844. There was a tailor, John Sheppard, who lived and worked at Brisbane at the time, and later moved to Ipswich. I suspect that between the Gerler’s understanding of English namesContinue reading “Who Lives in a Place Like This? Part 3.”
November 14, 1842 – Captain John Clements Wickham appointed Police Magistrate at Moreton Bay.
Captain Wickham, whose name adorns streets, terraces and a park in Brisbane, held public office in Brisbane from 1842 until Separation in 1859, when he ceased duties as Government Resident and handed over to the Colony’s first Governor. Surviving photographs show a thoughtful-looking gent with an impressive set of white whiskers almost obscuring the lowerContinue reading “November 14, 1842 – Captain John Clements Wickham appointed Police Magistrate at Moreton Bay.”
February 11, 1850 – Circuit Court proclaimed.
Moreton Bay had been open for free settlement for eight years, and had a Police Magistrate in the august person of Captain John Clements Wickham, RN. In the absence of a higher court sitting at Brisbane, and indeed a serviceable gaol, those charged with indictable offences were shipped to Sydney for District and Supreme CourtContinue reading “February 11, 1850 – Circuit Court proclaimed.”
Old Tom journeys through Brisbane – September 18, 1870.
A DAY AMONGST THE DOUGHBOYS. (BY OLD TOM.) On 18 September, 1870, the Brisbane Courier published a guide to Doughboy Creek (now called Bulimba Creek). Old Tom was the nom de plume of Tom Dowse, a former convict, who arrived in Brisbane Town at the time of free settlement and who went on to aContinue reading “Old Tom journeys through Brisbane – September 18, 1870.”
Moreton Bay and More 