Judge Innes, Rockhampton District Court, 17 June 1867, sentencing a bigamist. Bigamy in Colonial Queensland – PART ONE Moreton Bay Courier, 1859 Whoever W.H.G. of Nanango was, he or she would have done well to take note of Brown’s Billy’s warning in the Courier’s classifieds in October,1859. Bigamy attracted stiff sentences of penal servitude, notContinue reading ““A Double Fraud, Double Treachery and Double Infamy.””
Tag Archives: Newspaper stories
Courtroom Sketches
The glories of 19th century court reporting have been explored here before, with the emphasis on the flights of fancy indulged in by the Moreton Bay Courier’s scribes. As wondrous as the Courier’s prose can be, it could never compete with the Police Register columns of Bell’s Life in Sydney and Sporting Reviewer. Here areContinue reading “Courtroom Sketches”
Portraits in Crime Part 2
Some of the Stories Behind the Longreach Collection Charles Fox was convicted of false pretences – he had passed a cheque for £4 that was valueless. He made a reasonable impression on the Judge by pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity, but he couldn’t supply any character references. He’d lost them. He looks pretty confidentContinue reading “Portraits in Crime Part 2”
After the Disappearance, Another Death.
April 19, 1879. Maryborough, Queensland. Robert Aitken’s disappearance continued to vex the Maryborough police. The river had been dragged, indigenous divers had been sent in to explore its murky depths, and no trace of the man had been found. Aitken’s personal life had been examined, and although there were some questions about the sequence ofContinue reading “After the Disappearance, Another Death.”
The Latest News for March 20 (1847)
One event dominated the news on 20 March 1847 – the recent wreck of the steamer Sovereign, and the loss of 44 lives. The murders of Andrew Gregor and Mary Shannon six months earlier still haunted the Courier and its readers. Page 1 The front page was, as usual, the place for advertising. First, MrContinue reading “The Latest News for March 20 (1847)”
A Most Mysterious Disappearance
Maryborough, near the river. Sunday 06 April 1879. THE NEIGHBOURS By his estimation, it was around 4 am when Mr Holme was woken by the sound of raised voices on the other side of the river. It sounded like a scuffle, with a woman crying out, “Stop it! Oh, stop it!” There was a loudContinue reading “A Most Mysterious Disappearance”
A Horsewhipping for Christmas
Mr Wimble publicly horsewhipped Mr Draper, editor of the Cairns Chronicle, on Christmas night, owing to some personal remarks published in the Chronicle reflecting on Mr Wimble’s private character. Police Court proceedings will be taken against Mr Wimble. [i] Public horsewhipping was a peculiarly 19th century method of dealing with a private grievance. It wasContinue reading “A Horsewhipping for Christmas”
Lewis the Swift and the Same Old Joe
Brisbane’s newspaper classifieds were enlivened considerably in the 1870s by a gentleman who signed himself “Lewis the Swift.” Lewis was a builder by trade, willing to quote on big jobs and small, and able to branch out into sanitary works, business agency and just about anything his lively business mind turned to. His ads areContinue reading “Lewis the Swift and the Same Old Joe”
A Tragic Mystery
In early September 1889, wealthy publican and landowner William Goodwin Geddes discovered that his son, who had disappeared (presumed drowned) at Toorbul near Caboolture in 1877, was still alive. That was the good news. The bad news was that his son resided in a Lunatic Asylum in Adelaide. The worse news was that the AMPContinue reading “A Tragic Mystery”
Stories Behind the Corner
Memorable Characters from Old Tom’s Story of the Old Times Some of Old Tom’s friends and acquaintances – Tom O’Neil and Johnny Hamilton – passed through the Colony without making much impact on the news of the day. No doubt they were great friends and unique characters, but their activities did not incur much publicContinue reading “Stories Behind the Corner”
Moreton Bay and More 