Tales from Early Queensland The first European inhabitants of Queensland consisted wholly of those who had no choice in their destination. They were the convicts, soldiers and officials who made up the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement. Upon its demise in 1842, very few remained to take part in the opening-up to free settlement. The ColonialContinue reading “The Hard Times”
Tag Archives: Prostitution
Psyche Goes to Gaol
Mary Maher might have been unfortunate, might have haunted the streets, but she was far from forlorn. Mary Maher had a decent job as a cook in Brisbane’s hotels in the 1910s. She liked a drink, and found herself increasingly unable to indulge in moderation. Sadly this cost her a number of jobs and residences,Continue reading “Psyche Goes to Gaol”
Snippets: “You can hang me if you like.”
Snippets of news from the 19th century.
The Forlorn Women Haunting Our Streets – The Murder of German Ada
German Ada could have been saved from a fatal beating at the hands of James Gardner on the night of 21 August 1883. A neighbour heard her screams as a stammering man threatened her, and went to find the nearest police officer. This constable, on being told that violence was occurring at an address inContinue reading “The Forlorn Women Haunting Our Streets – The Murder of German Ada”
The Forlorn Women Haunting Our Streets — Bridget Byrne
Bridget Byrne was born in Ireland about 1853, and found herself in Brisbane in the 1870s. Circumstances drove her, like so many other young women at the time, to the streets. It was a time when there was no social security and the only work a woman could do was as a domestic, a shopContinue reading “The Forlorn Women Haunting Our Streets — Bridget Byrne”
The Forlorn Women Haunting Our Streets – the life of Norah O’Donnell
Norah O’Donnell was born in 1851 in Limerick, Ireland to Michael and Catherine (Kirby) O’Donnell. She was part of a large family – ten other children – who emigrated to Brisbane in 1862, as part of the assisted migration scheme. Apart from the deaths of Bridget at 22, Mary at 42 and Norah herself atContinue reading “The Forlorn Women Haunting Our Streets – the life of Norah O’Donnell”
Moreton Bay and More 