Sundays held a special significance that went beyond a mere day of rest. The observance of Sunday, often considered a day of religious devotion and family time, was not only a matter of personal faith but a fundamental element of community life.

What do hot air balloon shows, ice-cream and shooting a gun have in common? Well, historically in Queensland you weren’t able to enjoy them on a Sunday.

These records held at Queensland State Archives reflect the complex interplay between religious traditions, social norms, and public sentiment, offering a unique window into the lives of Queenslanders and the values that shaped their communities.

Ice Cream

Eating Ice-Cream on Sunday was fine, but selling it was prohibited under Sunday Observance. In police files held at Queensland State Archives, we have a petition decrying the sale of Hokey Pokey ice-cream in Clayfield, Brisbane.

ITM86567 Ice cream and Hokey Pokey vendors plying their calling on Sundays, 1902-1938

In a police report from Bundaberg, we have a case of a plain-clothes officer fining an ice-cream vendor in 1928. The report mentions stopping the vendor outside a Sunday school, and during the officer’s questioning a line of children had formed. The vendor claimed he wasn’t selling ice-cream, but giving them away before confessing and being fined £5 (about $455 in Australian dollars in 2022).

Sale of newspapers

Selling anything on a Sunday in Queensland was banned, but in 1901 there was a considerable effort by the Council of Churches to prevent the sale of newspapers specifically. The Department of Justice, Queensland received a letter, prepared by a solicitor on behalf of the Council of Churches in Queensland indicating how young boys under 14 may still be charged.

ITM86561 Sale of newspapers on Sundays, 1900-1914

From a newspaper clipping from The Observer, March 11, 1901 that is attached to the record we can see The Council of Churches also took this discussion to the Home Secretary at the time, the Honourable Mr Foxton. Reverend Whale stated that ‘If Street hawking could be carried on with loud cries on Sunday Morning; it was difficult to see why the Sunday should not be open for the sale of anything else – say vegetables. There might be some who would glorify in this matter but to the cultured and fair-minded the thing is a nuisance. There was no reason why these papers should be sold on Sunday; it could be done just as well on Saturdays or Mondays.’

Mr Foxton was ‘Doubtful whether there was a law to prevent the practice without going back a long way. They would have to go back to the time of Charles II, and there the law was very stringent.’

Reverend Pollock said ‘The Deputation would go away satisfied if the Minister would promise that he would enforce the law as far as possible to secure rest on the day of rest.’

Flying a balloon

In the 1890s, ballooning offered a rare opportunity to experience air travel, a decade prior to the Wright brothers’ historic powered flight. Valerie Freitas, performing under the name Valerie Van Tassel, achieved the distinction of making the first parachute jump by a woman in Australia. Her inaugural jump took place at Newcastle Racecourse on Saturday, February 8, 1890, and she repeated this feat as the first woman to parachute over the Brisbane Exhibition Grounds on the late afternoon of Thursday, May 22, 1890.

The Van Tassel sisters were part of a traveling group from the United States, led by the charismatic frontman, Parker Atkinson Van Tassel. In 1889 Park Van Tassel, took his troupe on a worldwide tour. There’s few facts about the sisters, they were sometimes referred to as Park’s daughters or sisters, although they likely had no familial connection to him. The sisters, Valerie and Gladys were likely born in the United States and performed a similar parachute routine in Sydney under the name The Freitas Sisters. This is further confused with a third Van Tassel sister, Jeanette Van Tassel, who did not perform in Australia. She is considered to be Park Van Tassel’s actual wife and died in 1892 in East Bengal. The newspapers often confused the ‘sisters’ as well as the spelling of Tassel.

The Van Tassel sisters had garnered significant acclaim for their parachute performances in the southern Australian colonies, but they encountered significant challenges during their shows in Queensland. Tragedy struck on May 26, 1890, when a poorly erected wooden pole, intended to support the inflating balloon, collapsed into the crowd, resulting in the tragic death of 12-year-old Thomas Reid of Fortitude Valley.

Despite clear negligence on the part of Park Van Tassel and his team, an effective legal defence led by Harold B. Lilley, the son of Queensland’s Chief Justice, Sir Charles Lilley, managed to prevent any charges from being filed. The incident didn’t stop their next performance in Townsville at Acacia Vale Gardens on June 22, 1890, but tensions were escalating.

On the previous day, Reverend James Stewart, representing a delegation in Townsville, attempted to have the exhibition banned, citing concerns about the desecration of the Sabbath. Stewart, a prominent figure in the evangelical social welfare organization known as the Brisbane City Mission, had strong views on the strict observance of the Sabbath. However, neither the Townsville magistrate, John G. MacDonald, nor the local police chief, Inspector John B. Isley, found legal grounds to ban the parachute performance. Reverend Stewart’s frustration was compounded by the tragic death in Brisbane as Thomas Reid had been his neighbour.

ITM86565 Report made by Inspector John B. Isley, Balloon ascents on Sundays, 1890

1880, The bulletin John Haynes and J.F. Archibald, Sydney, N.S.W viewed November 2023

Coincidentally, several senior officers of the Queensland Military Force, including Colonel G. French, Major C. Des Voeux, Major W. Ralston, and Major P. Ricardo, were in Townsville for a military encampment that weekend. Instead of attending their regular Sunday Church Parade, the Queensland Defence Force school cadets and the military band received permission to march to Acacia Vale Gardens to watch the Miss Van Tassel parachute performance. ¹

From the newspaper clipping, we can see that potentially thousands attended including about 500 officers and men of the defence force. The Reverend Stewart attended and denounced the gathering  as a disgrace to Queensland and made a special protest against the defence force assisting in the desecration of the Sabbath.

Again in the report, the Inspector writes, the presence of myself and my men there was purely in the discharge of our duty to prevent a breach of the peace. My only reason for speaking to Mr Stewart was that I apprehended a breach of the peace and I have no doubt that had I not spoken to the Reverend gentleman a row would have taken place.

In the report, the 1^st Inspector suggests that perhaps Reverend Stewart could ‘send an urgent wire to the honourable colonial secretary if they so desired’.

And it looks like that happened, because in the newspaper article it stated: “Since writing, we learn that the Colonial Secretary, Queensland, has interdicted Sunday ballooning.”

Carrying a gun

In Queensland firearm laws were primarily regulated at the state level, with several rules and regulations inherited from Imperial Acts. But by the 1950s, that was starting to change. This police file held at Queensland State Archives contains reports, as well as letters from the public, looking to change the Sunday Observance Act specifically around the use of firearms.

ITM318986 Page from a Police report framing the history of the Sunday Observance Act of 1841 in Queensland, c.1950s

Letters from the public are also contained in this file, with several specifically around how the Sunday Observances Act impacts their gun clubs. A letter from Reverend E. J. Bourke [below], highlights several grievances with the implementation of gun laws in Queensland in 1952.

Reverend Bourke had requested permission from the local Officer in charge to carry his 410 shot gun (and use it) on a Sunday but was denied. Reverend Bourke also mentions how the Sunday Observances Act, when enforced, put an end to his gun club on Sundays.

1940 ‘Emerald Gun Club’, Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton, Qld. : 1878 – 1954), 13 December, p. 9

ITM318986 [Left] Some recommendations to update the Sunday Observances Act [Right] Letter from E. J. Bourke wishing to carry a gun on a Sunday, 1952

So why were so many things banned on Sunday?

Sunday observance is a really old idea, possibly over 1,700 years old when Roman Emperor Constantine issued an edict stating;

Let all judges and aII city people and all tradesmen rest upon the venerable day of the sun. But let those dwelling in the country freely and with full liberty attend to the culture of their fields; since it frequently happens that no other day is so fit for the sowing of grain, or the planting of vines; hence, the favourable time should not be allowed to pass, Iest the provisions of heaven be Iost.

It created the precedent that people should rest and use that time to honour the day of the sun and Apollo.

As the Roman Empire fell and the Pope held more power, there were more rules around what couldn’t be done on Sundays and breaking them could lead to severe punishment. It also became a special religious day under Roman Law by the middle of the fifth century. Early Sunday laws in England were part of the commands passed on from the Christian Church and over time, laws were introduced making it mandatory to attend church, and to not travel outside your Parish, carry on any business, hold a fair or market, and eventually, gather for sports or pastimes whatsoever. People were expected to be at their local place of Christian worship.

You can read more about the history of Sunday Observance laws and it’s impact in Australia in the 92nd report on the Inherited Imperial Sunday Observance by the Law Reform Committee of South Australia.

¹ https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/bitstream/handle/10072/13813/39636_1.pdf