The following transcript is of a letter written by Michael Arbuthnot Fraser on the 12th November 1916. “Dear Mr Sigley Tell Mrs S I got her first letter & the last one & I don’t know how I can thank her for her thoughtfulness in having my clothes attended to for I am sure they […]
Sir Thomas B Robinson’s endeavours as Queensland’s Agent General held a unique place during the First World War, but we’ll come back to that part of his story later. Robinson was born on the 24 November 1853 in Rotherhithe, England and moved to Australia in 1881 with his wife, Elizabeth. He first managed the firm […]
Four days before Australians voted in the 1916 referendum about compulsory military service, a teacher at Richmond Hill State School decided to explore this process of voting when teaching the combined Fourth and Fifth classes. On Tuesday 24 October Mr William John Williams discussed the concept of a referendum -“what it is, when it is […]
March 1916 and the Australian Imperial Force had arrived in France, within four months they would find themselves at the centre of the conflict taking place on the Western Front. The 5th Division was the first to engage with the German military, taking part in a bloody engagement at Fromelles in Northern France on 19 […]
Written by Paul Sutton, Researcher The Beerburrum Soldier Settlement was an Australian Government funded, and Queensland Government administered effort, to provide land to repatriated servicemen who had served in the Australian and Imperial armed forces during World War One. The settlement was established in 1916 and ran until terminated during the late 1920s, though many […]
1916 and the First World War was into its third year with both home and abroad suffering under the conflict. On the 22 August 1916 Sir Hamilton Goold-Adams, the Governor of Queensland, gave a speech at the opening of the 20th Parliament, summarising the order of business for the State of Queensland. A speech that […]
While searching for First World War records to display in our latest exhibition ‘On the Home Front’, we found this striking image of Second Lieutenant Sister Rosa O’Kane. This beautiful portrait of Sister Rosa in her nurse’s uniform had been painstakingly attached to a cardboard backing. On the reverse was an obituary poem clipped from […]
Today’s blog post explores the war service of an Aboriginal Queenslander who enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force. The extract below from an open letter published in the Townsville Daily Bulletin, 24 Oct 1916, brings to the fore the subject of this blog post: Private William (Billy) Elsdale. Believed to be the first Aboriginal digger […]
The Australian Army’s slouch felt hat with its distinctive upturned left side of the brim and rising sun badge is an iconic symbol of the camaraderie of Australian soldiers. The slouch hat’s mark in history is rooted in Australia’s involvement in the First World War, although its history dates back to the 1800s. Over time […]
On 17 October 1887 an enterprising group of ex-German nationals selected land portions in the Blackall Range and formed the kernel of the new town of Teutoburg. Situated about four miles north-west of Maleny, difficulties regarding the spelling of the town name rose early in the area’s history. Correspondence from the residents of the area […]