This article, by Dr Julie Ustinoff, was originally published on the Queensland State Archives website, April 2009. At approximately 4 a.m. on the morning of Friday 14th May 1943, the Australian Hospital Ship, Centaur was attacked by a Japanese submarine, killing 268 of the 332 people on board. In addition to the ship’s crew of […]
This article, by, Dr Katie McConnel, Curator, Qld Government House, was originally published on the Queensland State Archives website, February 2013. In preparation for the arrival of Queensland’s first Governor, Sir George Ferguson Bowen and his family, in early December 1859, the Clerk of Works for Moreton Bay District, Charles Tiffin, selected, leased, ‘repaired, painted […]
Within our collection are a thousand different stories, heroic wartime efforts, political turmoil and pioneering outback existence. Today we wanted to share the tale of an attempted prison escape detailed in a letter from our collection dated 20 January 1932. Max Paul Rank Runkel and John Edward Phillips were prisoners serving time at the prison […]
This article, by Dr Shirleene Robinson, was originally published on the Queensland State Archives website, May 2009. In contemporary Queensland, lighthouses are admired for their architecture and spectacular coastal locations. They also appeal to those who appreciate their historical isolation and romantic imagery. For most of Queensland’s history though, lighthouses have played much more than […]
This article, by Judith Nissen, was originally published on the Queensland State Archives website, March 2013. Hail! strangers, hail! right welcome to our shore, We wish you joy, – Eden could yield no more… — “Frederick”, 12 February 1849 By the time the Moreton Bay Courier welcomed Reverend John Dunmore Lang’s Fortitude, the Scots […]
In 1917, Laura Duncan (1875-1955), a determined widowed mother who braved the outback of Queensland, took on the might of the State of Queensland. Mrs Laura Duncan was the then owner of Mooraberrie cattle station situated more than 1000 kilometres north west of Brisbane. The station had been previously under the management of her husband, […]
In January 1898, little Albert ‘Bert’ Hinkler was enrolled at the age of 5 years and one month as student 685 at North Bundaberg State School. Look closely at the school admission register and you will see his rank as Lieutenant was later added in recognition of his career as a world class aviator. From […]
Nanango School’s 150th anniversary in January 2016 is worthy of a community celebration for many reasons, not least because this school survived some particularly tough times in its early years. Within our archive collection is a letter handwritten in 1865 that “begs” for assistance from the Board of Education “for needful help” from the inhabitants […]
Travelling throughout Queensland we see many small towns and communities, marked by their school and often a war memorial. These places are not only significant for their communities, but reflect the pattern of Queensland’s history and regional development. The Queensland Heritage Register details those places considered to hold cultural significance. Recently the Maroon State School […]
Few Brisbanites would know that the still-working Victoria Barracks, on Petrie Terrace, began its life in the heart of Brisbane Town in the 1800s. Free settler discontent with the raucous behaviour of those living and working at the garrison resulted in the building of new barracks on the elevated site now known as Petrie Terrace […]