On the morning of January 29, 1913 a livestock train departed from Toowoomba and derailed near the Murphy’s Creek railway station, about one mile from the station yard limits. No members of the crew were injured, but many hundreds of cattle were killed and a considerable amount of damage was caused to the vehicles and […]
A researcher’s account by Dr Hugo Ree, PhD. FRCP I am a retired physician with experience in the field of tropical medicine. I came to Queensland with my family in 1987 to take over the post of government leprologist on the retirement of Dr Douglas Russell. I first came to the Queensland State Archives some […]
This striking photo shows the rain-dampened opening of the Blackall train line in 1908. The gathered crowd, band and dignitaries were in full celebration as feet stomped across the mud. Speeches were given, the music played. And then a moment of strangeness took centre stage. The Queenslander, covering the speeches on 23 May 1908, reported […]
On 28 June ABCNews 24 ran an item on Clement Lindley Wragge, an English born meteorologist who was commissioned in 1886 by the Queensland Government to write a report on the development of a meteorological organisation in Queensland. Within its collection, Queensland State Archives holds a large 1903 report written by Clement Wragge regarding the Stiger […]
On 6 June 2012, Dr Ruth Kerr delivered her annual speech on John Kerr’s historiography at the Queensland Day Dinner, hosted by the Royal Historical Society of Queensland. John Douglas Kerr was an esteemed historian, statistician and writer. He was also renowned for his knowledge of the history of Australian railways. Dr Ruth Kerr spoke […]
This article, by Dr Julie Ustinoff, was originally published on the Queensland State Archives website, March 2013. If the walls of the Yungaba Immigration Centre (Digital Image ID 1588) could talk, there would be many stories to tell; stories of happiness, hope, and new beginnings; but also some of sadness, suffering, and loss. Since its […]
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 […]
This article, by Dr Judith McKay, was originally published on the Queensland State Archives website, March 2011. The Burke and Wills Expedition, the first to cross the Australian continent from south to north, ended in tragedy, yet it resulted in opening up of vast tracts of Queensland to pastoral settlement. The expedition and the various […]
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 […]
The strength of home front emotion can be found within the most unpredictable records. Take the rather dull sounding letterbooks for the Queensland Government’s Harbours and Rivers Department. These contain copies of memos and letters that provide insight into administrative instructions. What might surprise you is that, besides finding feelings of patriotism and support for […]