Alert! Ephemera now on the catalogue.

The John Oxley Library ephemera has been an under-utilised collection. However, this is all set to change! After months of work the ephemera collection is now accessible on the State Library catalogue.

Ephemera refers to transitory material which is usually thrown away and not intended to have a long lifespan. It includes such items as tourist brochures, concert and theatre programs, how-to-vote cards, menus, calendars, advertising flyers and other similar material.

Speedo swimsuit advertisement, from the John Oxley Library ephemera collection

The ephemera is stored in pamphlet boxes and arranged by subject.  Box level cataloguing has been provided.  This means that although you cannot search for an individual piece of ephemera you can search for a general category and gain an idea of what sort of meterial it contains.

A good strategy when searching the catalogue for ephemera is to undertake a guided search using the phrase “ephemera material” and then the subject you are looking for, for instance, circus, tourism, ballet etc.

Give it a go and you may be surprised at what you find!

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A hidden treasure within the John Oxley Library’s collections is the newspaper clippings collection. John Oxley Library staff clipped thousands of articles of historical or cultural interest from Queensland regional and Brisbane newspapers from the 1970’s through to 2003.

The clippings are divided into four categories:

• Biographical
• Ships
• Place
• Miscellaneous

The Miscellaneous clippings cover a wide range of topics including:

• Murder in Queensland
• Whiskey Au-Go-Go fire of 1973
• Soldier Settlement
• Native Orchid Society of Queensland
• Twins
• Airlines
• Vegemite
• Fine Cotton (the racehorse).

If you are interested in the clippings please contact us or visit the John Oxley Library and we will point you in the right direction. The clippings don’t appear on the catalogue, but we do have useful lists covering the Ships, Miscellaneous and Place files, while the Biographical clippings are arranged by surname.

 Courier Mail’s coverage of Bert Hinkler’s homecoming, 7 March 1928. Image no. 69436p

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This inner northern Brisbane suburb’s name derives from the 1868 purchase by Joseph Bancroft of land in the area and on which he built a residence called “Kelvin Grove Park.”  It is believed that he named the property after Kelvin Grove Park in Glasgow.  Dr. Bancroft was a renowned botanist and scientist and a prominent member of the community.

 Bancroft home at Kelvin Grove, ca. 1868.  John Oxley Library image no. 6713

The area was well known for its wooded hills and flats and timber cutting was an important industry attracting early settlers.

Tim Bowman is said to have established the first store in the area.  Other early business operators in the area included:

• Bishop’s general store (1889)
• Witzig & Greinland’s tannery in Bishop Street (1890)
• Gibson’s store at the corner of Eureka Street and Kelvin Grove Road (1916)
• Hazeldine’s butcher shop (1916)
• Chapman’s fruit and grocery shop on Kelvin Grove Road (1917)
• Kelvin Grove pharmacy (1932) and Booth’s bakery in Victoria Street (1937)

 Booth’s Bakery in Kelvin Grove, 1937. John Oxley Library image no. 185376

Buildings

There are, or have been a number of significant buildings and sites in the area now encompassed by the suburb of Kelvin Grove, including:

• the remnants of a World War 2 air raid shelter which survived as a bus shelter on Kelvin Grove Road, near the corner of Prospect Terrace.  This is a good example of one of the many air raid shelters built around the city during World War 2.
• the proposed Government House.  When the old Government House, in the grounds of what is now the Queensland University of Technology, Gardens Point, became unsuitable as the residence of Queensland’s Governors, a portion of Victoria Park in Kelvin Grove was proposed as a suitable site for the construction of a new Government House and approximately £6,000 was spent on foundations.  However, the site was abandoned when “Fernberg” in the nearby suburb of Paddington became available and which remains the residence of the Governor.
• Hunstanton House situated in L’Estrange Terrace was built in 1914 by William L’Estrange, a surveyor who became manager of the Brisbane Electric Supply Company.
• Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Kelvin Grove Campus.  A brief timeline of the use of this site and the development of the present university campus follows:
  • 1942 – Teachers’ Training College (or sometimes Queensland Teachers’ Training College)
  • 1944 – Senior Teachers’ Training College
  • 1950 – Queensland Teachers’ College
  • 1961 – Kelvin Grove Teachers College
  • 1974 – Kelvin Grove College of Teacher Education
  • 1976 – Kelvin Grove College of Advanced Education
  • 1982 – Kelvin Grove Campus of the Brisbane College of Advanced Education
  • 1990 – QUT

Timeline

Some important dates in the suburb’s history and development are:

• 1864 – Army Barracks established.  These later became the Gona Army Barracks.

 Gona Army Barracks in Kelvin Grove during WWII. John Oxley Library image no.  6511-0001-0003

• 1875 – Kelvin Grove State School opened.
• 1897 – The railway line passes through Kelvin Grove.
• 1901 – The tramline passes through Kelvin Grove.
• 1961 – Kelvin Grove State High School opened.

Subdivisions

As the population grew, various housing subdivisions were developed, some of which included:

• Lilley’s Hill Estate – 1888 - 67 allotments
• The Long Hill estate – 1911 – Park Street area
• Bancroft Park Estate – 1914 – Bancroft Street area

 ”Clydesdale,” a Kelvin Grove residence, ca.1910. John Oxley Library image no. 146811

Streets

As the suburb continued to develop, the names of many early settlers or prominent residents were commemorated in the names of Kelvin Grove’s streets:

• Bancroft Street – named for Dr. Joseph Bancroft
• L’Estrange Terrace – named for William L’Estrange
• Herston Road – named for Robert Herbert (first Premier) and John Bramston (lawyer and attorney-general)

More information

Find more photographs of Kelvin Grove in the State Library’s collection.

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On 6 May 2008 a segment for The Collectors television show was filmed in the Fox Family White Gloves Room at the State Library of Queensland.

Troy Hamilton Irvine from Antique MapArt Australia recommended the filming be done at the State Library. This was a wonderful opportunity to showcase the new building and the Map Collection.

The segment focused on maps showing the first sightings of Australia, followed by the charts of Cook and Flinders.

Maps from the State Library included the most recent important purchase made by the Library, Pars Orbis, by Arias Montanus, produced in 1572. This very rare and mysterious map depicts an island roughly in the position of Australia, and shows for the first time on a world map a single southern continent rather than an amorphous landmass.

To complete the theme of the discovery of Australia the programme filmed the Flinders map, known to be the first complete map of Australia, and the first time the continent had been called Australia.

Edwin Clark, a map restorer and printer, also contributed some exciting maps to round off the session, including a sketch of Sydney Cove in 1789.

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The inner northern Brisbane suburb of Red Hill was the subject of the State Library of Queensland’s first segment on Channel Seven’s Great South East program, going to air on 20 April 2008.  Although a lot of information was included in the brief segment that went to air, this post provides further information about the suburb.

The steep hill/s, the red rock and soil of the area combined to give “Red Hill” its name as well as presenting a problem for building. The use of stumps enabled houses to be built on the steep slopes.

 View of Red Hill, ca. 1929.  Image No. 58735

Some early businesses included:

• Chinese market gardeners had vegetable patches along Ithaca Creek (along the line of Waterworks Road).
• Whitehouse Brothers Organ Builders – Musgrave Road, Red Hill. This building is now uded as the premises of the Red Hill Gallery.
• Mrs. Gentle’s Store (ca. 1900), originally located in Enoggera Terrace.
• W. Woodcock, Butcher (ca. 1900), originally located at the corner of Waterworks Road and Eva Street.
• Arthur Robinson’s grocery store on Musgrave Road (1892).
• The Fulcher family’s tannery ca.1898. Fulcher Street, Red Hill is named in honour of the family.
• The Crown bakery (1902), originally operated by the Walker family.

 Crown Bakery, ca. 1907.  Image N0. 40956

• Denham’s Storage building (1945) – this was used to house US Army troops during WW2

Development of the area for residential housing:

By 1865 the process of residential subdivision was well underway with early housing estates including:

• Lincoln Estate (1860s). It is likely that Federal Street, Confederate Street and Harriet Street, as names, were influenced by the US Civil War.
• Bristol Estate (1870s), located near Waterworks Road
• Red Hill Estate (1880), subdivided by E. Hooker & Son
• Dillon’s Hill Estate (1880), located adjacent to Arthur Terrace with allotments selling for ten to twenty pounds

 Estate Map for Dillon’s Hill Estate.  Image No. 758594

Sites and buildings

Normanby Hotel (1890) - Built for publican Elizabeth Sophia Burton. The Burton family owned the hotel until 1944.

St. Brigid’s Catholic Church (1882) - The original church was built in 1882 and replaced by the present church in 1914 being built to accommodate up to 1,000 people. The building’s high position and imposing appearance ensures it remains a landmark in Red Hill.

Ithaca Fire Station (1918-19) - Enoggera Terrace, Red Hill.  The building was constructed in 1918-19 as the headquarters for the Ithaca Fire Brigade. A first floor was added in 1928 to provide accommodation for the officer in charge.  During WW2 the building became a base for the Wartime Auxiliary Fire Service

 Ithaca Fire Station, ca. 1942.  Image No. 73407

Red Hill Skate Arena – built in 1920

Presbyterian Church Hall (1885) - Enoggera Terrace. The land was purchased in 1883 by the Presbyterian Church for £120 with the building being completed in December 1885.

Ebenezer Baptist Church (1874) – Waterworks Road. The original building was replaced by a more permanent building in 1888

Find more photographs of Red Hill in State Library’s collection.

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