Our earlier blog post on this theme asked which major Queensland city is shown in this image?

Image No: 24406

This photograph shows Lower Flinders Street, Townsville ca. 1873.

Continuing with this theme of presenting images which are believed to be amongst the earliest photographs of Queensland places we now present this image. 

Do you know which Queensland city is shown here?

The identity of this city will be given in the next blog post on the earliest photographs of Queensland places.

Share/Save

2008 was officially declared the Year of the Scout, and this year also marks 100 years of scouting in Queensland.  The John Oxley Library holds numerous items documenting the history of Queensland scouting.  Searching Picture Queensland using the term ‘scouts’ will retrieve images of scout buildings, gatherings and people, including this image of His Royal Highness Edward, Prince of Wales, inspecting a group of Boy Scouts at Warwick in 1920.

 Image No: 199804

Other items held in the collections include published works such as A golden jubilee history of the Maroochydore Scout Group, covering 1937 to 1987, and the substantial In the light of all the years : (a history of scouting in Queensland) by Ralf Fones.

Newspaper clippings about Scouts and Scouting are also available through our reading room, as well as souvenir programs for the Brisbane Gang Show, many of which feature names and images of cast members.

Share/Save

The John Oxley Library holds a wealth of information for anyone tracing the history of their house.  Resources held include real estate maps, post office directories which list streets and residents, photographs, newspaper clipping files, local histories and publications about domestic architecture.

House design, ca. 1945.  Image No: 126920

Anytime you begin the house history journey it is a good idea to have a map to guide your efforts. Understanding the history of your house is not just about particular dates and people, it is also about historical trends and patterns.

• Which ethnic group settled in your area?
• When did they arrive?
• Where did they come from?
• What local resources were available for construction?
• What were the prevailing architectural trends of the time?

Answering these and many other questions will provide important context before you begin compiling the particular history of your house.

Timber dwelling, ca. 1935.  Image No: 78138

These resources will provide some important background:

• Local histories that discuss settlement, economic development, and migratory patterns.

• Photographs, recent and old, which can be used when comparing architectural styles or to identify structural changes.

• Certificate of Title, obtained from the Department of Natural Resources & Water.

Certificate of title for Henry William Coxen, 1861.  Image No: 185188

• Oral Sources can be a gold mine of information.  Ask the previous owners or older residents in the area about possible additions to the house, or fires, flood and storm damage. The local residents may also be another source of old photographs, diaries and family papers.

• Picture Queensland website for photographs digitized by State Library.

• Libraries, Archives and Local History Groups, that provide published and original materials.   This may include: art works, pattern books of house designs, newspapers, maps, plans and street directories, biographical information about architects, guides to architectural styles, suburban and regional histories, post office directories and almanacs.

Two useful websites are:

Queensland State Archives brief guides. http://www.archives.qld.gov.au/research/briefguides.asp

Your house has a history: keys to unlocking its past. http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/bccwr/community/documents/history_heritage_house_history.pdf

Share/Save

These two photographs from the John Oxley Library’s collection show a structure crossing the Brisbane River between Auchenflower and West End.

Is it the preliminary work for a bridge that never progressed to completion, or the laying of cross-river cables, or something else?

These images will be featured on an upcoming segment of Channel Seven’s Great South East program, where the identity of this cross-river structure is briefly discussed.

If anyone knows what this structure is, we’d love to know, so please blog back.

Share/Save

The John Oxley Library has continued its series of familiarisation seminars for groups of students, academic staff and others with an interest in the Library’s collections and services.

 Executive Manager, Heritage Collections, Louise Denoon providing an overview.

 Brian Randall of the John Oxley Library presenting collection items.

 Participants viewing material on display.

One of the largest of these sessions was held on 31 October with more than sixty staff and representatives of Queensland museums and galleries attending a session at the John Oxley Library.  At this session, as with recent sessions, participants were provided with an overview of the Library’s collections, services and projects as well as being given an opportunity to view a range of treasures from the collections.

It is planned to continue these seminars in the future.

Share/Save

On Thursday 13 November the John Oxley Library’s Brian Randall provided an overview of material on display in the Making Do exhibition, on display at the State Library’s Talbot Family Treasures Wall exhibition space until 7 December 2008.

 Brian Randall addressing the audience.

Participants viewing collection items.

Two pioneer families, the Archer and Rawson families are a focus within this exhibition.  A range of original items relating to both families, as well as material illustrating the early history of the Mackay and Rockhampton regions was also on display.

The presentation was well attended and participants showed great interest in the items on display and there was lively discussion about the role and contribution of both the Rawson and Archer families.

Share/Save

Brian Randall from the John Oxley Library recently presented a talk on the history and development of the Moreton Bay Penal settlement, which was established in Redcliffe in 1824, later moving to the site of the present day city of Brisbane.  The area was opened up to free settlement in 1842.

This presentation was part of the State Library’s on-going Uncovered series of presentations where original items and material from the library’s collections are made available for participants to view.

As part of this presentation a range of material relating to Queensland’s convict period was on display including items relating to one of the settlement’s most infamous commandants, Captain Patrick Logan.

A range of interesting questions were posed by participants who all showed great interest in the convict related material on display.

It is hoped to repeat this popular talk in the future.

Share/Save

On 12 November, Brian Randall of the John Oxley Library gave a presentation to Australian labor party members and guests on the Manifesto of the Queensland Labour Party to the People of Queensland (dated September 1892).  Also, the original Manifesto manuscript was on display for guests to view along with the original minute book from the first Labour-in-Politics convention held in Brisbane in 1892.

The presentation provided an overview of the early history and development of the Queensland Labor party as well as the context and background of the Manifesto.  Following the presentation there were many questions and on-going discussion indicating a high level of interest in this part of Queensland’s history.

A facsimile of the Manifesto, prepared by the State Library’s Conservation Unit, was presented to the Party and this was accepted by Manfred Cross AO.

Please see the earlier blog post on the Manifesto which also gives details of its recent listing on UNESCOs memory of the World Register

Share/Save

Erik Olaf Eriksen may be the State Library’s most enduring client.  For some twenty-five years he has carried out independent research at the library.  In fact, his personal use of the collections actually goes back a further twenty years to 1962 when he visited the former William Street building as a high school student.  According to Erik “The library has been not only a place of learning - it has also shaped my character”.

Erik Eriksen researching at the State Library.

Erik began his studies with work on Queensland colonial biography.  For over a decade he has carried out research on the life and works of the Reverend J.E. Tenison-Woods, the naturalist and geologist, who contributed so much to the science of colonial Queensland.

J.E. Tenison-Woods.  Sydney Mail, 19/10/1889, p.867.

Erik states that “It was Tenison-Woods who predicted, on the basis of characteristic fossils, that Queensland would become the great emporium of coal that it now is.  His outstanding skill in science is attested to by his reflection on the wider effects that burning coal might have”.

Another strong area of study for Erik was an examination of the forensic sciences, drawing on history, and exploring the definition and scope of the various forensic disciplines.  This research is recorded in his publication The Journal of Forensic Medicine, Theoretical and Applied, and in related journals and memoirs, all of which are held in the John Oxley Library.

Erik’s other areas of interest include: the Gatton murders, Benvenuti musicians, Aids, the Gatton Mounted Infantry, Henry Plantagenet Somerset, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his relationship to the forensic sciences. His work on Conan Doyle includes a bibliography of his lecture tour in Queensland as well as an examination of the historical setting of Sir Arthur’s detective stories.

To his research Erik has brought university qualifications relating to the sciences, engineering, and mathematics, but the actual methods of historiography he has learned in the course of his research at the library.   Erik states ”I have seen the great changes in the availability of materials in the library, from the old card catalogues to the latest digitization of newspapers.  The new library systems are making citizens the direct proprietors of the history of their society. This brings a new dawn in opportunities for learning and its beneficial application to society is inspiring”.

Though Erik has travelled to many exotic places in the world, both tropical and polar, he has always returned to the State Library of Queensland.  According to Erik “State Library has been a goldmine to me - I couldn’t have produced my 36 works without it!”

Erik’s publications are all available in the John Oxley Library.  A full listing appears on the State Library’s catalogue.

Share/Save

A recent blog post about the 30th anniversary of Carindale Shopping Centre mentioned that Carindale was originally part of the suburb of Belmont.

Belmont itself has an interesting history.

The origin of the name Belmont is open to debate.  In 1876 August Charles Frederick Bernecker purchased land and named his estate Belmont, with the name subsequently coming into common usage to describe the surrounding area. Another possible source for the suburb’s name is that on 1 January 1900, the Boer War Battle of Belmont was fought at Sunnyside near Orange River.  In this battle, the first Australian (Queenslander, Victor S. James) was killed.  This high profile battle may have reinforced the awareness and use of Belmont as the suburb’s name.There is also a Belmont in Lancashire, England.

Early view of Belmont.  Image No: 152087

Some early settlers, residents and businesses in the area include:

• timber getting attracted the first Europeans to the area, following reports of good timber.
• 1860s – Colonel McKenzie built his residence and established a sugar mill on a site along the present Scrub Road. There were a number of springs on this property.
• 1865 – William Stevenson arrived aboard the Flying Cloud (1865) and took up land as the original settler on Mount Petrie Road.  The purchase price for this land was £46.

Stevenson family of Belmont.  Image No: 152053

• the Salm family settled in the area in 1868.  Carl Salm had been issued a timber licence.  Also, Johannes Salm began making sausages and curing meat.
• Baynes Limited (1910 and earlier) operated a woolscour and fellmongery on a site beside Bulimba Creek.

Baynes’ fellmongery and wool scour, ca. 1910.  Image No: 22206

• Thompson and Robinson – Cash Store.
• Grassdale Cash Store  (1939 and earlier) established by  L.R. Bailey and situated in London Road.
• Knox’s wool tannery (1930s and earlier).
• 1920s – roadside stalls selling local produce.

Roadside stall at Belmont.  Image No: 149966

Some important sites and buildings in the Belmont area include:

• Belmont Shooting Complex.  The Queensland Rifle Association was formed in 1877 with the first competitions held in Victoria Park.  The Metropolitan Rifle Range was moved to Toowong in 1887, then Enoggera in 1910 and finally Belmont in 1964.
• Mount Petrie.  In 1838 Andrew Petrie (Works Foreman at the Moreton Bay Penal Colony) accompanied the Commandant, Major Cotton on a visit to the government sheep station at Redbank.  On the return trip the party became lost in the area which is now Belmont.  They eventually sighted a hill, Mount Petrie, which they climbed to regain their bearings.
• San Sisto Secondary College, established 1 February 1961 by the Dominican order. This was originally located in Belmont but is now in Carina.
• Belmont Congregational Church, originally on the corner of Pembroke Street and Old Cleveland Road.  The church was originally built in 1890 and was destroyed in a cyclone on 19 December 1935.
• Belmont Flyer Train. Up to 1910, the Council was unsuccessfully lobbying for a rail line to the area.  The council eventually borrowed funds and built a railway line from Norman Park Station, through Seven Hills and Carina to Belmont.  The Belmont Flyer line opened in 1912 but closed in 1924 due to non profitability.  The line reopened briefly in 1926.

Opening of the Belmont Railway, 1912.  Image No: 149900

Some important dates in the history and development of the Belmont area include:

• 1876 – Belmont State School was established.
• 1894 – the Belmont Division split from the Bulimba Division and the suburb adopted the name Belmont on a formal basis.
• 1894 – Belmont Divisional Board was created.
• 1901 – Belmont Shire created.
• 1920s (and possibly earlier) – a Belmont bus service ran between Camp Hill tram terminus and Belmont Service Station.
• 1948 (August) – The extension of the tram line to Belmont was opened.

Belmont Tramway.  Image No: 163191

• 1950 – approximately 120 acres of bushland was cleared for Housing Commission homes.
• 1952 – Our Lady of Graces Catholic Church, Carina (once part of
  Belmont) was established.

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

Share/Save