Category Archives: Brisbane Back

Too Many Thomas Streets

Posted on 24 May 2013| by Myles Sinnamon |

My curiosity in the history of my street began a few years ago when I discovered an Estate Map which advertised a land sale of 23 spanking sites at Curd’s Hill, Greenslopes, in October 1925. A few weeks later, I glanced through a Harris’ Street and Road Directory from 1917, to find my same street had a different name. I had lived in Greenslopes for years but had no idea of any street name changes, and I only had the briefest knowledge of local history of the area. I decided it was time to use some of the resources available in the John Oxley Library collections to discover the ‘when?’ and the ‘why?’ this name change occurred.

Curd's Hill Estate : Greenslopes

The ‘why’ for changing the street name from Thomas Street was clear as there was (and still is) another Thomas Street nearby. As the district became more populated two similarly named streets may have caused confusion. But why choose Curd Street? I knew of the dairying history of the area – ‘Greenslopes’ referred to the green pastures found in the district. Was Curd a reference to the cheese-making process?

Old Post Office Directories contain lists of residents of a town or suburb. Unlike the modern telephone directories, Post Office Directories can be searched by street name with listings of residents on the left and right had sides of the street. I had begun my searches for ‘Thomas Street’ and variously ‘Coorparoo’ or ‘Mt Pleasant’ as both these names seemed to fit my locality.

Harris' street and road directory, 1917

Searching in the Post Office Directories between 1917 and 1925 I discovered the ‘when’ – Thomas Street is first listed as Curd Street in the 1922/23 volume. Imagine my excitement when I also discovered an Edward J. Curd as resident of this newly named Curd Street.

Now I had a date for the street name change and a person to begin searching for! Who was this man and why was he so important that a whole (though small) street was named after him? Time for me to start digging deeper to see what could be unearthed about this man and his life in my street 90 years ago.

My passion for local history was unleashed! And I have found a connection with my street and developed an interest in the district which has surprised me, along with earning me the nickname of ‘Curd Nerd’.

Katy Roberts – Library Technician, State Library of Queensland

Hold the line please – Brisbane Telephone Exchange

Posted on 07 May 2013| by Simon Miller |

I notice that we recently passed the 40th anniversary of the invention of the mobile phone. The telephone is now ubiquitous but you might be surprised at how quickly it arrived in Brisbane after its invention. Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated the first practical telephone in 1876 and published details in the Scientific American on 6 October 1877. The first experiments with telephones in Queensland were conducted at the Brisbane GPO on 26 January 1878 by W. J. Cracknell, Superintendant of Telegraphs. Cracknell was able to set up a demonstration of the telephones at the Exhibition in August of that year along with some other startling scientific exhibits as reported in the minutes of the National Association published in the Brisbane Courier.

That to Mr. W. J. Cracknell, Superintendent of Telegraphs, your committee are indebted for the promise of several highly interesting scientific exhibits at next month’s exhibition, all of which are comparatively unknown in Queensland, viz.:

1. The electric light, to be displayed every evening.

2. Explosion of torpedoes in the creek running through Bowen Park, by means of electricity.

3.Telephones fitted up in the main building, and in the park, by which visitors may, at distant points from each other, converse through the medium of these wonderful instruments.

These early telephones could only be used for communication between two fixed points but January 1878 saw the opening of the first commercial telephone exchange which allowed multiple telephone users to be connected and made the instrument truly practical. Brisbane’s first telephone exchange was set up at the GPO linking several Government offices in October 1880 and by 1881 there were 36 telephones connected including several private ones. By 1883 a continuous 24 hour service was being provided and 175 telephones were connected. The first country telephone exchange in Australia was opened in Maryborough in 1882 with 32 subscribers.

The first telephone exchanges employed message boys to operate the equipment, however, the boys quickly earned a reputation as inefficient, unruly and impertinent, and in an effort to improve customer service these first operators were replaced by women specifically employed for the job. In 1889 positions were advertised for thirteen telephone exchange switch-board assistants, at a salary of 10 shillings per week, 1671 young women applied. Mrs Dick was appointed as Supervisor.

Mrs William Heddle Dick, First Lady Superintendent of the First Telephone Exchange in the Colony of Queensland

Alterations were made to the building to allow for the employment of female operators, who worked from 8 am to 6 pm, the night shift being deemed unsuitable for female employment. An article published in The Queenslander and attributed to ‘Delphia’ provides a detailed description of the working environment of these early telephonists.

Group of the first female telephonists in Brisbane, Queensland started in June 1899

The new switchboard on the Telephone Exchange is now in working order; and the female operators are shaping to their novel experience in a manner that augurs well for their future utility, and for the increased convenience of the public service. Mrs. Dick, the lady superintendent, assisted by a monitress, has twelve operators under her charge. Perhaps a more capable-looking assemblage of young women could hardly be found In Brisbane; had the qualification been appearance only, instead of capability, they could well have stood the test. It is somewhat surprising, considering the small amount of salary offered, that such a refined and superior class of workers should have tendered their services, especially when. It is found that some of them come from a distance, as far as Ipswich even, and have to deduct travelling expenses from their earnings. They, no doubt, look upon the appointment as a beginning of better things, and anticipate future promotions in the Government service. It must also be borne in mind that, although they, have passed the necessary education tests, they are ignorant of the telephone duties, until patiently inducted into the method, under the personal supervision of Mr. Hesketh.

The girls enter their offices through a private door on the right hand of the Post Office lane, near Elizabeth-street. After ascending, two flights of narrow stairs, we find the lavatories on the right hand, with necessary fittings, and a comfortable little sitting-room on the left. Around the walls, convenient lockers are fitted up, a separate one, with lock and key, for each operator ; the open doors show a good arrangement for hanging hats and cloaks, and shelves for cups, lunch, books, &c.; outside, they look like wardrobes of polished Maryborough pine. One or two cane lounges, plenty of comfort-able chairs, a large table, and writing secretaire form part of the comfortable furnishings. In one corner a small gas stove is fitted, and a large kettle supplies hot water for the acceptable cup of tea at lunch time. The pretty light tint chosen for the wall colouring gives a brightness to the room and in every way possible in so small a space has the comfort of the girls when off duty been considered. Mrs. Dick is ever on the alert to see that the girls are relieved of duty for a time, when they feel the nervous strain too much, or when the incessant vibration tells upon their endurance. That there will be cause for watchfulness and anxiety in this respect a visit to the switchboard room will show. Such a babel of confused and subdued voices, in the strident, “are you-there” tone. The operators sit in chairs constructed upon pedestals to move slightly from side to side, so as to quickly operate upon the numbers from right to left. Each operator has 100 connections under her charge. To watch the incessant manipulation of the plugs, one would imagine that every telephone-owner spent a good part of his time with a transmitter at his mouth. Ten in the morning is the busiest hour, between 12 and 2 the switching slackens, and increase afterwards up to 4 o’clock.

Interior of Brisbane Central Telephone Exchange, Brisbane, Queensland, 1903

Each operator wears a leather band over the head, with a receiver pressed to the left ear and transmitter near the mouth. The indicators, at the top of the switchboard, rise and fall, showing the number which wants to be switched on. Below are the round holes, bearing the numbers of the telephones—one set called the questioning jacks, the other set the answering jacks. These are connected by plugs, and the connection is made as rapidly as possible. The work to a certain extent is mechanical, but needs the utmost smartness and dexterity, and will prove a trying test to nervous organisations. Being apparently such mechanical work, one is inclined to question the relevancy of such examination posers as the following, which appear on the papers submitted to the applicants as examination tests :—”State what you know of the Brisbane River under the following heads :—Source, course, affluents, outfall, basin, and watersheds.” “Where in Queensland are sugar, wheat, coffee, arrowroot, and cocoa-nuts grown? Where are gold, copper, tin, opals, and pearlshell found?” “The side of a square paddock is 440 yards long. How many palings, each 4 In. wide, will be used in fencing the paddock?” Other arithmetic questions about papering walls, bags of marbles, thousands of oranges, barrels of ale, and boxes of matches, but not one question about modern science, the discovery and development of telephony, or reference to the life of Edison, or the principles of acoustics and the transmission of sound.

The operators look very business-like and comely in their uniforms of dark-blue serge and neat white collars and cuffs. The lady superintendent and monitress wear black. The hours are not heavy—altogether about eight hours a day, with relieving operators to take charge at intervals of rest. At present there are boys employed on the switchboard, as well as the girls, but Mr. Hessketh hopes to replace them in time by the women, and is very sanguine of good results.

Inside the Brisbane Central Telephone Exchange, ca. 1927

The work of the exchange operators continued in much the same fashion until the Brisbane exchange was switched over to an automatic exchange in 1929. Trunk operators were still required for interstate and international calls until a new type of automated exchange, the Crossbar system, allowed the introduction of Subscriber Trunk Dialling in the 1960s. The first Crossbar exchange in Australia was installed at Toowoomba in 1960. In 1963 a new eight story telephone exchange was planned for construction in Elizabeth Street, Brisbane.

Model of the new telephone exchange to be built on Elizabeth Street, Brisbane, 1963

The John Oxley Library holds several titles on the development of telephone exchanges. The Palace of winged words : the development of telephone exchanges in Australia published by Telecom Australia in 1980 and Resistance on the line : a history of Australian Telephonists and their Trade Unions, 1880-1988 by Jeff Rickertt.

Simon Miller – Library Technician, State Library of Queensland

A Night in the JOL

Posted on 30 Apr 2013| by Simon Farley |

Our monthly Night in the JOL evening talk held in the John Oxley Library Reading Room was a sell out affair on the eve of ANZAC Day 2013.

ABC Radio National’s Dr Kate Evans led a fascinating discussion with panelists Lieutenant-General Mark Evans (retired) AO, DSC, Chair of the Queensland Advisory Committee for the Commemoration of the ANZAC Centenary (2014-2018), and Kate Walton, PhD candidate at The University of Queensland specialising in Australian Prisoners of War in Turkey, as they explored the impact of World War One on Queenslanders and the enduring legacy of that devastating conflict.

Kate Evans in conversation with Lieutenant-General Mark Evans (retired) AO, DSC and Ph.D candidate Kate Walton.

Kate Walton

Kate talks about her research into Australian prisoners of the Turks.

Night in the JOL audience.

Treasures from the John Oxley Library were on show, including photographs, medals, and personal letters and diaries of Queensland service men and women and their families documenting their first hand experiences. Many were intrigued to discover a piece of the Red Baron’s Plane in one of the archival boxes.

Of particular relevance in this display, given Kate Walton’s research, was 28115: Maurice George Delpratt Correspondence 1915-1920 consisting of letters and postcards written by Maurice George Delpratt while held as a prisoner of war in Turkey during World War One. This collection also contains other letters written by Maurice’s family and friends. Delpratt House at the Southport School in named after Maurice who was an early student and a teacher at the school. It was wonderful to see the Delpratt Family in attendance, as well as everybody who came to this very special Night in the JOL.

If you couldn’t be with us on the 24th and would like to listen to the conversation the webcast is available on our website.

Simon Farley - Manager, Arts Portfolio, State Library of Queensland

World Expo 88, 25 Years of Memories

Posted on 29 Apr 2013| by Myles Sinnamon |

Brisbane, 30 April 1988. Uniforms have been fitted, performers have rehearsed, and construction has been completed for the 1988 World Exposition. The average temperature is a cool twenty-two degrees. People pour through the gates, into the pavilions or onto the monorail. More than 77,000 will visit by the end of the day.

Queen Elizabeth II speaking at the opening of Expo '88 in South Bank, Queensland, 1988

Expo 88 was opened by Queen Elizabeth II. She spoke of the World Exposition’s history as a showcase of technological advancement, from ‘such novelties as the telegraph and the sewing machine’ in 1851, to the lasers and spaceships of 1970. Brisbane continued this theme in spectacular fashion. Dazzling light displays and well-crafted parade floats were visual feasts, and talking robots stationed at the entrance beckoned visitors inside.

Neon lights light up Expo 88 in South Bank Queensland 1988

When Her Majesty addressed the crowds at the Opening Ceremony, she concluded her speech with the words ‘I now declare World Expo 88 well and truly open’. VIPs applauded, thousands cheered, and balloons were released into the sky. Brisbane braced itself for a barrage of local, national, and international visitors.

Day Parade float, 'You Are What You Eat', at Expo '88 in South Bank, Queensland, 1988

Few anticipated just how – dare I say? – exponentially the attendance numbers would grow. 77 000 was only a fraction of the number of visitors to Expo over the next six months. It was a place of colour and sound, movement and technology, and it was truly multicultural.

Talking robot at Expo '88 in South Bank, Queensland, 1988

The State Library’s online catalogue One Search includes newly digitised Expo 88 images available for the first time online, both in black and white and in full colour. These photographs have captured moments many of us never saw, and which will never be seen again. But for those who witnessed the year Brisbane hosted the World Exposition, the memories of that time will live forever.

Grace Howell – [Grace is a field work student currently assigned to State Library of Queensland]

James Maccormick Digital Story and the 25th Anniversary of Expo 88

Posted on 26 Apr 2013| by zpappas |

Last year, we received the James Maccormick collection made up of correspondence, plans, drawings and reports regarding World Expo 88 (Acc: 28309, Box 16430).

Plan by James Maccormick & Associates Pty Ltd

A digitised copy of a Plan for a Proposed International Exposition (# 7536) from the James Maccormick Collection (State Library of Queensland, Accession 28309)

A digitised copy of a Plan for a Proposed International Exposition (# 7633) from the James Maccormick Collection (State Library of Queensland, Accession 28309)

For some wonderful posts about this collection, James Maccormick, and World Expo 88, check out these blog stories:

New Acquisition: James Maccormick Correspondence Regarding the Birth of World Expo 88 and
More Expo 88 Material from James Maccormick.

The Maccormicks at the filming of the James Maccormick Digital Story

James Maccormick and his wife Marusia Maccormick

For those who don’t know, the first bid to bring the exposition to Brisbane in 1988 began with James Maccormick MBE, the architect who had designed the Australian pavilions at Montreal 1967, Osaka 1970, and Spokane 1974.

A representation of the Australian Pavilion designed by James Maccormick for World Expo 1970 in Osaka, Japan. Image courtesy of James Maccormick

Cover from the Sun Magazine (Sunday Sun, May 1, 1988)

World Expo 88, which was the first International Exposition held in Australia during the 20th century, had a profound impact on Brisbane. From the greening of our city; to diversifying our cuisine options and introducing outdoor dining; from cultural progress including public art; to growth in tourism activity; the influence of World Expo 88 was far reaching and continues to today.

The Skyneedle was almost lost to Tokyo Disneyland until hairdresser Stefan Ackerie stepped in. The Skyneedle was relocated to his corporate headquarters in South Brisbane and still beams its light across the city skyline.

Skyneedle at World Expo '88 in South Bank, 1988 (State Library of Queensland, 10028 Noel Pascoe Photographs)

To help mark the 25^th anniversary of Expo 88, we prepared a digital story with James Maccormick MBE, where he reflects on his collection and the stories around how Brisbane won the bid for World Expo 88.

View the James Maccormick Digital Story here:

For those of us who remember Expo 88 fondly, I’m sure we would collectively thank James for his vision and work in bringing the world to Brisbane. And together we showed the world too.

James Maccormick at the filming of the James Maccormick Digital Story

James Maccormick MBE looking over his collection with Tim Mather, from the State Library of Queensland

Zenovia Pappas - Contemporary Collecting Coordinator, State Library of Queensland

Messiah comes to Brisbane

Posted on 22 Apr 2013| by Simon Miller |

Handel’s Messiah has been performed hundreds of times in Brisbane, but the first ever performance in Brisbane of this favourite of all choral works took place 140 years ago, on the 25th of April 1873. This was the second concert of the Brisbane Musical Union, an organisation that is still performing Handel’s masterpiece to this day, under the name of the Queensland Choir.

The formation of the Brisbane Musical Union followed a series of failed attempts to form a viable musical society going back as far as 1849. The South Brisbane Harmonic Society consisted of a small group of music lovers meeting at the Mechanics Institute. Rehearsals had been suspended due to a lack of musical leadership but the arrival of Mr R. T. Jefferies soon sparked them back to life. Richard Thomas Jefferies had made a name for himself in London as a violinist, a conductor and as a thoroughly competent musician. The success following his appointment as conductor of the Harmonic Society led to the formation of a North Brisbane branch and then to the combining of the two branches into the Brisbane Musical Union.

Musician Richard Thomas Jefferies, Brisbane, ca. 1910

The John Oxley Library holds two pamphlets detailing the early history of the Musical Union. A brief retrospect of the Brisbane Musical Union published in 1882 and A retrospect and resume of the work done by the Brisbane Musical Union 1872-1906. The later publication has a description of the first concert of the Musical Union.

The first concert of the “Union” was given on Wednesday, the 18th December, 1872, Romberg’s ‘Lay of the Bell’ being the principal item. The newspaper comments were very cordial and eulogistic. The concert was given in the School of Arts Hall …, to a large and overflowing audience. His Excellency the Governor, and the Marchioness of Normanby and suite, were present. The bell used on that occasion was the one subsequently erected at the Ann Street Presbyterian Church, and is, we believe, in use there at the present time.

Histories of the Brisbane Musical Union and Messiah program from 1930

Strangely the first pamphlet gives the date of this first concert as Thursday, the 17th December, 1872 but they both agree that the Messiah was performed on the 25th of April, 1873. Early History of Music in Brisbane, a paper for the Royal Queensland Historical Society by C. G. Austin from 1961 provides more information about this performance.

The ever-green “Messiah” is now performed regularly in Brisbane, but it was only due to Mr. Jefferies’ energy in assembling an orchestra that the first performance of Handel’s “Messiah” in Brisbane came to be given on 25 April 1873. Mrs. Wilkie sang the soprano solos, and Miss Muriel Smith the contralto solos, and the tenor and bass solos were taken by two “gentlemen amateurs.”

The Brisbane Courier published a review of the concert the next day.

IT was certainly a rather ambitious undertaking to give the full oratorio of “The Messiah” in Brisbane. Even in London, the metropolis of the world, or in the large provincial towns of the United Kingdom, several of which contain more people than we have in a territory more than ten times as great as England, such an attempt has not always escaped adverse criticism. But, taking everything into consideration, the delivery of the oratorio last night was something far beyond what might reasonably have been expected. We try to avoid the fault of indiscriminate praise of all public performances which is a general failing of colonial journalists, but on this occasion we merely echo the opinion of all who were present when we say that the manner in which the oratorio was put before the public, last night, proves that there is an amount of musical talent in Brisbane that would be considered to reflect credit on a city containing a much larger number of inhabitants. It has also given evidence of the great care that has been taken by the conductor, Mr Jefferies, in training the vocal and instrumental performers. …

The concert yesterday evening was attended by a crowded audience. Early in the afternoon it was declared that no more seats could be reserved. The chorus consisted of more than a hundred ladies and gentlemen, and there were between twenty and thirty instrumental performers. The programme was so lengthy– very little being omitted from the original score of the oratorio–that we cannot attempt even to enumerate the pieces. Generally speaking, it may be said that the solemn and sublime magnificence of the music was well interpreted by the instrumental performers, and by the chorus. …

Altogether the Musical Union may be congratulated on the success which has attended their production of so extensive, varied, and difficult a work as the “ Messiah.” It certainly ought to be repeated, although we have seen no announcement to that effect. It is stated that Mr. Jefferies is making preparations for enabling the public to enjoy another great oratorio-” Elijah.” The energy, patience, and tact he has displayed in getting together and keeping together so many talented musical amateurs is very creditable to him. And it is likewise creditable to Brisbane that so many amateurs can be found, amongst a comparatively small population, who are willing to give up a great deal of their time to the practice of music for the purpose of giving pleasure to the public as well as to themselves.

North Brisbane School of Arts Building, ca. 1877

The Brisbane Music Union went from strength to strength until in 1930 it was combined with the Brisbane Austral Choir to form the Queensland State and Municipal Choir. It was this new version of the choir that sang the first Messiah to be performed at the brand new Brisbane City Hall, as eagerly anticipated in the Brisbane Courier.

Handel’s “Messiah,” which is eagerly looked for, by very many music lovers, will be performed for the first time in the City Concert Hall, on Saturday, November 22, when the Queensland State and Municipal Choir (incorporating the Brisbane Musical Union) will give the third concert for the 1930 season. The solo work has been entrusted to Miss Myrtle Power (soprano), Miss Lena Hammond (contralto), Mr. W. W. Crisp (tenor), and Mr. J. E. England (bass). A particularly large choir of over 200 voices will be assisted by the Queensland State and Municipal Orchestra, and both bodies will be under the baton of Mr. George Sampson, F.R.C.O.

Interior view of the Brisbane City Hall, April 1930

George Sampson arrived in Brisbane in 1898 as organist of St John’s Cathedral, a post he occupied until 1947. Sampson formed his own orchestra in 1907 which became the Queensland State and Municipal Orchestra in 1924 and ultimately formed the basis of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Sampson also took over the conducting of the Brisbane Musical Union in 1898 and led the choir until the merger in 1930. The Australian Dictionary of Biography has this description of Sampson.

Tall, of distinguished appearance and gentlemanly demeanour, to this day the only professional musician to have belonged to the Queensland Club, Sampson dominated Brisbane’s musical life for three decades. He died in Brisbane General Hospital on 23 December 1949 after being knocked over by a tram.

Caricature of George Sampson

Mr England, the bass soloist, was another prominent musician of the time. You can read more about him in a previous blog post.

The choir, in its latest incarnation as The Queensland Choir, will sing in the first performance of the Messiah in the newly refurbished Brisbane City Hall on the 23rd of November. The Queensland Choir’s website has been archived in Pandora.

Simon Miller – Library Technician, State Library of Queensland

Tall and proud – Brisbane City Hall Clock Tower

Posted on 04 Apr 2013| by Maxine Fisher |

“If one would see the real beauty of Brisbane; if one would escape the tyranny of hard footpaths and noisy streets; if one would find seclusion in the very heart of the city, it is to be found at the top of the tower of the new City Hall.”

Some 83 years ago, for the opening of Brisbane’s then new City Hall, The Telegraph newspaper (April 8, 1930) used these words to describe what has become one of Brisbane’s most treasured icons, the City Hall clock tower.

Certainly one of City Hall’s most ‘striking’ features (pardon the pun) the clock tower stands 92 meters (about 300 feet) above ground level, and when constructed was declared the highest in the Commonwealth. Indeed for many years, it was the tallest structure in Brisbane.

Tower on Brisbane City Hall's almost complete, ca. 1930

Over the decades, many have enjoyed the ride up the clock tower – as did I on my first visit to City Hall in 1990. The ride up the tower was in the heritage elevator, whose open-cage sides allowed a fascinating internal view as we passed right by the four clock dials on the way to the viewing platform. Here’s one image of the view from the tower lookout back then:

View along Ann St from Brisbane City Hall tower, July 1990

A little digging around recently led me to find some interesting facts and other snippets of information about the clock and the tower:

When City Hall opened in 1930, the tower had a red glowing sphere on its apex – visible for miles it was intended as an aviation beacon
The clock was designed and built by the Brisbane Jackson family firm Synchronome Electrical Company
At that time, the electric automatic clock – which did not require winding – was the most modern in Australia, and also the largest
Each clock face is almost 5 meters in diameter; the minute hands are 3 meters long
Hail from a fierce storm in December 1946 smashed the clock face on the Adelaide St side

In the 1930’s though, not everyone’s experience of the clock tower was a pleasant one:

In late 1930, nearby hotel keepers argued that the quarter-hourly chiming of the new clock after dark was disturbing guests, was bad for business and that the “…the pealing of the chimes from the clock tower constitutes annoying noises in the night”
In 1935, a woman suffered a “terrible ordeal” while visiting the tower. She reportedly climbed over railings 4 feet high to retrieve her bag which had dropped from the viewing platform, but then found she couldn’t climb back. When she was seen clinging to the outside of the railing, a constable was sent to her assistance

Although since dwarfed by progress, the clock tower has remained a familiar symbol of Brisbane, a popular attraction for tourists, and it’s chimes melodiously punctuate the din of the city’s daily routine. Brisbane is indeed fortunate to have retained this treasured icon for future generations. Once City Hall re-opens, the clock tower rides will resume and be available for those who feel like an escape from the “…tyranny of hard footpaths and noisy streets…”

For more information about the history of City Hall and the clock tower, John Oxley Library resources include publications, original materials, newspaper clippings, and images.

Maxine Fisher – Digital Content Coordinator, State Library of Queensland

A Scotsman an Irishman and a Tasmanian set up shop

Posted on 26 Mar 2013| by Simon Miller |

It might sound like an old joke but this is really the story of a shopping revolution and how it played out in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley. By the 1890s, three men, James McWhirter (the Scotsman), Thomas Charles Beirne (the Irishman) and William James Overell (the Tasmanian), had all established their own drapers shops in Fortitude Valley. Over the next few decades they would transform these humble shops into modern department stores and make the Valley a shopping destination rivaling the Brisbane City centre.

William James Overell was the grandson of another William James Overell (1790-1866) who arrived in Hobart Town in 1821 as a free settler. At the age of 23 young William decided to pursue his fortune in the warmer climate of Queensland, travelling with some of his brothers and sisters in the Florence Irving and arriving in Brisbane in 1877. In 1883, after working for another company for a few years he established a business in partnership with Mr. T. White in Fortitude Valley. A few years later, a branch was opened in Queen Street, managed by William’s brother Joseph. The great flood of 1893 inundated the Queen Street store to a height of 11 feet and destroyed all of the stock. The city store was then sold to Joseph Overell.

Overell's Drapery Shop in Fortitude Valley, ca. 1900

William bought out his partner and purchased a block of land with frontage on Brunswick and Wickham Streets, although he was never able to buy the block on the corner which was occupied by the Bank of New South Wales. William Overell, trading as W.J. Overell & Sons, built a fine new shop on the land but in 1904 disaster struck again when the shop and all the stock was destroyed by fire, the complete destruction taking less than an hour. William Overell was not daunted by this loss and rebuilt the store, even adopting the phoenix as his new trademark to symbolize the business rising from the ashes. The new shop replaced the earlier gas lighting with electricity generated on the premises, the power also being used to drive two passenger lifts and a goods lift. Overell’s company also had branches in Charleville and Laidley and the Charleville branch had also been destroyed by fire and rebuilt. Another branch in Childers was also burned out.

Fire-damaged Overell's Department Store in Fortitude Valley, 1904

The library holds a family history publication Overell connections 1821-1987 which includes copies of many documents relating to William J. Overell, the business, and the Overell family. An article copied from the Methodist Leader of Christmas 1908 describes the setup of Overell’s new store.

The Wickham Street building is entirely devoted to men’s and boy’s clothing, shirts, hats, travelling goods, and men’s boots. On Brunswick Street ground floor is found manchester, dresses, ribbons, laces, gloves, hosiery and fancy goods departments. In the basement the ladies’ boot department occupies a large portion ; also furnishing department, where are to be found the finest assortment of floor coverings in Brisbane. Wickham Street basement is used for bedsteads, bedding, and heavy goods.

The kiosk is an ideal Turkish Open Summer House, supported by pillars, where ladies are supplied with tea and light refreshments without charge. All are welcome to morning, mid-day, and afternoon tea. Adjoining Kiosk is a grass lawn, with comfortable seats, where gentlemen are supplied with coffee, where they can rest and enjoy a smoke while their lady friends are shopping.

Thomas Charles Beirne was born in the village of Ballymacurley in Ireland in 1860 to a family of small farmers. The library holds his autobiography The Life story of Thomas Charles Beirne published in 1947. Thomas was apprenticed to a draper at the age of 14 and worked at various companies before making up his mind to go to Australia. He arrived in Melbourne in 1884 and took work as a junior salesman for Eyre & Sheppard and then worked for Foy & Gibson’s, then the biggest store in Melbourne. In 1885 he recieved an invitation from a former employer from Ireland, Mr Pigott, who wanted Beirne to join him as a partner in a new business in Brisbane. After a setback when Pigott’s proposed premises were no longer available, the firm of Pigott and Beirne opened in Stanley Street in 1889.

Thomas Charles Beirne, aged 24 years

The company of Pigott and Beirne also suffered an early disaster as the whole block containing their shop caught fire in January 1889. They started again and after 18 months Pigott bought out Beirne’s share of the partnership and he had to start again on his own. Thomas rented a small shop in a block owned by the Church of England and after a few months rented a second shop in the block and then a third. He wanted the owners to make alterations so the shops could be joined together but instead the Church treasurer offered to let him buy the whole block for £8000. In 1894 Thomas Beirne employed a new manager who would become a partner in the firm for a limited term. This was James McWhirter and Beirne became so confident of McWhirter’s management that he felt able to make a trip to London to set up a buying office. In 1898 McWhirter left the partnership and set up his own shop on the other side of the street. This was the beginning of an intense rivalry between the two companies, yet the McWhirter and Beirne families remained good friends.

Beirne's department store in Fortitude Valley. State Library of Queensland. Image number: APA-004-0001-0009

Beirne's department store in Fortitude Valley, ca. 1919

Thomas C. Beirne was not just a successful businessman, becoming one of the first millionaires in Australia, but also took on other responsibilities in public life. He was a member of Queensland’s Legislative Council from 1905 until the upper house was abolished in 1917. He served on several boards including the Brisbane Gas Co. and the AMP Society. From 1927 until 1940 he was Warden of the University of Queensland and donated £20,000 to establish a School of Law which was named after him.

Thomas Charles Beirne 1936. State Library of Queensland. Negative number: 194210

Thomas Charles Beirne 1936 by Noel Cournihan

When James McWhirter joined T.C. Beirne’s company it was on his second venture into business in Brisbane, having first arrived in 1880. He worked for D.L. Brown & Co. before setting up his own successful drapery business but then sold up and returned to Scotland. After ending his partnership with Beirne, McWhirter launched his own small business in Brunswick Street, employing around 30 people.

McWhirter & Son Drapery warehouse in Brunswick Street. State Library of Queensland. Negative number: 177780

McWhirter & Son Drapery warehouse in Brunswick Street, 1900

McWhirter's department store in Fortitude Valley, 1913

McWhirter soon expanded his business, buying adjoining properties and then in 1912 building a new five story building with all modern conveniences. All three of these companies developed thriving mail order businesses which were very profitable and also provided a valuable service to far flung parts of Queensland. McWhirter’s offered free shipping on drapery orders. The Library holds catalogues from McWhirter and Beirne as well as McWhirter’s shopping guides from the 1920s.

McWhirters shopping guide 1922

The competition between the three department stores led them to adopt all the latest trends in department store shopping, ensuring that ‘The Valley’ would be one of Brisbane’s prime shopping locations for many decades.

Phone orders section in T. C. Beirne's deparment store, 1952

Customers using the escalators at McWhirters store Brisbane 1950

The iconic art deco facade of McWhirter’s last big expansion was constructed in 1932 to a design by Hall & Phillips, who also designed Brisbane City Hall. By the 1970s all three department stores had been taken over by big southern companies. McWhirters was run by Myers, Beirnes became David Jones and Overell’s store was run by Waltons and by the end of the 1980s the rise of the big suburban shopping malls had led to the inevitable decline of Fortitude Valley as a major shopping hub. McWhirter’s heritage listed building was refitted as McWhirters Markets and the Beirnes building has also been refurbished and re-purposed, now just called TCB.

Facade of McWhirters' department store in Fortitude Valley. State Library of Queensland. Image number: 6668-0001-0012

Facade of McWhirters' department store in Fortitude Valley, ca. 1960

Simon Miller – Library Technician, State Library of Queensland

New Accessions: Foot Fashions Ledgers (1937-1957)

Posted on 18 Mar 2013| by Veronika Farley |

This accession contains nine business ledgers with accounts of Foot Fashions.

Foot Fashions, situated at 141 Queen Street (in the T&G Insurance building) sold women’s shoes. The store was a few doors away from Mathers Shoe Store, owned by Bill Mathers. This was the first in the Mathers chain, later created by Bill’s son Bob Mathers. Bill Mathers and Ernest Noad were business rivals, but also very good friends.

Pedestrians crossing the intersection of Albert and Queen Streets, in front of the T & G Building

Foot Fashions had a display window on Queen Street, well positioned near the safety zone where commuters waited for trams heading south. Inside the store were two benches, placed back to back, for customers to try shoes, and shelves of show boxes from floor to ceiling. Staff used ladders to take down the stock at the top of the walls. Two large pedestal fans blew all day in the heat of summer to keep the temperature comfortable for staff and customers. Foot Fashions employed two female staff, often unmarried women.

At the back of the store was a small office where Ernest Noad managed staff, met trade representatives, ordered stock, kept the accounts, organised staff pay and banking. The business was open five days a week from 8:30 am to 4.40 pm and on Saturday mornings from 8.30 to 11.30. The store had no cash register, but a cash drawer which had a number of levers under it. A certain combination of levers had to be pulled with the fingers, each by exactly the right amount for that lever, for the drawer to open. All receipts were handwritten and purchases were wrapped in brown paper and tied with string. All shoe boxes were marked with the cost price in a secret code, as well as the retail price in the currency of the day–pounds, shillings and pence. At one time the store acquired an X-ray machine, so that customers could see if a pair of shoes was fitting correctly. This did not last long as the X-ray dosage could not be controlled.

The busiest times of the day were over lunch hours and after 3.30 pm, after school. On the basis of his conversations with customers, Ernest Noad designed shoes he thought would sell, and had shoes made to measure for difficult feet. These were manufactured for him at Fulcher’s Boot and Shoe Factory on the corner of Wellington Rd and Nile St in Woolloongabba. A descendant of the Fulcher family now has a shoe shop in the Westfield Shopping Centre at Chermside.

The Noad family often used their store as a base. From the offices higher in the building they would watch parades in Queen Street, including the parades at the end of Word War Two. On Saturday mornings the children would go to the city to take music lessons, go skating at the Blue Moon rink across the Victoria Bridge and, when they were teenagers, take dancing lessons in the O’Connor Boat House on the river bank.

Foot Fashions closed when Ernest Noad retired in 1957.

Veronika Farley – Librarian/Archivist, Queensland Memory

Recreating the Brisbane Band of 1857

Posted on 12 Mar 2013| by Simon Miller |

BRISBANE BAND.

THE public are respectfully informed that the arrangements for giving regular performances have now been completed, and that the FIRST PERFORMANCE OF THE BRISBANE BAND will take place in the Botanic Gardens, on MONDAY AFTERNOON, at four o’clock, and terminate at six. The second performance will take place on SATURDAY AFTERNOON, at the same hour. The performances will be repeated every MONDAY and SATURDAY, from 4 to 6 o’clock.

In announcing their programme they hope to have the attendance of all who can make it convenient to attend.

The Instruments consist of a Clarinet, Cornet, Sextuba and Trombone.

PROGRAMME:

1. Grand March-Annie Laurie .. BOSSINI.

2. Aria from Romeo and Juliet…. BELLINI.

3. Carlslust Polka…. KESSLER.

4. Cavitina from Anna Pollena …. DONIZETTIE.

5. Faust Waltz…. D’ALBERT.

6. Cavitina from Attilla….VERDY.

7. Como Quadrille…. D’ALBERT.

8 Cavitina from Robert Diavolo .. MEYERBEER.

9. Victory Galop…..TINNY.

10. French and English Alliance National Air….H. RUSSEL.

11. God Save the Queen.

ADMISSION FREE.

ANDREW SEAL.

AUGUSTE SEAL.

F. CRAMER.

G. CRAMER.

September 19, 1857.

South Brisbane in the 1860's, with part of Botanic Gardens in foreground

To coincide with the opening of the State Library’s exhibition Live! Queensland band culture we were inspired to attempt to recreate this concert advertised in the Moreton Bay Courier in 1857. Before embarking on a library career, I was a musician in the Australian Army, and continue to play in bands and orchestras around Brisbane. I was approached to arrange the music for the concert and have taken on the project with great enthusiasm.

This concert was the first in a series organised by Mr. R.R. Mackenzie (later Sir Robert Mackenzie, first Colonial Treasurer of Queensland and later Premier). He had found a group of German professional musicians working in Sydney. Andrew Seal (born Andreas Siegel) and his older brother Auguste were born in Wiesbaden, the sons of a prominent bandmaster, who evidently trained them well. At the age of 14 Andrew Seal went to London where he obtained work in the orchestra of the Princess Theatre. Here he caught the attention of the great tragic actor G.V. Brooke who was planning a tour of Australia. Brooke persuaded Andrew Seal to accompany him along with his brother and the four Cramer brothers, also German musicians.

Robert Ramsay MacKenzie

Mackenzie engaged the Seal brothers and two of the Cramers to come to Brisbane for a series of concerts to be paid for by subscription. After the early success of the concerts Mackenzie induced the musicians to stay in Queensland and found work for them. Frederick (or Ferdinand) Cramer, the clarinet player, moved to Ipswich and took up work on the railways. He married and had nine children, as well as conducting the Ipswich Volunteer Band.

His brother Ernest was evidently a fine flute player, but all these musicians were versatile and played a number of instruments. Ernest seems to have eventually returned to Sydney. A notice in the Sydney Morning Herald of January 1913 gives us some information about him.

Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Cramer, of Park road, Camperdown, celebrate their golden wedding to-day. Mr. Cramer was formerly a bands-man aboard the London, during the Crimean War. He took part in the bombardment of Sevastopol, and met Florence Nightingale at Scutari.

Auguste Seal was the older Seal brother but deferred to his younger sibling’s leadership in the band. Auguste often played the double bass in orchestras around Brisbane when he wasn’t playing the trombone with his brother. He is described in one account as a very timid man although there is a court report from 1858 in which both the Seal brothers “were admonished and discharged for using threatening language.”

Andrew Seal was the leader of the group, played the cornet, and also arranged all of the music. He too was a versatile musician, playing violin and viola as well as the cornet and other brass instruments. He became a prominent figure in Brisbane’s musical scene, opening a music shop in Queen Street, teaching extensively, and forming and conducting bands, both military and civilian. Professor Seal, as he became universally known, could justifiably be called the father of band music in Queensland as described in his obituary in 1904.

Of Mr Seal it might have been truly said that he was the father of Queensland brass bands, for most of the local bandsmen have either received some of their training at his hands, or from pupils whom he has tutored. … A man of much talent and activity, the late bandmaster found time, besides performing his duties as conductor, to compose several pieces of music. He was of a generous nature, and he has been a favourite with those with whom he has been associated during his forty-five years in Queensland.

His funeral, described in the Brisbane Courier, was very well attended with many “prominent musicians of the city” being present. The funeral procession “was headed by the Police Band playing the” Dead March” in ” Saul.” During the procession to the Toowong Cemetery a massed band of musicians from the various civil and military bands played Beethoven’s ” Funeral March.”

Professor Seal 1890s. Royal Queensland Historical Society.

Professor Seal in the 1890s.

In reproducing the concert the first puzzle to be solved was in the instrumentation. The clarinet, cornet and trombone are clear enough and those instruments remain little changed since the mid-19^th century. The ‘sextuba’ was a mystery that was only partially resolved by realising that the name had been misspelled and should have been ‘saxtuba’.

The saxtubas were a whole family of instruments invented by that most creative instrument maker Adolf Sax. Sax was a Belgian instrument maker, living in Paris, whose inventive brain came up with the saxophone and the saxhorns, which in a more modern form make up the bulk of brass bands. Both of these instruments were made in families of seven or eight different sized instruments ranging from sopranino to contrabass. This was also the case with the saxtubas, an experimental design that never really took off.

Their design was based on the shape of ancient Roman instruments, the cornu and tuba. They had a curving shape with bells facing forwards over the players shoulder. Although Sax first came up with the design for the instruments in 1845 he doesn’t seem to have built any until 1852 when they first appeared in an opera ‘The Wandering Jew’ by Fromental Halevy. The opera was not a success and when it disappeared it seams that the saxtubas largely vanished as well. It is a mystery how an obscure instrument, first made only five years earlier for an opera in Paris, turned up in the hands of a German musician in Brisbane in 1857.

Saxtuba in E-flat

One practical difficulty for us is that there are only a very few saxtubas left in the world hidden away in various museums. Another difficulty is that there is no indication of which of the family of instruments, that were made in at least eight different sizes, was the one employed. My solution was to substitute an instrument that is known in England as the tenor horn and in Europe and America as the alto horn or Althorn. This is a member of the saxhorn family and its range, between that of the cornet and trombone, would balance the ensemble and match the position that it is listed in the advertisement. This also had the advantage that I could play the tenor horn part myself.

Having settled the instrumentation it was then necessary to find the music from the original program. We are fortunate that the Royal Queensland Historical Society is in possession of original part books hand written by Professor Seal for a larger ensemble of eight instruments dating from only a few years after this first concert and including the four operatic selections from the original concert. I was able to transcribe the parts into a full score in a music notation program and then, based on the score, arrange the music for the smaller group.

Professor Seal's part books

This left a variety of marches and dances to be located. The Faust waltz was discovered in a version for piano and the Como Quadrille was eventually found at the National Library in a version for cornet and piano. The Grand March Annie Laurie by ‘Bossini’ we were not able to find, but we did come across another Annie Laurie March for piano of the same period which I have arranged for the concert. The Victory Galop of Tinny was not found but I did discover a copy of the Overland Mail Galop by Charles D’Albert which featured in the second concert program of the Band performed on September 26^th 1857 which serves as a reasonable substitute. The Carlslust Polka by Kessler has proved elusive and I have substituted the Clarinet Polka which, although probably not composed as early as 1857, is a great favourite of German bands everywhere. God Save the Queen was not difficult to find but the French and English Alliance National Air is one that we have been able to discover nothing about.

Brass band outside the conservatory in the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Queensland, ca. 1885

This photograph is one of the earliest we have of a band in Brisbane. The burly cornet player on the left, holding a conductor’s baton is certainly not Professor Seal who was a very small, dapper gentleman. Could the clarinet player, 3rd from the left be Frederick Cramer, who was described at the time of the first band concert as a muscular chap around six feet tall? What of those curling instruments on the right? Are they various sizes of saxtuba? There were a number of bands active in the 1880s including Professor Seal’s Young Australia Band, which gave performances in the Botanic Gardens, but we don’t know if this photo depicts them or another band.

Musicians of the recreated Brisbane Band 2013

The Brisbane Band 1857 recreation concert Brass on the Grass will take place at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens on Sunday 28th of April 2013 at 3:00 pm. The Brisbane Band 1857 performance will be followed by the Brisbane City Big Band which is a subgroup of the Brisbane City Concert Band, the oldest continuously established band in Brisbane. There will also be a preview concert as part of the State Library’s Tea and Music series on Tuesday 19th of March at 10:30 am at the State Library. This concert will feature music from the first concert together with information and anecdotes.

Simon Miller – Library Technician, State Library of Queensland