Floods surround the National Bank of Queensland, Goondiwindi, 1921. John Oxley Library

2 From the editor

3 Have we learnt anything?

7 The pauperising of 20th Century Aboriginal Queenslanders10 Victoria Bridge is falling down…

12 Rockhampton’s Florence Nightingale

15 The future of self-researched history is bright

17 Aquatic adventures in the Antipodes

EVER

Y ISS

UEContents

FEATURES

Flood in Birdsville, 1940. National Library of Australia

22 News

25 Forgotten towns

27 School celebration

29 Profiling

30 Book reviews

32 Test your knowledge

History QueenslandPublished by Boolarong PressABN 60 009 754 929PO Box 308Moorooka Qld 4105Tel: (07) 3373 7855 Fax: (07) 3373 8611Email: editor@historyqld.com.auWebsite: www.historyqld.com.au

� e publication of any editorial does not constitute an endorsement of the views or opinions expressed. � e publisher takes no responsibility for any statements made by its advertisers or contributors or decisions made by readers as a result of these opinions.

EDITORIALHistory Queenland welcomes your input. Please send contributions, comments, stories, news and events, photographs, etc. to:editor@historyqld.com.au

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From the editorWelcome to the new year. 2013 promises to be another great year for discovery and with your support we look forward to bringing you more fascinating articles about our State’s rich history.

This edition we focus on Queensland’s flood history. Media outlets seem to nowadays be reporting one in a hundred year floods on a regular basis. Is this a sign of climate change, a statistical anomaly or just media hype? Whatever your view, floods cause a great deal of damage to our community, so we investigate how Queensland has responded to such tragedies.

It’s wonderful to notice that history is no longer just a nostalgic trip for a small few, but is growing into a fully fledged industry. It’s now commonplace for individuals to delve into their family’s past, memoirs are being recorded for future generations, and institutions such as Ipswich Grammar School are recording their own stories to share. The story of its 150-year history is a great read.

As always we’ve received many contributions from readers. To all those who have provided stories, I thank you. I do believe it helps bring our local history community together, and I encourage anyone who wishes to become involved to contact us.

Don’t forget that subscriptions to History Queensland are available, and make the perfect birthday gift for the history buff in your family.

Until next time,

Dan Kelly

Cover image: The curator’s house in the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, severely damaged by the 1893 Brisbane River flood. State Library of Queensland

3History Queensland

Looking north along Charlotte Street from the corner of George Street during the flood of 19-22 March 1864, Brisbane. This area was known then as ‘Frog’s Hollow’. State Library of Queensland | Brisbane city during the 1974 flood. John Oxley Library

While not Queensland’s first recorded flood, the Great

Flood of 1893 did enormous damage to the fledgling colony. Although no official figures exist, it is thought that the total damage was worth around $4  million (1893 figures). The flooding was responsible for around 35  deaths and forced the hospitalisation of 190 residents.

In the period now known as Black February, three major floods struck Brisbane caused by three separate cyclonic events. � e damage was exacerbated when a fourth � ood hit later that year in June.

I n early February, the first flood struck as a the result of tropical cyclone Buninyong. Having been noti� ed by landowner Henry Somerset that the Stanley River was flooded, the people of Brisbane dutifully ignored his warnings.

Shortly afterwards a second cyclone struck on 11  February, causing relatively minor flooding compared to the first flood, and another on 19  February, which was almost as devastating as the � rst, leaving up to one-third of Brisbane’s residents homeless.

Have we learnt anything?

It’s been another year of flooding across Queensland, causing fatalities and millions of dollars worth of damage to the State’s economy. Looking back at the fl oods, what have we done to mitigate future disasters?

7History Queensland

Aboriginal rock art. Carnavon Gorge, Queensland. Photo: Don Hitchcock

The Pauperising

of 20th Century

Aboriginal

Queenslanders

The cur ren t s i tua t ion o f our Indigenous communities may suggest that Aboriginal Queenslanders are incapable of financially organising themselves. However, after the traumatic killing-times and land-grab of the 19th  century,1 and the passing of the 1897 Aboriginal Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act, and the progressive restrictive controls that followed in the 20th  century, it is possible to understand how Aboriginal independence of thought and action has been suffocated until relatively recently.

It was the design and action of the State Government (both Labor and conservative), under the auspices of the Aboriginals Department, that implemented the con t ro l o f Ind igenous Queenslanders. Local whites had little or no say in government policy, although they could have Aboriginal people removed by complaining to the police. A gold miner on Cape York in the 1930s,

1 See T Bottoms, Conspiracy of Silence – Queensland’s Frontier Killing-Times, Allen and Unwin, St. Leonards, 2013, in-print.

10 History Queensland

First permanent Victoria Bridge, Brisbane, ca. 1874. The first wooden structure on brick footings on the river-bank (at the bottom of the picture) and the newly completed first permanent Victoria Bridge, which was washed away in the 1893 floods. This bridge was opened in 1874. The view is looking from the south-eastern side of the river. Trove Australia

Washed away Victoria Bridge during 1893 floods. Queensland State Library

First permanent Victoria Bridge, Brisbane, ca. First permanent Victoria Bridge, Brisbane, ca. 1874. The first wooden structure on brick footings on the river-bank (at the bottom of the picture) and the newly completed first permanent Victoria Bridge, which was washed away in the 1893 floods. This bridge was opened in 1874. The view is looking from the south-eastern side of the river. Trove Australia

Can you pick a time when money arguments between State and local governments, excessive � ood damage and a bank’s collapse affected one of Brisbane’s major infrastructure projects?

If you’re thinking of modern times, then think again.

For the iconic Victoria Bridge witnessed them all during the late 1800s, a period that saw its inception delayed by bureaucracy, banks and natural disasters.

Prior to the bridge’s construction, Brisbane was dependent on ferries for travell ing between north Brisbane and the settlements.

To improve communications, a design contest was held, with Messrs Robinson and I’Anson chosen to build a large iron bridge connecting Melbourne Street to Queen Street.

But while the decis ion to construct the bridge was made in 1861, work didn’t begin until 1864 due to a dispute between the newly formed Legislative

Assembly government and the local council over who would pay the £70,000 costs. Eventually the local council borrowed the money from the Bank of Queensland and construction was allowed to commence.

The bridge, known as the Brisbane Bridge, was � nally opened in June 1865, albeit as a cheaper wooden bridge than was originally designed. This structure was planned to be temporary, replaced

by a more e l abora te ly designed, iron lattice-girder bridge when funds became available in the future.

But with the Bank of Queensland’s failure in July 1866 any further work was brought to a halt.

Victoria Bridge is falling downfalling down

falling down

16 History Queensland

� ndmypast’s General Manager, Vicki Dawson, was very pleased with the new additions, commenting: “This is just the start of many new and exciting developments in the future for � ndmypast.com.au. We are committed to continually adding new records to the site. It’s all about enhancing the experience for

our members and making the family history search even more rewarding.”

These Australian records a re jus t a p a r t o f ‘t h e n e w W o r l d Subscription’, which i s a w o r l d w i d e database of over 1.5 billion records, including exhaustive records from other countr ies . There is also a Brit ish c o l l e c t i o n t h a t inc ludes records ranging from 1841 through to 1911, and i s coun t ed among the most c o m p r e h e n s i v e Internet compilation of birth, marriage and death records in England.

Meanwhi le the site’s Irish collection i s no l e s s we l l stocked, with prison registers 1790-1924, land eva luat ions 1 8 4 7 - 1 8 6 4 a n d many more. The US collection now conta ins a l l US census records 1790 to 1940, military records, valuable birth, death and

marriage records. and more..

As the collection of records to be searched, tracked and used on � ndmypast.com.au grows larger every day, the site continues to look for more content to add, especially in its Australian and New Zealand � elds. � e next project the site will be tackling is its British newspaper records, and plans are in place for it to be updated in the near future. � is will bring the total of � les in the section to over � ve million entries.

With websites such as � ndmypast.com.au around it is de� nitely a sign of the times that anyone, regardless of background, can delve into the past and see just how big a impact on history their ancestors had. It’s never been a better time to get interested in personal history.

Joshua Olsen

Images reproduced by the coutesy of The National Archives, London, England. Digitised by www.findmypast.co.uk

History Queensland 29History Queensland 2929

Denver BeanlandDenver Beanland’s passion for history has turned

him from being on the inside of State politics to the chronicler of one of our most misunderstood Premiers.

Spending the � rst decade of his political life in a number of local government positions such as Brisbane’s Deputy Mayor, in 1986 Beanland became the State member for Toowong (later Indooroopilly after redistribution).

Then after an illustrious career, which included a stint as Attorney-General, Beanland left politics in 2001, but maintained a connection to the community through various activities.

“I’ve been a member of literally hundreds of organisations,” he said. “I’m a current member and ex-President of The Royal Historical Society of Queensland, Chairman of Brisbane City Council’s Heritage Advisory Committee, and was a member of the Save City Hall 2010 Committee which established a vision for City Hall and a road map for its repair and upgrade.”

Beanland has also been busy with several literary endeavours.

“Since 2004 I have had a number of articles published in the Queensland History Journal and various Supreme Court of Queensland Library publications, and presented a range of papers at conferences, seminars and meetings,” he said.

“In mid-June 2009 the Governor-General

launched my book A Court Apart: The District Court of Queensland, a history of the District Court which was commissioned by the Supreme Court of Queensland Library for the Chief Judge of the District Court.”

Among all this Beanland also decided to pursue a long-held love of history.

“I’ve always been interested in history and was encouraged to develop that passion by a number of people like my mother-in-law and wife,” he said. “So I undertook an Arts degree in history at the University of Queensland.

“I was then encouraged by my university professors, Kate Saunders and Clive Moore, to do a PhD to deepen my knowledge.”

Beanland’s PhD thesis is a biography entitled � e Queensland Caesar: Sir � omas McIlwraith, an insight into the three-time Premier, a leading political � gure whose life has never been thoroughly investigated until now.

“� e reason for this is because McIlwraith is such an enigma,” said Beanland. “When I started working on the book, I understood that he was a conservative. But after six months of research I discovered how wrong I was.”

As a former politician himself, does Beanland see any similarities between McIlwraith’s and his own time in Queensland politics?

“McIlwraith was operating in a far different political environment. He took far greater risks than any modern politician would,” said Beanland. “It was these risks that has made McIlwratih a progressive leader, but also led to his downfall.”

Into the future Beanland’s passion will go on unabated, forever an enthusiastic supporter of Queensland historical studies.

“People say that our history is not interesting, but I think that is just not true. We have a lot to o� er that is just as historically interesting as English history, and there are still many pieces of history that deserves to be researched,” he said.

Profiling

30 History Queensland

Such is War, Diaries of a SignalmanCecil Anderson, Jeanie Cox, Joscelyn Lobegeiger

The Queensland CaesarSir Thomas McIlwraithDenver Beanland

Book reviews

Jeanie Cox and Joscelyn Lobegeiger have gone to extraordinary lengths to bring to life the wartime adventures of their father, Cecil Anderson.

A signalman for the Australian Army, Cecil’s diary details his time between 1941 and 1943 serving in the Middle East and North Africa, where he witnessed some of the most important battles of the World War II, and his eventual return home.

Signalmen were vital during the war. As it was their responsibility to pass on various communications between troops, they needed to relay information as accurately and quickly as possible, and often had access to highly sensitive materials.

Told with the candour and humour that Diggers were renowned for (“� e Commanders are in a conference at present so I suppose another retreat (strategy, of course) imminent”), Such is War is a moving tribute to the trials of every Aussie soldier.

� e diary is well-written, and vividly describes the

details of army l i f e . F r o m t h e m u n d a n e (marches, parades, l o n g d a y s o f boredom) to the ful l ferocity of battle, the diary tells a story rarely heard in history books, that of the ordinary soldier. Someone g iven orders rather than who gives, the man who feels the full brunt of a commander’s decisions.

Such is War is a personal insight into the mindset of an Australian solider mindful of his duty, yet ever thoughtful of his loved ones back home.Price $29.95

Sir Thomas McIlwrai th, thundered across Queensland’s political and business landscape for 30 years. � e three-times’ Premier took bold and audacious actions, and had the energy and motivation to drive not only the colony’s economic development, but his own business enterprises.

McIlwraith’s classical laissez-faire liberal philosophy permeated his business and political activities, in turn underpinning his continual advocacy for progress. As a great visionary and entrepreneur, he believed in Queensland’s enormous economic potential and strived to make Queensland the premier colony of Australia.

Yet historians have generally judged him harshly. They present him as a larger-than-life conservative entrepreneur who failed to separate his personal interests from those of the colony he served.

This view is challenged in Denver Beanland’s new book, The Queensland Caesar, an intricate study of McIlwraith’s life, revealing insights into his enormous vision, innovation and entrepreneurial approach that saw him risk his political and business life in a determination to ‘get things done’.

I t d e t a i l s M c I l w r a i t h ’ s progressive beliefs i n e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t , r e s p o n s i b l e g o v e r n m e n t , n a t i o n a l i s m , f e d e r a t i o n , republicanism and f o r e i g n p o l i c y. Issues that are as relevant today as they were in the colonial era.

� e book narrates the history of one of Queensland’s great political � gures, charting the trials and tribulations of arguably one of the most signi� cant Scotsmen to come to the Antipodes.

A must read for any Queenslander intrigued with our State’s colonial statesmen.Price $29.95

DGDavid is one of the most recognised names in Brisbane History circles. With 35+ years in the business of history he o� ers professional services.

• Heritage Tour Planner & Guide• Lecturer • Heritage Consultant

In 2013, David will be undertaking History-themed tours around Queensland, interstate and overseas. To request a free copy of his Talking History Newsletter, visit the website www.talkinghistorywithdavidgibson and follow the prompt on the Home page.

Bookings and further details on…

A schedule of Professional Fees is available upon request

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+61 7 3300 3172

David Gibson

History Queensland 31

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