We historians get very busy when centenaries come around. I found that out back in 2003 when the Boggo Road Gaol Historical Society organised the Centenary Open Day tomark the opening of Boggo Road’s No.2 Division back in 1903 (when of course it was known as the Prison for Women). These days there is always some kind of anniversary going on, be it the 50th, 80th, 135th, whatever, it seems that any old round-ish or quartile number will do for a commemoration.
Truth be told, I’m not a fan of all these ‘110th’ or ‘65th’ anniversaries we see being bandied around all the time now. It makes the actual numerically-significant commemorations so much less special, and half the time it’s just impatient people trying to milk a bit of publicity out of nothing.
2013 brings us two actual centenaries, with 1913 seeing the end of one thing and the beginning of another. These were the last hanging to take place in Queensland, and the founding of the State’s premier historical organisation, the Royal Historical Society of Queensland, and as it happens I have a finger in both these pies.
It was the morning of Monday 22 September 1913 when convicted murderer Ernest Austin was ‘launched into eternity’ on the Boggo Road gallows. Nobody there could have guessed that this was to be the last time they would be required to go through the ritual of judicial execution. Plenty more men were sentenced to death over the following nine years but they all had their sentences commutated. In 1922 Queensland became the first part of the British Empire to abolish capital punishment and Austin took his place in history. He was the 94th person to be hanged in Queensland and despite the horror of his crime (the brutal murder of 11-year-old Ivy Mitchell near Samford) he was by no means the worst or the most interesting of those who were executed here. Nonetheless, being the ‘last man hanged’ brings with it a certain kind of infamy and Austin’s name is invariably evoked in shortlists of famous prisoners. His name will no doubt be heard a lot more as the centenary of his death approaches, and while I'll be doing my bit in all that I think that reflection upon where we stood with capital punishment in 1913 is of more historical significance than revisiting the gory details of the demise of Austin and his victim.
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This brings us to the other centenary, which is one that ties in neatly with the last hanging. On Sunday 2 June the RHSQ will be hosting a Centenary Open Day at their Commissariat Store home on William Street in the city, with special exhibitions, classic cars, a sausage sizzle, and a series of public talks, one of which will be given by the Boggo Road Gaol Historical Society. We will also be on hand to chat with visitors about the Boggo Road hanging beam they have on display there. This beam is still housed in the case that BRGHS members made for it when I curated the ‘Gallows of Boggo Road’ exhibition at Boggo Road itself back in 2005.
I have also been invited to present a paper at the RHSQ Centenary Seminar, and the subject matter will of course relate to the 1913 hanging.
So what else is happening? Well, later this year the Supreme Court of Queensland will be hosting a new exhibition in the Sir Harry Gibbs Legal Heritage Centre to mark the centenary of the last hanging. I am doing ongoing consultation work with them on this project, including writing an article for the exhibition catalogue, and can tell you (without spoilers) that they have some brilliant stuff up their sleeve over there.
In addition to all that I’m also looking to complete a new e-book this year on the complete history of hanging in Queensland. This has been an on-off project of mine for several years now. The BRGHS are also working on a few ideas for other 1913 centenary projects that are yet to be announced. Then we can drop the whole subject for a while, at least until 2022 brings the centenary of abolition.
So, yes, centenaries are a great opportunity for historians to get some much-needed work as we attempt to convince the public that this-or-that is interesting and important, and it’s especially good to work around genuinely-significant dates.
Truth be told, I’m not a fan of all these ‘110th’ or ‘65th’ anniversaries we see being bandied around all the time now. It makes the actual numerically-significant commemorations so much less special, and half the time it’s just impatient people trying to milk a bit of publicity out of nothing.
2013 brings us two actual centenaries, with 1913 seeing the end of one thing and the beginning of another. These were the last hanging to take place in Queensland, and the founding of the State’s premier historical organisation, the Royal Historical Society of Queensland, and as it happens I have a finger in both these pies.
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| Ernest Austin (Qld State Archives) |
This brings us to the other centenary, which is one that ties in neatly with the last hanging. On Sunday 2 June the RHSQ will be hosting a Centenary Open Day at their Commissariat Store home on William Street in the city, with special exhibitions, classic cars, a sausage sizzle, and a series of public talks, one of which will be given by the Boggo Road Gaol Historical Society. We will also be on hand to chat with visitors about the Boggo Road hanging beam they have on display there. This beam is still housed in the case that BRGHS members made for it when I curated the ‘Gallows of Boggo Road’ exhibition at Boggo Road itself back in 2005.  |
| (Courier-Mail, July 2005) |
So what else is happening? Well, later this year the Supreme Court of Queensland will be hosting a new exhibition in the Sir Harry Gibbs Legal Heritage Centre to mark the centenary of the last hanging. I am doing ongoing consultation work with them on this project, including writing an article for the exhibition catalogue, and can tell you (without spoilers) that they have some brilliant stuff up their sleeve over there.
 |
| Sir Harry Gibbs Legal Centre (SCQ) |
In addition to all that I’m also looking to complete a new e-book this year on the complete history of hanging in Queensland. This has been an on-off project of mine for several years now. The BRGHS are also working on a few ideas for other 1913 centenary projects that are yet to be announced. Then we can drop the whole subject for a while, at least until 2022 brings the centenary of abolition.
So, yes, centenaries are a great opportunity for historians to get some much-needed work as we attempt to convince the public that this-or-that is interesting and important, and it’s especially good to work around genuinely-significant dates.