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A Brisbane Suffragette in London
I recently published an article looking at the life of Constance Jane McAdam (1872-1951), an author who wrote as 'Constance Clyde' and who resided in Brisbane during the later years of her life. She...
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Remembering Old Queensland on Facebook
Just below this short article is a list of links to Facebook pages about the history of specific towns, cities and regions in Queensland. The kind of pages with the words ‘lost’ or ‘vintage’ or...
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What's in Store For Brisbane City Council's Cemeteries in 2016?
I have recently been involved in discussions with Brisbane City Council cemetery management, and it looks like changes are afoot in how the public will be able to ‘engage’ with these places in 2016....
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Fatal Shark Attacks in Mackay Rivers
I've already written in these pages about fatal shark attacks in Queensland rivers, including the Brisbane River, the Logan River and Townsville's Ross Creek. Another one to add to that unfortunate...
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Welcome to 'Inside Boggo Road'
A brand new prison history website called ‘Inside Boggo Road’ was recently launched by the Boggo Road Gaol Historical Society. You can check it out here. It’s fair to say that it is the best website on...
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White Sharks Can't Jump: A 19th-Century Look at Sharks
The perception of sharks as 'mindless man-eaters' has changed considerably in recent decades (well, in most places outside Hollywood back lots and the Western Australian parliament). Their vital role...
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'Unauthorised Activities' in Brisbane Cemeteries?
Here we go again...On page 7 of today’s City South News, local ‘ghost tour’ operator Cameron ‘Jack’ Sim again attacks a local history group, this time for having the audacity to run a single one-off...
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The Case For a Boggo Road Cultural Hub
With the Boggo Road redevelopment process now taking another step forward with the release of the draft application details, I’d like to gradually present a few articles on this website outlining my...
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The Fabulous Creatures of Walter Henry Bone
Bunyip and Oopidoop (Sydney Mail, 27 December 1911)Walter Henry Bone is one of the forgotten illustrators of Australian children’s literature, which is rather a shame. Writing around the turn of the...
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A Bit of Housekeeping
I'm currently in the middle of reorganising my online material, which means shuffling around a few articles from one website to another. Approximately half the posts here will be moved to new homes as...
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What's in Store For Brisbane City Council's Cemeteries in 2016?
Learn about the planned changes for how the public can 'enjoy' Brisbane cemeteries in 2016.This story can be read on 'South Brisbane Cemetery'.
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Thoughts on the Boggo Road Redevelopment
The planning process for the Boggo Road redevelopment rolls ever onward, with the Draft Application currently still under bureaucratic consideration, and a formal public consultation process yet to...
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When Steele Rudd Met the Kenniff Brothers at Boggo Road
This story can be read at 'A Scaffold High'Steele Rudd (State Library of Queensland).
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The Lost Graveyard of Terranora Creek
A look at a lost graveyard with links to some tragic events near Tweed Heads.This story is now located at the 'South Brisbane Cemetery' website.The dry dock (constructed 1898) on the Tweed, 1937. This...
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The Gallows of the Old Windmill Tower
This story can be read at 'A Scaffold High'Depiction of the 1841 hanging. (Telegraph, 10 March 1970)
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Life & Death
Life & Death in the Sunshine State is a growing collection of interesting stories about the history of Queensland, including - among other things - tales of hangings, cemeteries, sharks and other...
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Life and Death Quiz #4: Brisbane Cemeteries
Welcome to another 'Life and Death Quiz' about Queensland history. In this fourth entry you can test your knowledge of the history of cemeteries in Brisbane.Be warned - they're not too easy! You can...
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Cryptid Cats and Dogs of the Far North
There have been some recent reports of possible sightings of a thylacine (Tasmanian tiger) in the far north of Queensland. The witnesses were reasonable sources - a Park Services employee and a...
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The Merrimac Bunyip
Although the 'bunyip' had generally been consigned to the realms of fantasy and folklore by the early 20th-century (see my history on 19th-century Queensland sightings here), occasional speculation...
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Walking Among the Dead
"Going by, you try to be as quiet as possible, better to let them sleep. Greek, Roman, sepulchres - palatial mausoleums made to order, phantomesque, signs and symbols of hidden decay - ghosts of women...
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