This tale begins with the landing in Brisbane of the vessel Ariadne on 3 January 1864, that turbulent year for the city with two major fires in Queen Street.[1] One of the passengers on Ariadne was James Carothers, a young 19 yr old lad from Fermanagh.[2] The young lad worked hard and by 1870 he had established a farm at Bulimba Point; Bulimba had been serviced since 1850 by Samuel and Matthew Buckley operating a rowing boat. In 1864, John … Continue reading
As I pressed the button for the lift, I thought of how often my mother would have stood there waiting for the lift to take her up to Floor 4. I was standing in the foyer of what had been the old AMP Building, now MacArthur Chambers, on the corner of Queen and Edward Streets in Brisbane which had been used as the headquarters of the Allied Forces in the south-west Pacific during World War Two. This building was chosen … Continue reading
Since 1877, Ann Muir, my two times great aunt and sister to my great grandmother, Flora Muir, has been “missing”. Ann Muir was born in the village of Kenknock, Inverness, Scotland, on 23 May 1835, one of seven children born to Thomas Muir and his second wife, Christiana Grant. [1] In 1854, Thomas, Christiana, six of their children, and Thomas’ twin sons by his first wife sailed to Moreton Bay aboard William Miles.[2] By 1857, the Muir family was living … Continue reading
From time to time I have wondered how my ancestors met one another – this is an intriguing issue when they come from distant parts of the country and/or different backgrounds. To keep GSQ Writing Group members in writing mode during the summer break, I suggested they might like to consider how their grandparents met and write a short story on this topic. Several took up this suggestion and our grandparents’ romances (as we see it) were shared at our … Continue reading
