Author Archives: Lyn Irvine

Willie Watt… “Our Father”

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Over fifty years ago, when I was newly engaged to be married and eager to meet all the relatives, I was taken to 83 Dragon Street Warwick to meet brother and sister Jack and Mildred Watt who were first cousins to my fiancé’s father. I remember the experience quite vividly including the details of their house which was situated next door to Pringle Cottage, a beautiful sandstone building dating from the 1870s which was eventually acquired by the Warwick and … Continue reading

“OURS WERE THE HEARTS TO DARE”

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I never cease to be amazed at the fortitude and endurance of the pioneer women of our country. Often their story is unsung, as they just went about their daily lives unaware of their spectacular contribution to the future of this nation, but simply doing their best, dealing with the strangeness of this new land and confronting head on the harsh realities of life. They coped with deaths of children, droughts and disasters, and sometimes the destruction of all they … Continue reading

On Finding New Friends.

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I’m not really sure whether the moral of this story is “neither a borrower nor a lender be” or “look for the silver lining”!  Hugh Irvine, having arrived from County Down on the Roma in 1882 opened his Boot Warehouse in Ferry Street Bulimba in 1887, and in 1888 he and the shop were written up in Volume 2 of the Aldine History of Queensland published in that year.[i] This was obviously impressive for the young man from Killyleagh and … Continue reading

Childhood memories of living above the shop.

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  Hugh and Amelia Irvine opened their Commonwealth Store on the corner of Bay Terrace and Charlotte Street Wynnum in 1901, and it grew over the next fifty years to become an icon of the district, eventually known colloquially as “Irvines”.[1] After Amelia’s death in 1921, Hugh married Flora Mary (Hadlow) Jones in 1925. They lived above the shop until Hugh’s death in August 1941. Also living there were his son Bert (by his second marriage to Amelia Watt), with … Continue reading

The Voyage of the Saldanha

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THE VOYAGE OF THE SALDANHA The Saldanha of 1562 tons register, sailed on the 8th for the new colony of Queensland with 367 passengers on board… Considerably more than half the passengers have had their passages paid for them by the colonial Government. These consist of female domestic servants, farm labourers, and a few mechanics. The passengers …comprise among them 100 married couples, about 70 single women, many of them domestic servants and 100 single men, principally persons intending to … Continue reading