Many moons ago I tentatively knocked on the door of Ian Irvine, a second cousin of my dad’s. The door opened with a welcome and I fought back a lump in my throat, as gentle speaking Ian reminded me so much of my deceased father. Ian was my introduction to many in this family and I dedicate this story to now deceased Ian, Lex and Amelia; grandchildren of Hugh Irvine. I am grateful I spent many hours with them in … Continue reading
By Stephanie Ryan. Who first purchased the land where our families grew up, which, in its homes, streets and suburbs, became the background of their lives? When did this land become part of the suburbs? How do I trace its history? State Library has hundreds of estate maps showing first sales of residential blocks in Queensland. In this estate map the sketch of the local area puts the streets in context. Cheap, easy transport was a selling point when private … Continue reading
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
Shipping was the lifeblood of the colony of Moreton Bay. Through the convict period and the early years of free settlement, everything including people and animals came by sea. The sheltered bay was a highway for local shipping traffic. Quarantine stations, pilot stations, and outlying settlements all required a regular service. Sailing vessels of all sorts and sizes plied the coastal route from Sydney to Brisbane, stopping along the way to deliver goods and collect valuable loads of timber. In … Continue reading
