Category Archives: Brisbane

Arrival of the Artemisia: an “important event in the annals of Moreton Bay – an epoch to be often reverted to”

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The Moreton Bay Courier 16 December 1848 p2 enthusiastically welcomed the Artemisia, the ‘first immigrant vessel direct from England’ to Brisbane. Instead of placing the notice in the shipping intelligence column, the paper provided extensive news about it in ‘a place of honour’. Why was this vessel’s arrival so significant? What was the preparation and passage like? What were the passengers coming to? The importance of the Artemisia At the time of the 1846 census the population of the County … Continue reading

My grandmother Eileen Evans and the photo in a locket.

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  I knew nothing about Eileen Evans my paternal grandmother, or her early life until I started doing family history in the 1990’s, many years after her death in 1969. Stored in the bottom of a wardrobe was a shoe box of photos, inherited by my father from a maternal aunt and his mother’s cousin, Evelyn Walls. There were a lot of photos of people I didn’t know, and my first reaction was to want to throw them away. I … Continue reading