Tuesday 28 August 2018

CIRCUMNAVIGATING AUSTRALIA'S COLONIAL HISTORY - TROVE TUESDAY 28th August 2018 Pt. 9




Note: approximate position

Ever wanted to circumnavigate Australia? We still have a way to go...we'll be going on quite a journey, at least virtually, and clockwise. So as to make sure all states and territories are covered, we started in Western Australia and explored a little of the early history of a small part of this massive state via TROVE...

We've had to travel back to Darwin, before leaving the Northern Territory, then across to Cairns, in North Queensland... but we didn't stop there, instead headed to the tropical north, to one of the most beautiful areas you can imagine... isolated yes, but perfect for that great getaway... to Cape Tribulation. It seems you loved that area so well, that Cairns was the obvious place to travel to next... not too far south. That was another very popular place...as was our visit last week to Fraser Island...

This week we are heading inland, on an approximately 6 hours flight to a place steeped in history.. what a contrast to the sub tropical island of Fraser ...no waterfalls or clear lakes or rainforest, but Longreach has so much to offer.

 Wikipedia has many entries, such as these...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longreach,_Queensland

"Longreach is a town in Central West QueenslandAustralia, approximately 700 km (430 mi) from the coast, west of Rockhampton. The town is named after the "long reach" of the Thomson River on which it is situated. The town was gazetted in 1887, and the railway reached the town in 1892, causing the population to grow. It is the administrative centre of the Longreach Regional Council, which was established in 2008 as a merger of the former LongreachIlfracombe, and Isisford shires.
The town is on the Tropic of Capricorn. The main industries of the area are cattle, sheep, and, more recently, tourism.
A number of Queensland towns have their streets named to a theme. In Longreach, the streets are named after species of birds, with the streets running east-west named after water birds and those running north-south after land birds.[2] The main business street is called Eagle Street. Other streets honour Hudson Fysh, an Australian aviation pioneer, and Sir James Walker, a farmer and long-serving mayor of the former Longreach Shire Council.
Notable Australians to have been born or lived in Longreach include former Australian Governor-General Quentin Bryce, iconic Purple Hearts and Coloured Balls guitarist Lobby Loyde, comedian Carl Barron and rugby league footballer Matthew Scott."
"History..
Longreach lay on the traditional tribal lands of the Iningai. Longreach Post Office opened on 1 October 1891. A Longreach Rail Post Office opened by April 1940 and closed in 1962.[3]
In early April 2010, Longreach experienced a significant locust plague described by local residents as the worst in three decades.[4][5]
Longreach State School opened on 22 May 1893 with an enrolment of 102 students.[6] Longreach State High School opened on 24 January 1966.[7] Longreach School of Distance Education opened on 27 January 1987.[8][9]
At the 2011 Australian Census Longreach recorded a population of 3,137.[10]"


When many of us think of Longreach, we think of the Stockman's Hall of Fame and the founding of QANTAS... both of which I will come to shortly.

 However, there is more to offer... such as the historical railway station...back to Wikipedia...


"Longreach Station opened in February 1892 as the interim terminus of the Central Western line when it was extended from Barcaldine. The line was later extended to Winton.[3]
The present station building was completed in 1916.
The plan to build a railway in southern Queensland in 1863 prompted the residents of central Queensland to demand their own railway. The discovery of rich copper deposits at Peak Downs west of Rockhampton strengthened their case and in January 1864, Engineer for Roads, Northern Division, Henry Plews was ordered to survey a line to the copper field. Plews was made Chief Engineer of the northern railway in October 1864. The line opened as far as Westwood in September 1867.[1]
This line was too short to be profitable and approval for an extension was granted in late 1872. Robert Ballard was appointed Chief Engineer and was given authority to let contracts for each section. The aim was to produce an affordable line.[1
As work progressed, towns developed at each temporary terminus. Some such as Pine Hill declined after the railway passed while others such as Alpha and Emerald continued to grow. Many buildings and businesses were shifted westwards from one terminus town to the next.[1]
The line reached Duaringa in 1876, Blackwater in 1877 and Emerald in 1879. After Bogantungan (1881), the most difficult section was encountered – the crossing of the Drummond Range. The decision to extend the railway from Barcaldine (1886) to Longreach was the result of pressure being brought to bear by parliamentary representatives from Central Division and the fear that the northern Separation Movement could succeed. The final section was completed to Longreach in February 1892.[1]
The Longreach site was selected by railways surveyors due to the presence of a large waterhole on the Thomson River. It was a popular stop for teamsters but it had never developed into a hotel or small community. Longreach was gazetted as a township in November 1887, and the first land sales occurred soon after that.[1]
At the time the extension was completed, the bitterness of the Shearers' Strike was affecting the town and Premier Sir Samuel Griffith was rebuffed when he arrived to try to officially open the line.[1]
When the line was completed, there were no railway buildings at the terminus, although a small post and telegraph office had been built to service the telegraph line which had advanced beside the railway. The first station building was a small timber shelter shed and office, 60 by 14 feet (18.3 m × 4.3 m).[1]
The opening of the railway from Barcaldine to Longreach caused a building and population boom in the area. By 1914, Longreach had 14 hotels.[1] "

This was to be a lifeline for the growing town of Longreach...
Longreach Railway Station (2013)






















Longreach Railway Station (2013)
Vic Bushing, Heritage branch staff - 







Front of station, 1938
Queensland State Archives, Digital Image ID 476 ID label: 1019081
Longreach Railway Station, Capricorn Highway, Longreach. [This is now the Landsborough Highway, route A2]  Copyright expired

Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton) Fri 15 Jul 1887…THE BARCOO  excerpt from the year that Longreach was gaztted as a town...


“Mr. Desgrand has completed the survey of the road from Longreach to Winton, and is now about to survey a road from the head of the line (the 12-mile) to Longreach. From this place the divergence will be made, one route going to Winton direct, and the other to Windorah and the South Australian border. The Lagoon Creek bridge will be finished in the course of a few weeks, and we shall then see what we shall see.”

Though Longreach is only 4.5kms from the Thompson River, it has often suffered from great droughts...making the erection of a water tower essential to the town...Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld. : 1866 - 1939), Saturday 25 February 1893, page 342

River Water Tower
Camerong photographer   CC BY-SA 3.0
Longreach-Watertower.jpg      Created: 20 April 2008






Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld. : 1866 - 1939), Saturday 25 February 1893, page 342
   


Thomson River, Longreach, Qld - 
1911 Public Domain
Approximately 1921

There was always something to do in Longreach.. including goat races...below

Goat race, Longreach [PRG 1123/39/33] • Photograph  approx. 1914 Part of Bishop Family  Collection  State Library South Australia


















Cobb and Co provided a great service through the outback towns...carrying passengers, mail and supplies...
Passengers on the Jundah Mail Transport by Cobb & Co., Longreach, Queensland, ca. 1920  State Library Qld





Post Office in Longreach, ca. 1908     State Library Qld
Two horsedrawn coaches in the process of being loaded or unloaded in front of the Post Office in Longreach.














In 1915, Longreach hit the headlines due to a 'big fire'...Sir Hudson Fysh KBE DFC (1895-1974) 
Paul McGinness DFC DCM (1896-1952)
Sir Fergus McMaster (1879-1950)  
and then the one they couldn’t do without…

W Arthur Baird MSM (1889-1954) who had great engineering skills.
Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Monday 8 February 1915, page 4
National Library of Australia
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10402865






















By 1920, the headlines were regarding a far more positive event... the founding of the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Ltd, better known to the world as QANTAS.
Here are the details...  the three men first involved were

Sir Hudson Fysh KBE DFC (1895-1974) 
Paul McGinness DFC DCM (1896-1952)
Sir Fergus McMaster (1879-1950)  
and then the one they couldn’t do without…

W Arthur Baird MSM (1889-1954) who had great engineering skills.










From the Sydney Morning Herald Sat 16 Oct 1920...




















First Qantas aircraft [PRG 1123/39/3] • Photograph
The first Qantas aircraft, an Avro 504K biplane. Two of the men standing by the aeroplane are Hudson Fysh and Paul J. McGuinness, pilots and co-founders of Qantas.      State Library South Australia


   




 Qantas office, Longreach [PRG 1123/39/1] • Photograph
Collection
















Bauple58 - Own work
DH.61 Giant Moth (G-AUJB), in original Qantas hangar at Longreach, Queensland, Australia.
Created: 14 May 2011










The Stockman's Hall of Fame attracts thousands of visitors a year, quite an achievement which began with an idea presented by Hugh Sawrey in 1974. His dream was to show the outback to the world.. a dream shared by many others, including R.M. Williams... a dream that attracted funding from many areas and came to fruition in 1987 after support frommany areas including the Federal and QLD State Government 1988 Bicentennial program. 


Stockman's Hall of Fame in Longreach, en:Queensland, en:Australia Photo by Michael Rogers, who retains copyright and releases the image under the GFDL.   CC BY-SA 3.0  Created: 28 August 2004
Photos sourced via TROVE.. and Wikipedia

This site will give you all the information you require re the Stockman's Hall of Fame.. there are various galleries... to quote..


"There are five themed galleries at the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame and Outback Heritage Centre, each one depicting an important aspect of our pioneering history."

There is also an Outback Stockman's Show and various other events. You can get to Longreach by road, train or plane...
I hope you've enjoyed your trip to the outback, just one of the many places in our vast country to explore. 

For further reading...


Stockman’s Hall of Fame … our story

Longreach Powerhouse Museum

QANTAS Founders Museum

17 things you didn’t know about Longreach

Wool industry

Longreach plus more

Longreach Events and Festivals


Tuesday 21 August 2018

CIRCUMNAVIGATING AUSTRALIA'S COLONIAL HISTORY - TROVE TUESDAY 21st August 2018 Pt. 8







Note: approximate location

Ever wanted to circumnavigate Australia? We still have a way to go...we'll be going on quite a journey, at least virtually, and clockwise. So as to make sure all states and territories are covered, we started in Western Australia and explored a little of the early history of a small part of this massive state via TROVE...

We've had to travel back to Darwin, before leaving the Northern Territory, then across to Cairns, in North Queensland... but we didn't stop there, instead headed to the tropical north, to one of the most beautiful areas you can imagine... isolated yes, but perfect for that great getaway... to Cape Tribulation. It seems you loved that area so well, that Cairns was the obvious place to travel to next... not too far south. That was another very popular place...

There are so many wonderful places in Queensland to visit, it was hard to make a choice, but a place that I absolutely loved, and would love to revisit one day, is Fraser Island. Once again, it's many years since I've been there, but researching this post has just made me even more determined to return. Not only is it an incredibly beautiful place, but it has an interesting history.

Rainforest.. photographer unknown
Wikipedia comes to our aid again..  here is an excerpt...


"Fraser Island (K'Gari, Gari) is a heritage-listed island located along the southeastern coast of the state of Queensland, Australia.[1][2] It is approximately 250 kilometres (160 mi) north of the state capital, Brisbane.[3] Known as Fraser Island, it is a locality within the Fraser Coast local government in the Wide Bay–Burnett region.[4]
Together with some satellite islands off the southern west coast and thus in the Great Sandy Strait, Fraser Island forms the County of Fraser, which is subdivided into six parishes. Among the islands are Slain Island, Tooth Island, Roundbush Island, Moonboom Island, Gardner Island, Dream Island, Stewart Island, and the Reef Islands, all part of the southernmost parish of Talboor.
Its length is about 120 kilometres (75 mi) and its width is approximately 24 kilometres (15 mi).[5] It was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1992.[6] The island is considered to be the largest sand island in the world at 1,840 km2.[7] It is also Queensland's largest island, Australia's sixth largest island and the largest island on the East Coast of Australia. It was formerly the homeland of the Butchulla tribe.[citation needed]
The island has rainforests, eucalyptus woodland, mangrove forests, wallum and peat swamps, sand dunes and coastal heaths. It is made up of sand that has been accumulating for approximately 750,000 years on volcanic bedrock that provides a natural catchment for the sediment which is carried on a strong offshore current northwards along the coast. Unlike on many sand dunes, plant life is abundant due to the naturally occurring mycorrhizal fungi present in the sand, which release nutrients in a form that can be absorbed by the plants.[8] Fraser Island is home to a small number of mammal species,[9] as well as a diverse range of birds, reptiles and amphibians, including the occasional saltwater crocodile. The island is protected in the Great Sandy National Park.
Fraser Island has been inhabited by humans for as much as 5,000 years.[8] Explorer James Cook sailed by the island in May 1770. Matthew Flinders landed near the most northern point of the island in 1802. For a short period the island was known as Great Sandy Island. The island became known as Fraser due to the stories of a shipwreck survivor named Eliza Fraser. Today the island is a popular tourism destination. Its resident human population was 194 at the 2011 Australian Census.[10]"
.....

"The earliest known name of the island is 'K'gari' in the Butchulla people's language (pronounced 'Gurri'). It means paradise.[9][47]
According to Aboriginal legend, when humans were created and needed a place to live, the mighty god Beiral sent his messenger Yendingie with the goddess K’gari down from heaven to create the land and mountains, rivers and sea. K’gari fell in love with the earth’s beauty and did not want to leave it. So Yendingie changed her into a heavenly island – Fraser Island."
Fraser Island has long been known for the wonderful timber on the island, as well as sand mining, for shipwrecks and for tourism, however one of the best known story is that of Eliza Fraser. Though as with many well known stories, there are a number of versions... we'll return to that later on...

TROVE has offered many articles, and also many wonderful photos...

An excerpt from an article in the Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay & Burnett Advertiser, 23 Dec 1865 
(https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/147933815)
describes a trip to Fraser Island, then known as Fraser's Island to check the suitability of the foundations needed for the lighthouse planned to be built there.


 

 Though much timber has been milled and exported, there has been ongoing reforestation.

Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 15 February 1928, page 19 
National Library of Australia  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article158400119
As always, please click to enlarge.

Urang tram on Fraser Island c 1905
The locomotive was used to pull logs on Fraser Island. this was owned and operated by Wilson, Hart, Hyne and Company.
Item held by John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland... out of copyright.





Horse team with driver on Fraser Island ocean beach, c 1919
Item held by John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland... out of copyright.



By 1907, the lighthouse had been built at Sandy Cape, which meant there was also a house needed for the Superintendent...











Amenities block including the laundry and wash house and the wood shed adjoining the superintendent's house..
                                                          
Lighthouse keeper on the steps.

                 





I'm sure you know the word whim, but this is a whim with a difference...
This whim was for hauling up lighthouse stores. c 1903


Items held by John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland... out of copyright.





There have been a number of shipwrecks over the years... this once grand ship, the Maheno, is now just a rusty hulk on the beach, or at least what's left of it.

Items held by John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland... out of copyright.





The Maheno was used by New Zealand as a hospital ship in WW1. It was caught in a winter cyclone while being towed to Japan for scrap metal and grounded at Cathedral Beach, Fraser Island, on the 8th July, 1935. It is now a popular tourist attraction.

Smith's Weekly 14 Jul 1934 described 'the strangest lakes' in Australia... 






Lake Mackenzie (below) could hardly be called strange, it is truly beautiful. The water is so clear you can see the sand below... This is one of a series of photos taken by 
Iraphne R.Childs  ...    and kindly made available through Creative Commons, all sourced via TROVE. ©Iraphne R. Childs



Below...

Lake Mackenzie 

Sensenmann - Own work
File:Fraser Island a06 lake mckenzie.jpg
Created: 8 August 2004

The Australian Women's Weekly (also available through TROVE) showed that the younger folk also appreciated the wonders of Fraser Island...
Aust Women's Weekly 30 Mar 1935






However, I mentioned a story about Eliza Fraser.... an excerpt from Wikipedia...

The name Fraser Island comes from Eliza Fraser and her story of survival from a shipwreck on the island. Captain James Fraser and his wife, Eliza Fraser, were shipwrecked on the island in 1836. Their ship, the brig Stirling Castle, set sail from Sydney to Singapore with 18 crew and passengers. The ship was holed on coral while travelling through the Great Barrier Reef north of the island.[8] Transferring to two lifeboats, the crew set a course south, attempting to reach the settlement at Moreton (now Brisbane). During this trip in the lifeboats, Captain Fraser's pregnant wife gave birth in the leaking lifeboat. The infant died soon after birth. The Captain's lifeboat was becoming more and more unseaworthy and was soon left behind by the other lifeboat which continued on. The sinking boat and its crew was beached on what was then known as the Great Sandy Island. Whether the survivors died due to disease, hunger, exhaustion or battles with the native population will never be known for sure; most likely a little of all of the above. Captain Fraser died leaving Eliza living among the local peoples. She was rescued 6 weeks later by a convict, John Graham,[13] who had lived in the bush as an escapee and who spoke the Aboriginal language. He was sent from the settlement at Moreton by the authorities there who had heard about Eliza's plight, and negotiated her return. Within 6 months, Eliza had married another sea captain. She moved to England and became a sideshow attraction in Hyde Park telling ever more lurid tales about her experiences with white slavery, cannibalism, torture, and murder. As she is known to have told several versions of the story, it is unknown which version is the most accurate.[48][49] She was killed in a carriage accident in Melbourne in 1858 during a visit.[8]
State Library of Queensland, 31364



The Australian Dictionary of Biography has quite a long article about her and there have been a number of books, documentaries and even a movie or two about her. She certainly features in the history of Fraser Island...
You can read more about her on TROVE  and here  or here also  and here again  just to get you started.

However, it's the beauty and the ability to relax on Fraser Island which is the biggest drawcard. I can't promise you a hammock as to be as relaxed as this young lady c 1895...
Item held by John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland... out of copyright.
Accessed via TROVE


but there are still beautiful vistas such as this at Waddy Point, another of the series from Iraphne R.Childs  ...    and kindly made available through Creative Commons.


As to how to get there... it could be the Fraser Island Ferry..

Photnart - Own work
Fraser island ferry
File:Fraser island ferry.jpg
Created: 9 July 2013















               Then by the tourist bus...

            Photnart - Own work
             4wd bus fraser island
                         File:4wd bus fraser island.jpg
            Created: 9 July 2013


 or you could visit one of these sites ..... just a small selection... 








Whichever way you go, you are sure to enjoy this little piece of paradise.

I just had to leave you one more from the series from Iraphne R.Childs  ... kindly made available through Creative Commons.
Paperbark trees... on the shore of Lake Mackenzie.