AUTUMN 2009 :: www.slq.qld.gov.au 11

::JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY::

ONLINECOLLECTIONSJOHN OXLEY LIBRARY CATALOGUEWWW.SLQ.QLD.GOV.AU/FIND/CAT

MANUSCRIPTS QUEENSLANDWWW.SLQ.QLD.GOV.AU/COLL/QHIST/MANQ

PICTURE QUEENLSANDWWW.PICTUREQLD.SLQ.QLD.GOV.AU

THE GARAGEWWW.SLQ.QLD.GOV.AU/SERV/CAR/GARAGE

MUSIC QUEENSLANDWWW.SLQ.QLD.GOV.AU/COLL/MUSD/MUSQ

QUEENSLAND DIGITAL STORIESWWW.QLDSTORIES.SLQ.QLD.GOV.AU

John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley (1783–1828), naval offi cer, surveyor and explorer was the eldest son of John and Isabella Oxley. Born in 1783 at Kirkham Abbey near Westow, Yorkshire, he entered the navy when he was 16. In 1812, John Oxley was appointed surveyor-general of lands in New South Wales. During his term of offi ce there was much expansion of settlement and his offi ce was responsible for the survey of newly occupied lands at Illawarra, the Hunter Valley and the country west of the Blue Mountains, as well as the more detailed survey of already settled areas.

He undertook two expeditions, the fi rst, in 1817, being to ascertain the course of the Lachlan River. After facing and overcoming a series of hardships, including a lack of drinking water, the party reached the Lachlan

River on 23 June ,1817, and followed its course for a fortnight. The aim of John Oxley’s later expedition was to further explore and follow the course of the Macquarie River and, in May 1818, the group, led by John Oxley and G.W. Evans, set out to achieve this outcome. In 1820, John Oxley published his Journal of two expeditions into the interior of New South Wales.

Later, in 1823, he was sent north along the coast to select a site for a new penal settlement and in the course of this voyage explored Moreton Bay as well as examining the suitability of Port Curtis and Port Bowen as sites for convict settlements. During this expedition, John Oxley discovered the Brisbane River. He travelled 50 miles up the river and, much impressed by the country, recommended the area, which included the site of Brisbane, for a settlement. A settlement was

established on Moreton Bay in the next year, at Redcliffe. This settlement later moved to a site in the Brisbane River, at the present site of the city of Brisbane.

John Oxley was keenly interested in the public and cultural life of the early colony. He was a foundation member of the Philosophical Society, formed in 1821, and in the same year assisted in the formation of a private circulating library, which later developed into the Australian Subscription Library.

John Oxley died at his country house near Sydney on 26 May, 1828.

John Oxley’s link with the promotion and development of library services combined with his prominent place in Queensland history underpin the use of his name for the State Library of Queensland’s library of Queensland history, the John Oxley Library.

WHO WAS JOHN OXLEY?

OV.A

BOLDBUTFAITHFUL

The Queensland Coat of Arms, the oldest State Arms in Australia, was granted to the Colony of Queensland by Queen Victoria in 1893. The State motto emblazoned across the base of the arms is Audax at Fidelis, which translates to Bold But Faithful.

Celebrating its 75th anniversary, the John Oxley Library is especially honoured to have the Talbot Family Treasure Wall to feature this selection of treasures from its extensive Heritage Collections in an exhibition duly entitled Bold But Faithful.

The material has been chosen to illustrate the John Oxley Library’s wide-ranging collection policy and to provide an insight into the many ways and means that items have been acquired.

Bold But Faithful also provides an opportunity to invite some of our researchers and supporters to express their thoughts about treasures which hold special meaning for them.

No claim is made that these are the “best” or rarest of their kind. Rather it is hoped that this small sample will encourage viewers to explore the John Oxley Library’s holdings, and indeed other public collections.

History is not confi ned to grand narratives and personalities, or even to rare documents such as the William Bligh Log, apparently insignifi cant items, such as an autographed American baseball an album of family snap shots or Paula Stafford’s 1950s fashion designs can provide insights into the past and present. The only restraint on what these items suggest is one’s own imagination and resourcefulness.

TRIUMPH INTHE TROPICS: SELLING QUEENSLANDAn irreverent and thoughtful look at the images used to sell Queensland over the last 100 years. Triumph in the Tropics: Selling Queensland exhibition explores the popular and promotional images of Queensland from the late 19th century to the early 21st century: how Queensland displayed itself to potential migrants, tourists and investors. While many of the images were produced by government bodies, companies and political movements also attempted to market products and ideologies in the name of Queensland. Curators Peter Spearritt & Marion Stell

REMARKABLY, THE STATE OF GOVERNMENT OF QUEENSLAND ISSUED THIS PINEAPPLE-SHAPED

INVITATION TO GUESTS FOR THE BANQUET HELD AT FINNEY’S CAFÉ IN BRISBANE TO CELEBRATE

THE VISIT BY THE PRINCE OF WALES IN JULY 1920. JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY, SLQ.

A joint initiative between the Centre for the Government of Queensland at the University of Queensland and the John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland

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12 STATE LIBRARY OF QUEENSLAND MAGAZINE :: AUTUMN 2009

TOP: MARBURG STATE SCHOOL, PRIVATE COLLECTION.

BELOW CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:

ANNA HAEBICH, PRIVATE COLLECTION.

SIR JOH BJELKE-PETERSEN ADDRESSING THE MEDIA,

QUEENSLAND. JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY. SLQ.78685.

VOTE WITH YOUR FEET: MARCH, CA. 1977,

JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY, SLQ. ZOO00011

GIANT CANE TOAD, 1975. QUEENSLAND. COURIER MAIL.

JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY, SLQ. 79161

LOOKING DOWN MARY STREET TOWARDS A FLOODED

BRISBANE RIVER, 1974. BRISBANE, QUEENSLAND, 1974. IBP00076.

NORTH IPSWICH SHORT-RIDGE ROOFED HOUSE WITH

ENCIRCLING VERANDAHS. CA. 1972. FRANK CORLEY

COLLECTION. JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY, SLQ. 198373

AUTUMN 2009 :: www.slq.qld.gov.au 13

IS QUEENSLAND DIFFERENT?

HISTORIAN IN RESIDENCE, PROFESSOR ANNA HAEBICH PROVIDES A PERSONAL RESPONSE TO THIS

OFTEN-ASKED QUESTION.

by the oddball style and heavy-handed rule of the Johannes Bjelke-Petersen government. The Joh period from 1968–1987 marked a new low point in Queensland’s unique political history. Under Joh’s watch, democracy fl oundered; the media was gagged, police brutality ran rampant, cronyism ruled the roost and corruption spread like a virus through everything.

The electorate seemed to love the man more as he became more extreme. His homespun style and down-on-the-farm wisecracks held great appeal for an electorate spread in regional cities, towns and farms around the state. But south of the border reports of Joh-speak in the media raised howls of laughter. His personal mantra ‘Don’t you worry about that’ and comments about feeding the chooks directed at journalists became part of the Australian vernacular.

A decade later Pauline Hanson’s ‘Please explain’ played a similar role in painting Queenslanders as politically naïve and unsophisticated. Mocking southerners converted the well-known tourist slogan into ‘Queensland – beautiful one day – fascist the next’. There was a backlash in Joh-land. Queenslanders turned their faces to the north and joined their premier in dreams of cutting themselves out of the federation and ‘going it alone’ with the state’s own dollar, fl ag and international ambassadors. They would revel in being different from the rest. Their vision was short-lived. A deluge of disclosures by the Fitzgerald Inquiry between 1987–1989 brought down the government. The Joh era was over.

Queensland now seemed poised to rejoin Australia. But the nation refused to abandon its fantasy of a rogue state where everything was strange and different. Queensland remained the butt of endless jokes about Joh and Flo, daylight saving, fl uoride, cane toads, white-shoe brigades, big tourist monuments from the Big Captain Cook to the Big Cassowary, clueless rednecks and so on. Ridiculing Queensland had become a national hobby. A professional colleague who recently transferred from a southern city to the ‘deep north’ expected a sophisticated offi ce desk ornament at least as a parting gift. Instead he

was presented with a slab of XXXX stubbies, a cork hat, blue singlet, can of Aerogard, recipe for pumpkin scones and a biography of Joh.

The jokes are stale. Queensland is no longer the Queen of Kitsch. Already in 1988 the international success of Expo, which also rated as the top event in the Bicentennial celebrations, was replacing the mono-cultural veneer of white Queensland with a new cosmopolitanism. Locals were embracing the outdoor cafes and ethnic restaurants. The transformation of South Bank into a centre for culture, entertainment, gatherings and good food began in earnest.

Queensland was being reinvented. In 1999, the Goss Labor government announced the Smart State initiative; Queensland began the shift from what Beattie dubbed a ‘rocks and crops economy’ to becoming a global leader in science, technology and creative innovation. This was about joining the rest and being better.

In 2000, I moved back to Queensland. I was just one of hundreds of thousands of Australians who continue to cross the border – check the billboard at the airport for the latest estimate. For many young people it’s about the lifestyle and the creative opportunities. Brisbane has shifted from a cultural backwater to a cultural capital. Stretched along South Bank is an incredibly vital strip of cultural institutions including GOMA, SLQ, QPAC, Griffi th University’s Conservatorium of Music, College of Art and Film School, and, soon to be added, the offi ces of the ABC. The Gold Coast is the site of an expanding feature-fi lm industry. Our creative stars are dotted around the world in all areas of music, fashion, the visual and performing arts, cuisine and so on. And new ideas are bursting out of backyard studios and garages around the state.

I see Queensland balanced on the cusp of international sameness and local difference. I dream that it remains enigmatically different. But it could easily tip the other way.

Professor Anna Haebich’s role as SLQ Historian in Residence is made possible through a leading resource and research partnership between Griffi th University and the State Library of Queensland.

There we are, four barefoot kids with brown school ports strapped to our backs, trudging past the wooden church where our dad preaches each Sunday, through paddocks of towering yellow grass and across the little bridge of the aptly named Black Snake Creek. The dusty road leads up past the aromatic smells of bunya and kauri pines to Marburg school, a group of cream buildings on stilts at the top of the hill.

We were happy in Marburg; kids had German surnames like ours and most came to Dad’s church. We lived in a rambling Queenslander with endless rooms and verandahs upstairs and a whole other world below. Anything could happen and did. From the front verandah we saw cyclones wreaking their vengeance and massive semitrailers smashing into light poles. Playing under the house, I was saved from the bite of a death adder by a passing Aboriginal ‘swaggie’ looking for a meal.

Then we went to live in the ‘steel city’ of Wollongong, right in the cold heart of its business and shopping precinct. From our concrete jungle we dreamed of Queensland as everything special and magical that was missing from our lives. As far as we were concerned, there was no other place like it.

Our parents returned to Queensland in 1974 – just in time for the Great Flood, which almost washed away their new home in Ipswich. The sight of the entire fl eet of F111s at Amberley Air Force Base being moved to higher ground was proof, if we still needed it, that this was indeed an eccentric place where anything could happen.

We weren’t the only ones to think so. During our absence, Queensland had developed a national reputation for the bizarre and different inspired largely

“I see Queensland balanced on the cusp of international sameness and local difference.”

::JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY::

14 STATE LIBRARY OF QUEENSLAND MAGAZINE :: AUTUMN 2009

DR LUCAS AND THE PAPAWA particular interest to Dr Lucas was the tropical fruit, the papaw. He grew them and conducted experiments into their remedial properties at his Acacia Ridge acreage. During the course of his experimentation, Dr Lucas developed a special ointment, which he called Lucas’ Papaw Ointment. It is still produced today by the family business at Acacia Ridge.

WHO WAS DR THOMAS PENNINGTON LUCAS?Born on 13 April 1843 in Dunbar, Scotland to Samuel Lucas, a Wesleyan Methodist minister, and Elizabeth Broadhurst, Thomas Pennington Lucas was a medical practitioner, naturalist, author, philosopher and utopianist.

Lucas inherited from his father a love of natural history and a life-long determination to reconcile his strong religious beliefs with his scientifi c convictions.

Educated at King Edward VI (or Shakespeare’s) Grammar School at Stratford-on-Avon, Helston Grammar School, Cornwall, and New Kingswood School in Bath, Lucas migrated to Melbourne in 1876 where he set up his fi rst medical practice.

In 1882, Thomas Lucas founded the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria. During his lifetime he collected a large number of butterfl y and moth specimens, some of which eventually found their way into the possession of the South Australian Museum.

Lucas and his family moved to Brisbane in 1886. His medical practice was fi rst set up in ‘Whitecliffe’ at the corner of Earl Street and Petrie Terrace before moving to ‘Maximilian House’ on Ann Street. He installed one of Brisbane’s fi rst telephones and opened a dispensary in Hick’s Buildings, on the north side of George Street, between Ann and Turbot.

In 1894, Lucas moved his home and surgery to a much grander house, on the south-east corner of Stanley and Sidon Streets, facing the ‘Ship Inn’ and the Dry Dock, on what is now Memorial Park, South Brisbane. It was conveniently located between an undertaker and a chemist but is now the site of the Mater Children’s Hospital carpark.

Later he relocated to a 16-ha farm just off Beaudesert Road at Acacia Ridge. In November 1911, the 68-year-old Lucas purchased a large, single-storied Queenslander, known as ‘Vera’ or The Vera Papaw Hospital, located on the south-east corner of Sydney and Moray Streets, New Farm. He lived there until his death on 15 November 1917.

SOURCE: METCALF, BILL 2006, ‘DR THOMAS PENNINGTON LUCAS:

QUEENSLAND SCIENTIST, AUTHOR, DOCTOR, DREAMER AND INVENTOR’ IN

JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF QUEENSLAND, VOL. 19, NO.

5, PP. 788-804. ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE: GRIFFITH RESEARCH ONLINE

WWW98.GRIFFITH.EDU.AU/DSPACE/HANDLE/10072/14446

The setting is Brisbane sometime after the year 2000. The civil war is over. The southern colonies, led by the experienced General Churchill, crushed Queensland during the fi nal battle at Fort Lytton. The Colonial Convention that followed resulted in the formation of the United States of Australia. At least that’s how Dr Thomas Pennington Lucas saw it in his futuristic tale The Curse and Its Cure – a two-volume set published in Brisbane in 1894.

In the fi rst volume, The Ruins of Brisbane in the Year 2000, the story begins with the narrator, who is an Australian, sailing up the Brisbane River in his motorised yacht, after the year 2000. On the way, he links up with an American

couple, Mr and Mrs West, and shares with them his knowledge of Brisbane history and the circumstances that led to its ruin.

The curse in the title of the book refers to selfi shness and greed, and Brisbane’s downfall is attributed to this curse. Politicians, pastoralists and the citizens of Brisbane were all guilty of succumbing to lifestyles motivated by greed and selfi shness.

The cure to this curse is love, as depicted in the second volume, Brisbane Rebuilt in the Year 2200, which tells how Brisbane was rebuilt and transformed into a Christian utopia of peace, prosperity and good health.

Dr Leanne Day, Queensland Authors Librarian at the State

Library came across this extraordinary tale during her thesis research into reading and writing groups that operated in Brisbane during the 1880s and 1890s.

“That’s when I discovered that The Curse and Its Cure is actually the fi rst published novel to use Brisbane as its setting,” said Dr Day.

“It’s a fascinating tale that also predicted the catastrophic massacre of all but a few Aboriginal people.”

The John Oxley Library holds two rare copies of the two-volume novel. Neither of these copies is fully intact but together they form a complete set. Plans are afoot to digitise the 150 pages and make the story available online as an e-book by mid-year.

THE CURSE AND ITS CURE

OTHER BOOKS BY DR LUCASThe John Oxley Library holds the following books by Dr T.P. Lucas.Creation and The Cross: The Harmony Of Science and Revelation: Essays and Song (1886)John Wilholm’s Class Meeting, Or, The Forward Movement: Christlike Christianity (1889)Cries From Fiji and Sighings From The South Seas: Crush Out The British Slave Trade (1899)Is Queensland Methodism. Wesleyan-Ism, Youngman-Ism, Or What-Ism? (1900)Domestic Medicine. How To Live and How to Avert And Cure Disease. (1906)The Search For The Soul: By The Aid Of Nature’s Flashlight (1906)Shall Australasia Be A Nation (1907)A Restatement Of The Atonement: As Interpreted From The Holy Scripture and From Nature (1909)

The Great Mystery Interpreted By Moral Philosophy (1910)The Most Wonderful Tree In The World – The Pa-Paw (1914)Sacred Songs and Nature Pieces (1914)

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AUTUMN 2009 :: www.slq.qld.gov.au 15

Raymond Evans’ life may be viewed as a timeline of academic achievements.

He was Dux of Ashgrove State School in 1957; he then matriculated from Brisbane State High School in 1961 with a Commonwealth Scholarship to the University of Queensland. There he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and First Class Honours in History. His honours thesis was one of the earliest academic works in Australian race relations history, establishing him as a pioneer in the study of aboriginal and white settler relations in colonial Queensland.

Raymond’s Honours project sparked a lifelong interest in and commitment to the aboriginal cause in Australia and he became one of a small group of revisionist historians in the 1970s who transformed the way Australians regarded their racial past. His many publications on this subject include the co-authored seminal work Race Relations in Colonial Queensland: A History of Exclusion, Exploitation and Extermination. Due to high demand this book was re-published three times – the fi rst edition in 1975, the second in 1988 and the third in 1993.

Raymond completed his Master of Arts in 1971. This time his research investigated treatment of institutionalised people, such as the insane, the elderly and the incurably ill in colonial Australia.

His research for his doctoral thesis blazed yet another uncharted pathway into Australia’s history with his investigation into the Australian home-front during World War I, which encouraged a rethink about the way confl ict imposed excessive strains and divisions on wartime society – especially class and ethnic divisions. This research resulted in the publication of Loyalty and Disloyalty (1987) and The Red Flag Riots (1988).

Professor Evans has also been at the forefront in establishing women’s history, gender studies, masculinity studies and popular-culture research as serious academic endeavours in Australian history. In 1992, he co-edited Gender Relations in Australia: Domination and Negotiation.

He has published widely across the gamut of his subject interests and has an impressive track record of close to 200 publications to his credit. This list includes books, chapters in books, journal articles and reviews. His latest book, A History of Queensland (2007) was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Award.

Currently Raymond is Adjunct Professor with the Centre for Public Culture and Ideas, in the School of Arts, Media and Culture at Griffi th University, as well as a Research Associate with the School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics, and the School of English, Media Studies and Art History at the University of Queensland. He is presently writing a memoir.

In mid-2007, Professor Raymond Evans launched his book, A History of Queensland. This critically acclaimed book is a signifi cant addition to the contextual knowledge of Queensland, stretching from the many millennia of aboriginal pre-contact history to 2005.

Last year a nine week

course, using A History of Queensland as the focal text, was developed for staff of the State Library. It was a great privilege to have the author present at each session to lead discussion and facilitate debate. Overall the course offered an excellent training opportunity for staff to build

their knowledge of key milestones in Queensland’s history as well as gain an overview of themes, such as racial issues, class relations, primary production, the evolution of government and changing social and economic conditions.

HISTORICALLESSONS

WHO IS RAYMOND EVANS?

LEARNING PROGRAM

Building upon the resounding success of State Library’s recent staff learning program, Professor Raymond Evans will now lead a six-week Queensland history course for the public. His fascinating book, A History of Queensland, will be the focal text of the course and will inform the course outline. State Library’s Queensland Authors Librarian, Dr Leanne Day, will assist Raymond by acting as facilitator and together they will spend time during each session to reveal some of the State Library’s treasures that link into the themes of the chapters being discussed. Participants are asked to read the relevant chapters of Raymond’s book prior to their examination across the six weeks of the course.

DISCOVERING QUEENSLAND

WHEN SIX-WEEK COURSE EVERY WED FROM WED 18 MAR TO WED 22 APR, 5:30 – 7:00PMWHERE JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY READING ROOM, LEVEL 4TICKETS $220 (INCL. COPY OF PROF. EVAN’S AWARD-WINNING BOOK COURSE RESOURCE MANUAL)BOOKINGS QTIX.COM.AU OR 136 246ENQUIRIES 3840 7880CAPACITY IS STRICTLY LIMITED TO 15 PEOPLE SO BOOK EARLY.

::JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY::

A HISTORY OF QUEENSLANDA History of Queensland is an exciting new account of Queensland’s past, stretching from the time of earliest human habitation up to the present. It is a remarkable story of the state’s Aboriginal history, the convict years, free settlement and more recent urban and rural growth. It takes the reader through the tumultuous frontier and Federation periods, the world wars, the Cold War, the controversial Bjelke-Petersen era and into the new millennium. It reveals Queensland as sprawling, harsh and diverse; a place of confl ict, forged by bitter struggles of race, class and gender, and intense political and environmental dispute. It is a colourful, surprising and at times disturbing saga, a perplexing and diverting mixture of ferocity, endurance and optimism in this unique Australian state.

Published by Cambridge University Press. www.cambridge.org. Available at The Library Shop, SLQ.

16 STATE LIBRARY OF QUEENSLAND MAGAZINE :: AUTUMN 2009

The Wills Tragedy by colonial artist T.G. Moyle depicts the aftermath of the infamous massacre of white settlers by Aborigines that took place on 17 October, 1861, at the Cullin-la-ringo station.

Located between Emerald and Springsure in Central Queensland, Cullin-la-ringo was the leasehold property of former newspaper publisher and politician Horatio Spencer Howe Wills. Following an eight-month journey from Brisbane, Wills had arrived at the station with his large party of family, servants, and livestock only 11 days earlier.

Work had begun on the construction of stock yards, huts and store-rooms, and Wills and his men were resting after their midday meal when the property was attacked in the early afternoon.

Nineteen of the 25 members of the party were murdered. The six survivors included overseer’s son James Baker, Wills’ son Thomas Wentworth Wills, shepherds Edward Kenny and Patrick Mahoney, and

stockman John Moore who managed to avoid being seen and who reported the massacre afterwards. Moore was the only surviving eyewitness to the event.

The scene after the attack was a pitiful one. The tents were hanging in tatters, the ground, very

much trodden, was covered with scraps of clothing and calico of all kinds, in some places the grass had been burned by sparks blown from the gallery fi re, the coals in the galley were still alight. The bodies of men, women and children were lying in positions and attitudes which showed that, as the shepherds had supposed, they had all been killed on the instant without any struggle on the part of any of the men ...

In response, a large group of police, native police and civilians pursued the attackers to their camp where they exacted a fearful retribution.

The John Oxley Library holds a number of published accounts of the events depicted in the painting. Descriptions are to be found in Pages from

the Journal of a Queensland Squatter by Oscar de Satge (1901) and The Early History of Rockhampton by J.T.S. Bird (1904).

The manuscript collection also contains a copy of a letter from Thomas Wentworth Wills to H.C.A. Harrison describing the massacre at Cullin-la-ringo, giving details of those killed and injured, and items stolen.

As well as being the only extant contemporary depiction of the event, the painting is notable as one of the best examples of the work of colonial artist T.G. Moyle. Moyle is known from the number of fi nely detailed watercolour views that he produced while working on the goldfi elds of Victoria. He probably was an itinerant artist, making a living from commissions. Two of his works are in the collection of the National Library of Australia: The Queensland Hotel, Roma, 1887 and Sergeants Freehold Quartz Goldmining Company’s claim, Redan, Ballarat, 1881.

THE WILLS TRAGEDY

AN IMPORTANT HISTORICAL WATERCOLOUR THAT DEPICTS THE AFTERMATH OF THE INFAMOUS 1861 CULLIN-LA-RINGO MASSACRE IS ONE OF THE LATEST ADDITIONS TO THE JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY.

DIANNE BYRNE, LIBRARIAN, ORIGINAL MATERIALS. HERITAGE COLLECTIONS

THE WILLS TRAGEDY: THE ARRIVAL OF THE

NEIGHBOURING SQUATTERS AND MON

COLLECTING AND BURYING THE DEAD, AFTER

THE ATTACK BY THE BLACKS ON H.R. WILLS ESQ.

STATIONED LEICHHARDT DISTRICT, QUEENSLAND

OCTOBER 19TH 1861 BY T.G. MOYLE,

WATERCOLOUR, 47 X 74 CMS.

JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY, STATE LIBRARY OF

QUEENSLAND [ACC 8085]

AUTUMN 2009 :: www.slq.qld.gov.au 17

::JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY::

IMMERSE YOURSELF IN QUEENSLAND HISTORY AT THE JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY 75TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS SUN 5 APR 2009

ON THIS DAY … 5 APRIL 1934See how the newspapers of the day reported the topical events of 5 April, 1934, in original hard copy as well as via microfi lm and digitised formats.

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE THINGSShare the interests and passions of the John Oxley staff as they reveal their favourite items in the collection and the stories behind these cherished treasures.

PICTURETHIS!Explore Picture Queensland with a fun series of highly interactive games and quizzes that take you through this massive online album.

BEHINDTHESCENESJoin our expert staff on a tour behind the scenes to fi nd out where we store the myriad items that make up the collections of the John Oxley Library or how our expert preservation staff ensures the long term safety and security of Queensland’s heritage.

MEET OUR HISTORIAN IN RESIDENCEGet up close and personal with historian, researcher, author and Griffi th University Professor Anna Habeich as she shares her deep knowledge and understanding of Queensland’s documentary heritage.

IN THE EYES OF THE CURATORJoin the individuals responsible for putting together our latest exhibitions Bold But Faithful: John Oxley Library at Work and Panoramic Queensland and let then take you on a tour from the eyes of the curator.

QUEENSLANDSTORIESImmerse yourself in a showcase of digital stories created by Queenslanders about Queensland.

TODAYFOR TOMORROWAS KNOWLEDGE ANCESTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION OF TODAY’S MEMORIES FOR TOMORROW’S TELLING, THE JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY HAS A SIGNIFICANT CONTEMPORARY COLLECTION INCLUDING MODERN-DAY EPHEMERA, 21ST-CENTURY QUEENSLAND WRITINGS, AND EVEN AN ARCHIVE OF WEBSITES.

QUEENSLANDAUTHORSTake a journey through the collection of Queensland authors from the fi rst novel set in Brisbane, written by Dr T.P. Lucas in 1834 to contemporaries Samuel Wagan Watson and David Malouf.

WHERE JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY, LEVEL 4WHEN SUN 5 APR 10AM to 4PMTICKETS FREE, NO BOOKINGS REQUIRED

FOR FULL PROGRAM DETAILS VISIT WWW.SLQ.QLD.GOV.AU

SOLDIERS SITTING ON THE FENCE WATCHING THE RACES

AT ALBION PARK, BRISBANE, SEPTEMBER 1942.

JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY, SLQ, 43414.

CONDOMAN SAYS: USE CONDOMS POSTER, 1988.

JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY, SLQ, 3248.

IMAGE FROM DARES’ WORLD – DIGITAL STORY BY DARES KAFI 2005

JOHN WATTS NECKLACE (DETAIL)

JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY, SLQ. ACC681

18 STATE LIBRARY OF QUEENSLAND MAGAZINE :: AUTUMN 2009

LADY JEANNIE LUCINDA MUSGRAVE, JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY, SLQ. 121139SIR ANTHONY MUSGRAVE HOLDING WALKING STICK AND TOP HAT, JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY, SLQ. 3786

SIR ANTHONY MUSGRAVE SILK BILLS, JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY, SLQ. 2812

AUTUMN 2009 :: www.slq.qld.gov.au 19

A GOVERNOR’S

LIFESIR ANTHONY MUSGRAVE, GOVERNOR OF QUEENSLAND (1883-1888)

The Brisbane Courier reported on this concert:… A juvenile concert with ticket holders to be

admitted at a quarter past seven, before those who purchase tickets at the door. The concert commenced at a quarter to eight o’clock punctually.

The subsequent review reads:… The hall was packed to its utmost capacity, hundreds

of persons being obliged to stand. The pupils, to the number of 300 were arranged on the platform, the boys on the left, the girls on the right. The dress of the latter had received special attention and every girl carried a basket of fl owers … The programme consisted of twenty six numbers including glees, choruses, songs, recitations, dialogues and pianoforte solos … About twenty boys caused great amusement by their rendering of the well known catch “A Little Farm” … ”Won’t You Buy My Pretty Flowers” was prettily rendered as a solo and chorus by the girls …

A week later, on 16 May, 1884, the Governor and Lady Musgrave attending a grand concert for the benefi t of the Central State Schools at the Maryborough Town Hall.

Back in Brisbane on 13 June, 1884, they attended a joint benefi t for the Sick Children’s Hospital – a particular interest and focus for Lady Musgrave – and the South Brisbane Musical Society’s Funds. Part One of the concert comprised songs and recitals with Part Two being a grand amateur performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury.

On 2 July, 1884, they attended a matinee concert at Albert Hall held under the patronage of the Governor and his wife as well as the Hon. S.W. Griffi th. The Brisbane Courier reminded residents of this planned event in its issue of 2 July, 1884:

An afternoon concert in which several well known amateurs will take part, is to be given in the Albert Hall today. It is under the patronage of the Governor and Lady Musgrave and several leading members of the community, and is described as tendered to Miss Ada Walker by her friends. We understand that the young lady intends to proceed to Melbourne to qualify herself for the profession of music, and the concert is to be at once a farewell and an exhibition of the talent which,

it is hoped, will with proper training fi t her for a prominent place among musical artists.

On 11 August, 1884, Lady Musgrave was present in the Oddfellow’s Hall, Caxton Street for a concert to be followed by a sale of plain and fancy goods all in aid of Christ Church, Milton.

On 24 May, 1885, the Queen’s birthday, they were present in the Brisbane Botanic Gardens for the Brisbane Sunday Schools Union annual gathering of schools. On this occasion the entertainment was words and music together with the British National Anthem.

This collection is available for viewing in the John Oxley Library.

The works on silk are wonderful examples of this format of material, some quite austere with others elaborately decorated. They include theatre programs, menus, addresses as well as a number of newspapers.

We are able to see a range of events attended by the Governor and his wife in locations as varied as Brisbane, Maryborough, Rockhampton, Townsville, Cairns, Cooktown, Clermont and Charters Towers. The silks provide an added dimension to our knowledge of the locations where these theatrical, social, or other occasions took place.

The Theatre Royal in Brisbane is well represented, as a leading venue. The Old Town Hall, located in Queen Street also fi gures prominently in the collection. Performances in the presence of the Governor and his wife were also held at the Protestant Hall located in Ann Street, Her Majesty’s Opera House, the Commercial Rowing Club and the Old Exhibition Building.

On 18 February, 1884, Sir Anthony and Lady Musgrave attended a Grand Concert at the Theatre Royal ‘under the auspices of the Brisbane House Club Cricket Association’. The Brisbane Courier reviewed the performances the following day:

… The programme was suffi ciently long, varied and attractive and a numerous audience attended … In the fi rst part of the programme, the duet ‘Flow Gently, Diva` by Messrs. Reid and M’Robbie was much admired. Miss Walker also sang ‘It was a Dream` very prettily, with a clear and unfaltering voice …

On 9 May, 1884, a progression of entertainment was given by the pupils and teachers of the Leichhardt Street State School together with a grand concert of vocal and instrumental music.

BRIAN RANDALL, MANAGER, HERITAGE INFORMATION SERVICES

A COLLECTION OF MATERIAL ORIGINALLY OWNED BY SIR ANTHONY MUSGRAVE, GOVERNOR OF QUEENSLAND (1883–1888), AND LADY MUSGRAVE, INCLUDES SOME 60 WORKS ON SILK THAT PROVIDE AN INSIGHT INTO THE COUPLE’S HIGH SOCIAL STANDING.

::JOHN OXLEY LIBRARY::

WHO WAS SIR ANTHONY MUSGRAVE?Sir Anthony Musgrave became Governor of Queensland on 6 November, 1883, towards the end of a long and varied career in colonial administration. He served in offi ce in Queensland for some fi ve years, passing away on 9 October, 1888. Sir Anthony was born at Antigua in the West Indies, educated there and served as private secretary to the Governor of the Leeward Islands. In due course he was appointed treasury accountant of Antigua and then Colonial Secretary. His later appointments included Lieutenant-Governor of St. Vincent (1862), Governor of Newfoundland (1864–1869) and Governor of Columbia until it was merged into the Dominion of Canada in 1871. After a brief period as Lieutenant-Governor of Natal he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of South Australia, taking up his duties on 9 June, 1873. In 1877, Sir Anthony was appointed Captain-General and Governor in Chief of Jamaica serving there for some six years. He became Governor of Queensland on 6 November, 1883, bringing with him a wealth of knowledge and experience in administration.

20 STATE LIBRARY OF QUEENSLAND MAGAZINE :: AUTUMN 2009

COMMUNITIES ON THE MOVEPUBLIC LIBRARIES THROUGHOUT QUEENSLAND WILL HOST TWO VERY SPECIAL TRAVELLING EXHIBITIONS THAT TELL THE INSPIRATIONAL STORIES OF TWO DISPARATE QUEENSLAND COMMUNITIES.

Broken Links: the Stolen Generations in Queensland is a moving exhibition that portrays the history of indigenous-child removal, through historic records and the personal stories of fi ve Aboriginal Queenslanders. Water Trees and Roots: stories from the Vietnamese community celebrates the inspirational journeys, monumental challenges and successful establishment of Queensland’s Vietnamese community through its people’s photographs and stories.

APPROXIMATELY 2,000 BABIES WERE ORPHANED OR SEPARATED FROM THEIR PARENTS DURING THE VIETNAM WAR

AND WERE FLOWN OUT OF SOUTHERN VIETNAM DURING OPERATION BABYLIFT. ONE OF THE YOUNG PASSENGERS

WAS SUANNE PRAGER, WHO WAS ADOPTED BY A FAMILY IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA. IN APRIL 2007, SUANNE RETURNED TO

VIETNAM FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1975. SHE WAS ABLE TO RE-ESTABLISH CONTACT WITH HER BIRTH MOTHER.

PHOTO REINA IRMER, COURTESY STATE LIBRARY OF QUEENSLAND.

::EXHIBITIONS::

BROKEN LINKS: THE STOLEN GENERATIONS IN QUEENSLAND• Broadbeach Branch Library 6 Mar to 25 Mar• Elanora Library 30 Mar to 17 Apr • Tamborine Mountain Library 22 Apr to 12 May • Beaudesert Library 16 May to 5 Jun

WATER TREES AND ROOTS: STORIES FROM THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY • Noosa Library 23 Feb to 11 March • Caboolture Library 20 March to 14 April • Esk Library 23 April to 15 May

For further information visit www.slq.qld.gov.au/whats-on/exhibit/travel

20 STATE LIBRARY OF QUEENSLAND MAGAZINE :: AUTUMN 2009

AUTUMN 2009 :: www.slq.qld.gov.au 21

::EXHIBITIONS::

EXPLORETHESENSES

BECOMING QUEENSLAND This virtual exhibition looks at our state’s fi rst 50 years as a dynamic ‘work in progress’. Stories about the people, places, institutions and lifestyles that have made our state special are woven around the themes of Hope, Taking Shape and Queensland Style. As the stories unfold, we move back and forth between the Queensland of bygone days and today. We see beautiful things that intrigue and amaze. We learn why they are important in our history and why they were chosen from thousands of other items in the Heritage Collections. There are also digital stories and interactives to entertain and inform. This exhibition is an exciting collaboration between the State Library’s historian-in-residence Professor Anna Haebich and the team of librarians in the Heritage Collections. The launch will be part of the library’s Q150 celebrations. www.slq.qld.gov.au/whats-on/exhibit/online/becoming_qld

Five Senses is the result of the coming together of Flying Arts and the State Library of Queensland to create a showcase of artwork celebrating the talent and achievements of artists from regional Queensland. The artists hail from all points of Queensland, from the far north, the west and Central Queensland. They represent all walks of life from full-time practising artists to teachers, miners and farmers.

It can be diffi cult for any artist to get attention and recognition for their work – for a regional artist it is that much more diffi cult. For some of our more remote artists it

can be hard to just get the right materials for their work and many of them will tell you that they simply ‘make do’.

This exhibition is a rare opportunity for Brisbane audiences to explore the many colours of Queensland delivered by the people who live and work in the regions.

Five Senses is named for Judith Wright’s famous poem of the same name – the fi ve senses explored here are growth, restoration, destruction, loss and rejuvenation. The work will challenge our assumptions and perhaps even cause us to pause a moment to and reconsider life in regional

remote Queensland from utter despair to unbridled joy.

In addition to the artwork, audiences can view one of the six digital stories made by some of the artists in this exhibition. Told from their own point of view and using their own imagery, the artists share some insight into their life and work. These stories will become part of the State Library’s growing collection of digital stories.

One of Queensland’s living treasures, the original Flying Artist and founder of Flying Arts, Mervyn Moriarty, will open Five Senses on Friday 27 February.

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