Category: Uncategorized

The  huge 234.75 pound (106.5 kg) big groper had been caught in the Brisbane River at the Brisbane Abattoir Wharf which was part of the privately- owned abattoir established in 1913 as Swifts Meat Works in what was then rural Cannon Hill. It was one of the largest employers in Brisbane and a vital contributor to the development of the Cannon Hill community. The company planted extensive gardens and an avenue of Jacaranda and African Tulip trees leading from the entrance down to the river.

When the State took over private abattoirs in 1930 Swifts  became the Brisbane Abattoir. After extensive additions and alterations in 1931 the works continued operating successfully until the 1980s when they moved to another site away from the river.

In 1998 the Brisbane City Council acquired the land of the original abattoir for use as parkland, today known as the Colmslie Beach Reserve. The now mature trees are an important reminder of the industry that used to be on the site. The Reserve was entered on the local Heritage Register on 30 November 2012 with special focus on the avenue of trees which remain of the original gardens planted by Swifts. The site is also a significant reminder of  ‘one of Queensland’s most important industries that employed thousands of Queenslanders during the 20th century.’
The groper was sold at the South Brisbane Fish Market for twopence a pound, netting a return of nearly £2 (approx $4).
( Local Heritage Register/Telegraph 18 October 1935)

Article from the Courier Mail, Monday 30 October 1950

‘New Australians of every nationality flock to a Woolloongabba dance hall every Sunday night to meet Australian girls and to talk things over among themselves.

The dances, held in the Hibernian Hall are organised by the Polish Association but Czechs, Hungarians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Estonians, Greeks, Italian, Dutch, Ukranians and other nationalities attend.

Many native-born Australian teenagers go to the dances – for them it is somewhere to go on Sunday night. Last night Dorothy Kendall of Dutton Park was one of the Australian girls dancing. “I go to the beach on Sundays,” she explained “I like to finish off the day here.” She said she liked dancing with New Australians.  “You don’t notice any difference,” she said.

Organiser of the dance, Mr S Fekiewicx was a German prisoner of war for five years. Once a Lieutenant in the Polish Army he now works in a South Brisbane factory.  “We like everyone to come” he said. “Old Australians, New Australians, anyone. We are not Poles or Ukranians any longer. We are just Australians and we want to mix with other Australians.

Photo caption: ‘You don’t have to know the language to be able to enjoy yourself dancing. New Australian Zdzila Marezynski from Poland, discovered when he danced with Dorothy Kendall, of Dutton Park, at Woolloongabba last night.’

The scene at the corner of Inkerman and Stanley Streets, Woolloongabba when a bolting horse ran into a tram and was killed instantly. (Telegraph, 6 November 1935)

Inkerman Street was resumed as part of the freeway construction in the 60’s.

September 19, 1940: Bad language during an argument with the bus driver over the fare resulted in a Kangaroo Point local man being fined £1 with 6d costs.

 

An unexpected turn of events at a wedding reception in 1946 when the bridegroom said that he was going home. Not even a love nest flat in South Brisbane could tempt this new husband to join his bride.

 

 

What’s special about this clock? It used to hang in a classroom in the  Kangaroo Point State School. Many past students remember it well. Here are some of their memories.

Leone E. Looks like clocks we had at Kangaroo Point State School in the 1950s.
Colleen F. It feels like the clock I learned to tell the time on at Kangaroo Point State School. Early 1950s.
Greg M. It certainly looks like the clocks we had at Everton Park State School. Maybe they had the Education Dept contract?
Laurie C. The ubiquitous state school clock!
Nev M. They seemed to be in the classrooms until the 70s. Each week the teacher would wind up the clock with a key.

Here’s the rest of the story.
Andrew C. It now hangs in a house in Carindale. Still working.
George C. In 1971 I was staying with my in-laws at 2 O’Donnell Street (a Dodd’s/Flower heritage house) which had rented accommodation. One Irish couple Joe and Eileen lived in the middle section. Joe laboured at the school site and saved the clock from being dumped.

The Norman Creek Bridge at East Brisbane seems to have been a traffic accident hot-spot for many years. Interesting how this accident between a bus and tram was reported when you compare it to today’s style. Personal details, addresses, marital status were all made public!

March 8 is International Women’s Day. In previous posts we’ve looked at the achievements of Dr Lilian Cooper, Queensland’s first female surgeon who arrived in Brisbane from England in 1891 and lived in Kangaroo Point for many years. For ten years she was the only woman practising medicine in Queensland.

Today we’ll look at Irene Maud Longman (1877-1964) who was the first female member of the Queensland Parliament. She was also one of the first trained kindergarten teachers working in Queensland with a long career in early childhood education. In 1929, at the age of 52, she won the seat of Bulimba for the Country and Progressive Party after a strong campaign and promise to use her position to lobby for services to improve the lives of women and children. She gained a huge swing of 10% against her male opponent in what had been considered a safe Labor seat. She was to be instrumental in establishing the first women police in Queensland and creating a separate, private and safe venue for Children’s Court hearings.

Irene had a strong background in politics and was a powerful public speaker. She was a member of the Queensland Women’s Electoral League and president of the Queensland Branch of the National Council of Women from 1920-1924. Her two brothers were also members of Parliament.

However, life as a female parliamentarian in a male-dominated environment proved to be challenging for Irene. She was not allowed to use the dining room in Parliament House and had to eat her meals on the verandah. There were also no female toilets in the building at that time. 

She served only one term as the Member for Bulimba, losing her seat in the landslide which swept away the Moore government in 1932. She was disappointed that no woman succeeded her into State Parliament during her lifetime. The next female member was Vi Jordan who served from 1966-1974.

Irene continued pursuing her interest in politics and community welfare. She was vice-president of the Lyceum Club, a club for women interested in the arts, science, contemporary issues and the pursuit of lifelong learning which had been established in Brisbane in 1919. She was also vice-president of the Queensland Women’s Peace Movement and president of the Association for the Welfare of Mental Deficients Queensland. She died on 29 July 1964 in Brisbane.

The federal electoral division of Longman created in 1996 is named after Irene Longman.

 

Here’s how the Brisbane Courier reported a hotel break-in on 8 June 1891. It’s a crime report with a bit of flair, quite different from the way it’s done these days.

                                     Looting a Bar
                          Pineapple Hotel Entered

When Mr. Peter McGuinness, licencee of the Pineapple Hotel, Kangaroo Point, entered the bar of his hotel on Tuesday morning, he at once saw that it was not as he had left it the previous evening. A window had been raised, and a case knife lying on the sill showed how its catch had been turned back. All the bottles opened the night before were empty, and glasses were lying about promiscuously that had been made use of in drinking the liquor. A number of bottles of brandy and whisky was missing, and the foot marks of five or six people were to be seen about the floor and on the counter. Mr. McGuinness judges that the theft occurred at about 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning. At the closing hour on Monday night there was a number of semi-larrikins about the hotel, but up to the present the police have been unable to fix upon any of the persons concerned in the affair.
(Brisbane Courier 8 June 1891)

Comments:
Jeff W. It’s interesting and also delightful to read the descriptive journalism of the past – far more entertaining and enlightening of the events of the period.
Imogen I. “glasses were lying about promiscuously” – this made me laugh!

 

 

 

This excerpt from the ‘Society Sidelights’ page of Sunday, 20 August 1905:

A  very non-modern comment regarding Dr Lilian Cooper’s practical outfit when travelling in her new car to visit patients. (Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom.)

Read more about Dr Lilian Cooper: https://kangaroopointhistory.com.au/stories/people/dr-lilian-cooper/