The Story of Charles O’Brien

Records from Queensland State Archives’ collection Photo of Kerry O’Brien courtesy of Artemis Films and Serendipity Production The fourth series of Who Do You Think You Are? (WDYTYA) is screening on SBS ONE in 2012. Episode two, air date 3 April 2012 at 7.30 pm, follows the story of Kerry O’Brien, one of Australia’s most revered television journalists. WDYTYA is a co-production by Artemis International […]

What’s in a name? Mostyn Hanger

Our recent What’s in a Name blog covered some of the many unusual and intriguing names we find in the Archives, and looked at how a name can lead us on a merry trail to discover the stories hiding in the records. Stories that shed light not only on the individual but also Queensland’s past. […]

Abandoned: The incredible tale of a French castaway

Sensitivity warning: Some material on this blog may contain words, descriptions and terms which may be culturally sensitive and that reflect authors’ views, or those of the period in which the content was created, but are not considered appropriate today. These views are not necessarily the views of QSA. While the information may not reflect […]

Referendum Blues

Four days before Australians voted in the 1916 referendum about compulsory military service, a teacher at Richmond Hill State School decided to explore this process of voting when teaching the combined  Fourth and Fifth classes. On Tuesday 24 October Mr William John Williams discussed the concept of a referendum -“what it is, when it is […]

Tragedy at Wickham Terrace

On 1 December 1955 Karl Kast, equipped with ‘a revolver, more than 100 rounds of .38 calibre ammunition, a box of detonators and a satchel of home-made piping bombs’ murdered two prominent doctors at their practices on Wickham Terrace, Brisbane. Another doctor was injured and a local horse trainer had two fingers blown off as […]

Biography of an archive

Many of the sites and buildings that have housed Queensland government records have an important connection to the history of Brisbane.  Many buildings are heritage listed and  we have records about them in our collection. The Queensland State Archives building, along with some related sites it has been associated with in the past are open […]

Murphy’s Creek Railway Accident

On the morning of January 29, 1913 a livestock train departed from Toowoomba and derailed near the Murphy’s Creek railway station, about one mile from the station yard limits. No members of the crew were injured, but many hundreds of cattle were killed and a considerable amount of damage was caused to the vehicles and […]

Henry Jordan and the Tides of Immigration 1865-1890

A researcher’s account by Dr Hugo Ree, PhD. FRCP I am a retired physician with experience in the field of tropical medicine. I came to Queensland with my family in 1987 to take over the post of government leprologist on the retirement of Dr Douglas Russell. I first came to the Queensland State Archives some […]

Who Were the Midnight Runners?

This striking photo shows the rain-dampened opening of the Blackall train line in 1908. The gathered crowd, band and dignitaries were in full celebration as feet stomped across the mud. Speeches were given, the music played. And then a moment of strangeness took centre stage. The Queenslander, covering the speeches on 23 May 1908, reported […]
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