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Torwood Police Station (aka Sister Mary Angeline's house)
On the way towards the city, as you ease down the long hill before the old Milton tennis centre, she stands there, still and silent. On the verandah of a triple-gabled Queenslander is a nun, waving at...
View ArticleOld movie films - who was the photographer?
I have recently received an email from a history buff in the US.The email contains links to three 16mm movie films apparently taken by someone who visited Australia around the year 1940. These films...
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Red Ted Theodore (and other Labor luminaries)
In successive months we lost two mighty Labor politicians - former prime minister Gough Whitlam and former Queensland premier Wayne Goss. I am not really from their side of the political spectrum but I...
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Back to the future
There are a few hotel names that bob up in many different towns, for example - the Railway, the Post Office, the Royal - and today's venue, the Exchange.In fact different versions of the name...
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Toonarbin, West End
Captain Henry O'Reilly, an Irish master mariner, left his job sailing steam ships out of Liverpool in England to emigrate to Australia and arrived in Sydney in 1854 with thirty quid in his pocket and a...
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The Brisbane G20 vs All the Way with LBJ
Recently the G20 Conference was held in Brisbane. Kilometres of steel barricades were erected and streets were closed off to protect visiting dignitaries from Brisbane's nasty protestors. I can only...
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Edwards Dunlop Building
Situated on Edward St in the CBD is this building that backs onto the grounds of St Stephen's Cathedral; it is now known as The Catholic Centre.(Photo: google.com 2013)The building was constructed in...
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85 Commercial Rd/ 241 Arthur St Newstead
Here is another of Brisbane's wool stores. Originally Queensland Primary Producers Association Woolstore No 3, it is different from most of the other wool stores in terms of its location. Set back from...
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Blair Lodge, Hamilton
Kingsord Smith Drive remains a heavily-used access road from Brisbane Airport to the city despite the recently opened Airport Tunnel that drivers avoid in droves, refusing to cough up a toll when a...
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Wesley Hospital, Auchenflower
Construction of the Wesley Hospital at Auchenflower commenced in 1975 with the first patients arriving on 1 March 1977. It is run by UnitingCare Health and has over 500 beds as well as suites for...
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Three Ms - McIwraith Avenue, Norman Park
For some unknown reason I have always been interested in the process of naming streets and I especially enjoy it when I come across a group of streets that have names that are part of a common theme....
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Three Ms - Macrossan Avenue, Norman Park
This is the second in the trio of Norman Park streets that start with the letter M - Macrossan Avenue, the next street north of McIlwraith Avenue. This was the street on which my cousins lived for many...
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Three Ms - Morehead Avenue, Norman Park
The most northerly street and the last in our series of Three Ms is Morehead Avenue, and like the others it is named after an early politician. Boyd Dunlop Morehead, born in Sydney in 1843, was a...
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St Andrew's War Memorial Hospital, Spring Hill
We have just looked at three politicians of the late nineteenth century and another one is involved in today's post.Sir Charles Lilley achieved an awful lot during his life. He was a soldier, a...
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Hobbs Park, CBD
At present almost every bus I take to the city is held up on Adelaide St to allow cement trucks and other delivery vehicles to access the rear of a Grocon development at 480 Queen St. So I was...
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Thomas Proe, former mayor of Brisbane
Pictured below is the warehouse of S Hoffnung & Co Ltd in Charlotte St. Of course it no longer exists. Despite being championed at times by the National Trust of Queensland it was demolished years...
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Ascog Terrace, Toowong
A brief Easter offering:Ascog Terrace, Toowong 1891(Photo: SLQ 240630)Ascog Terrace, Toowong 2013 (Photo: google.com)tff
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William Edward Parry-Okeden; Delamore, Kedron
Born in 1840 in the Snowy River area of New South Wales, William Edward Parry-Okeden had a lifetime of adventure and achievement. William moved from the bush to Melbourne with his parents in 1851 and...
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On the G
Last week I had the pleasure of riding on the G - the new light rail system on Queensland's Gold Coast. It is quick, quiet, air-conditioned and very comfortable. It seems to be well supported too. I...
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Looking for grandfather
For a bloke who writes about our past I don't know much about my own family's history. Both of my mother's parents were killed in an accident before she married. Mum couldn't bring herself to discuss...
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