Blackwater High School opened its doors to students for the first time on 29 January 1973. The Queensland Department of Education, predicting an initial enrolment of about 140 students, appointed 13 teachers, including the principal, to the school’s inaugural teaching … Read More
You may have heard of Alpha (Queensland), but have you heard of Beta? What is their connection? Alpha and beta are the first two letters of the Greek alphabet. Is this significant? Alpha is a small town in central Queensland, … Read More
In my family archives, I have a number of old letters. One is a 3-page letter my father wrote to my mother, brother and me 70 years ago, while a guest at the Sea View Hotel, Townsville, north Queensland. I … Read More
This story is a tribute to the Queensland Country Women’s Association (QCWA), which is celebrating its 100th anniversary on 11 August 2022, and the Kingaroy Branch, which is also celebrating its centenary in August this year. The Kingaroy Branch of … Read More
In 2019, during a visit to Birdsville, my husband and I explored the Birdsville Cemetery. It’s an iconic site. The Birdsville Cemetery is not only a sacred place but also a window into the town and district’s remarkable history. Buried … Read More
Do you wonder what school was like for children growing up in Australia 100 years ago? My mother Evelyn, who grew up in rural Queensland in the 1920s, often spoke of her schooldays and the small one-teacher school she attended. … Read More
In October 2019, as part of a western Queensland road trip, my husband and I took the Kennedy Development Road from Boulia to Winton, a distance of 362 kilometres. The road traverses a vast, lonely and seemingly desolate part of … Read More
During a visit to Croydon last year, my husband and I spent time exploring the historic Croydon Cemetery. Gazetted as a cemetery in 1889, the heritage-listed Croydon Cemetery is the only one of ten cemeteries in the district still in … Read More
On Anzac Day, Tuesday 25 April 1944, the citizens of Rockhampton together with service men and women and returnees from both wars came out in their thousands to pay homage to the district’s war fallen. World War II – and … Read More
As part of a recent road trip to Queensland’s northwest and central west, my husband Tony and I returned to Brisbane via the Barcoo Shire, stopping at Stonehenge, Jundah and Windorah. For Tony, our visit to Stonehenge was much anticipated, … Read More
Last October, during a visit to outback Queensland, my husband Tony and I included the tiny town of Windorah in our itinerary. What a good decision that was! We discovered a neat well-kept town rich in history and a community … Read More
Easter celebrations figure large in the annuals of St George’s Church Aramac. How do I know? Following a visit to Aramac in October 2019, intrigued by people I met and what I saw, I decided to explore the history of … Read More
For more than a decade in the 1920s and 1930s, a deadly disease menaced residents of Rannes and other small communities of the Banana Shire in central Queensland. My mother’s family, who lived on a property near Rannes (about 105 … Read More
I was a child living in Rockhampton in 1960 when the Midlander crashed into Medway Creek near Bogantungan, killing seven people and injuring many more. The Midlander was an air-conditioned passenger train that operated in Queensland on the central western … Read More
Last October, during a visit to western Queensland, my husband and I stayed for three nights at Winton’s North Gregory Hotel. We were surprised to learn that this magnificent building, located in Elderslie Street, the main street of Winton, is … Read More
