(since May 2014)

Saturday 27 October 2018, Coopers Plains Library

107 Orange Grove Road, Coopers Plains

2.30 p.m.  to 6.30 p.m.

MEMBER ATTENDEES

Denis Peel (Annerley-Stephens, Corley Project), Chris Dawson (Boggo Road Gaol), Norm Love (Bulimba), Caroline Hamilton and Dianne Ruffles (Centenary Suburbs), Beryl Roberts (Coopers Plains), Ron Baker (Coorparoo), Christa and John Gerard (Kangaroo Point), Stephen Sheaffe (representing on this occasion, the Royal Historical Society of Queensland), Tracey Olivieri (South Brisbane Cemetery), Steve Capelin and Tim Quinn (West End) Michael Macklin (Yeronga).

Neville Buch (BSHN Director)

GUESTS

Jack and Brenda Ford (American Civil War Round Table of Queensland Inc.), Darryl Low Choy (Australian Chinese History Association), Catherine Cottle (State Library of Queensland), Geoff Ginn (School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, University of Queensland)

APOLOGIES

Bill Elliot (Annerley-Stephens), Betty Sinden (Balmoral Cemetery), Maurice McGuire and Harry Lynas (Fort Lytton), Margeret Doherty and Janice Cooper (History Queensland), Marion Mackenzie, (Oxley-Chelmer), Ray Kerkhove (Q Earth Inc), Vicki Mynott (Richlands, Inala),

Network Welcome

Dr Buch welcome the gathering to the seventh meeting of the Brisbane Southside History Network, formed at the first meeting on Saturday 31 May 2014, held at the Coorparoo School of Arts.

An eight page annual report for the network was distributed as a PDF. Since the last 14 months since the previous BSHN meeting (25 March 2017), the report highlights the important events and activities of the network.

The main purpose of the network gatherings is to listen to briefings from the member organizations on their affairs and concerns.  The gatherings also provide the networking opportunities among its organizational representatives. This year the gathering also heard briefings from guests from the American Civil War Round Table of Queensland Inc., Australian Chinese History Association, the State Library of Queensland, the School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, University of Queensland, and the Royal Historical Society of Queensland (from Stephen who is also a BSHN organizational representative).

Royal Historical Society of Queensland

The RHSQ major exhibition launch this year has been “Behind the lines – other stories of the Great War: Queensland soldiers in Vignacourt and Naours”. The exhibition has two important finds. In 2011, Ross Coulthart, re-discovered 4000 glass plates negatives from the First World War in the small village of Vignacourt, in the attic of a farm barn. The photos were taken by Louis and Antoinette Thuillier, who had supplemented their farming income during the war by selling pictures to passing Allied soldiers. The Thuillier Collection was purchased by Kerry Stokes, and the photos of 800 Australian soldiers are in the collection of the Australian War memorial. The other find are the graffiti left by soldiers in a cave network lies beneath the village of Naours. Amongst those soldiers who left their mark are  four Queenslanders: Alfred Henry Clegg, John Trevallon Mathewson, John Patrick Ramkema, and William John Riordan.

The RHSQ has recently secured a 99 year lease from the Queensland Government for the Commissariat Store.

The Remembering Armistice Conference will be held on Saturday 16 February 2019 at Commissariat Store museum.

Annerley Stephens History Group Inc.

The major work to come out of the Annerley-Stephens is the Corley Project directed by Denis Peel. The story is now familiar, how “a community infatuated with Frank and Eunice Corley’s work” have embraced a historical search for images of houses in South-East Queensland during the 1960s and 1970s. The Corley Photography is one of the largest digitised photographic collections of Queensland houses, and housed at the State Library of Queensland.

The State Library has a major exhibition, “Home: a suburban obsession”, at Level 2 Gallery, and ran a series of events during December.

American Civil War Round Table of Queensland Inc.

The origins of the club goes back to the American Civil War Round Table of Australia (ACWRTA), founded in May 1972 and based in Melbourne, Victoria but with an Australia-wide membership. In June 1998, four ACWRTA members living in Brisbane held a meeting in the History Department of the University of Queensland, St. Lucia. They formed the ACWRTA (Queensland Chapter). The club serves the needs of enthusiasts who wish to engage in different historical aspects of the American Civil War (1861-1865). Major activities are costumed reenactments and displays at many local heritage festivals since 2001.

The club has Bi-monthly newsletter, Bugle, which replaced the American Civil War Round Table of Qld Newsletter in June 2006. The ACWRTQ published the American Civil War Heritage Trail, Queensland, in 2016, which is an Australian first.  Dr Ford produced a history, from the 1950s, of Civil War research in Australia for the Royal Historical Society of Queensland Journal.

West End Marking History

The relative new local history group, in one of the most diverse communities in Brisbane, has achieved much with heritage walks, booklets and bus tours.

Plans are underway for the development of historical markers in the West End area. One of the near-future projects is around the 50 year history of the Musgrave Park Swimming Pool.

State Library of Queensland

The State Library of Queensland is the main reference and research library provided to the people of the state. The library houses a significant portion of Queensland’s documentary heritage, major reference and research collections

The State Library is looking for materials from local history organizations, which can be archived for future reference and research work. Please send copies of your brochures, flyers, programs and pictures to State Library of Queensland. Your materials are important and will add to the documentary record of our State.

ATN:  Catherine Cottle /Queensland Memory / Level 4

PO Box 3488 South Brisbane 4101

If you wish to discuss larger donations of your historical group’s business records, including minutes of meetings, please email me at [email protected]

School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, University of Queensland

The School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, of which the ‘Department of History’ was one of the former elements, has several projects which engage local history organizations and Queensland historians. One such project has been the Queensland Historical Atlas, an online compilation of essays. Another project being planned is the Queensland Atlas of Religion.

The School has also contributed to the World War I commemoration in collaboration with the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble, through an original play by Michael Futcher, called “The Blood Votes”. Directed by Rob Pensalfini, the production told the local history story of ‘the great war’, with a focus on the debates over conscription in 1916-17. The play was performed at the Holy Trinity Hall in Fortitude Valley during November, and was filmed and made available to the public via an educational website hosted by the School.

Australia Chinese History Association (informally)

Darryl Low Choy has been involved with Chinese Australian Association Inc. He is a former academic very knowable on Australian Chinese history, and spoke about the contribution of Chinese to Queensland Sugar industry, and about those Chinese who were able to stay after 1901 White Australia Policy, and about Chinese merchant seamen who enlisted into construction corps at Bulimba. Dr Choy’s specialization is the Queensland colonial era, the 1860s period of Darryl’s ancestors.

Centenary Suburbs Historical Society Inc.

Caroline and Dianne spoke of the work of the group, which included a group of 15 volunteers undertaking the digitization of newspaper clippings; providing community talks on suburb streets named by Aboriginal nominations; a film about the smallest congregation at State Library; the Centenary Highway problems of congestion, and Thomas Mcleod’s bi-plane record in Queensland.

Coorparoo & Districts Heritage Group

The Coorparoo group has six meetings a year, and on a number occasions have taken bus history tours of other parts of Brisbane. Since the group started 1991, with 50 members, it has been it has been a site for major local history talks. Ron has the extensive list of speakers available from start. In recent years the group has sought to get grant for the Belmont Tramway; for signs along the tramway, including information boards. Funding from Lord Mayor has now become available and the signs to be ready next year. Teachers continue to ask for an information kit from the group. The Police Museum spoke to the group about two women murdered in 1974 in Cooparoo. Work continues with the sister organization, the Belmont Cemetery group, in locating graves and have them tidied up. A celebration for Proclamation day had been organized, with display and possible performance at Cooparoo School of Arts building.

Boggo Road Gaol Historical Society Inc.

The Goal group started around 2003. In recent years many of its exhibitions, tours, talks, have been booked out. The Gaol had shut down in 2005, and was to reopened in 2012, however, there are still delays in the site planning, which prevents the group from using the historical site. The group has worked with the Queensland Shakespeare Company to develop a play regarding history of jail.

Friends of South Brisbane Cemetery Inc.

The year will be the 2020 the 150th anniversary of the South Brisbane Cemetery. In the recent year very successful Clean Up Days have been carried out across the cemetery . Similar preparation is being made for the Mount Gravatt Cemetery for its centenary. The South Brisbane will be assisting by organizing graveyard tours.

Yeronga

Dr Macklin has been writing a history of the area for some years, and real estate agents has engaged to write periodical items on difference as aspects of the suburb which may appeal to buyers.

Kangaroo Point & Districts Historical Society

The Kangaroo Point group is a new startup of recent months,but is already building a website. The meeting was very interested in the Story Bridge, and other historical sites in the area which are very important for the Brisbane Southside. There were was agreement at the meeting that assistance would be offered to the Kangaroo Point if it were be interested in running walking tours or a conference.

Bulimba District Historical Society Inc.

The Bulimba group started around 2012.  The group has had day time and night time meetings to cover all ages. It has worked closely with schools. In recent times the group has been working on WWI honour boards.

Coopers Plains Local History Group Inc.

The Coopers Plains group has hosted the BSHN meetings for last few years. Its work focuses on a cardboard archive in the library. The 2019 ‘Places Now and Then’ Program is on-track.  The program aims to attract local residents to the Coopers Plains Local History Group Inc. through thematic gatherings relating residents’ current experiences to local history. The program are five events on the first Saturday of the particular month (February, April, June, August, October), from 1.00 to 3.00 p.m.

Final Reflection from the Director

On a late Saturday afternoon, 27 October 2018, at the Coopers Plains Library 19 members and guests of Brisbane Southside History Network gathered, and, across three hours, discussed the happening and plans for local history, south of the river. The network consists of 15 organisations with their own district history. Each organisation is the custodian of the history, but that local history has, and had, regional, state, national, and global engagements. Brisbane and Queensland’s past was never as isolated as cultural and political discourse pretends.

One of the clear challenges is the time to have every history organisation on the Brisbane Southside to be able to communicate and gain support for their activities. Four hour timeslot is still not enough to meet that objective. At 2018 meeting, there was only enough time for 19 groups in total, of which 12 representative organisations are within the BSHN. The network has 20 organisational members. The full participation of the network would require more time.

With that challenge, the thought has occurred whether the objective would be better achieved in a day thematic conference (six hours). The objective would be enhanced by asking representative organisations to present a summary of their district history. This way we would not only be more aware of the work of local histories on the Brisbane Southside, but achieve a better understanding of the region’s history. For discussion.