Beer Ahoy!

In the classic 1949 Ealing comedy Whisky Galore!, the unwelcomely sober lives of the inhabitants of the Hebridean island of Todday are considerably enlivened when they realise a cargo ship sinking off their coast contains 50,000 crates of whisky. Much of the comedy revolves around the attempts of the islanders to salvage the whisky and hide it from the stuffy authorities. This was actually based on a real-life incident, when the whisky-carrying SS Politician sunk off the island of Eriskay in 1941. 

A somewhat similar incident occurred in Brisbane once, only this time involving beer and not whisky, and with a lot less hiding and more instant consumption. This was during the devastating floods of 1893, which showed that although natural disasters can bring out the best in people, others can be quick to seize an opportunity no matter what the circumstances.    

The West End Brewery during the 1890 floods
(State Library of Queensland)

The damaged building in this case was the West End Brewery, which had opened  on the corner of Montague and Merivale Streets in 1886. The brewery contained a lot of rickety wooden sheds that were inundated when the Brisbane River flooded in March 1890, although not too much damage was done at that time.  

Worse was to come in the larger flood of February 1893, and of the five breweries in Brisbane that year, West End Brewery suffered the most. The rising water reached up to the second-storey windows of the main tower, and of course all the houses in the immediate neighbourhood were submerged. Although the brewery tower survived the experience, the timber buildings were wrecked by the raging torrent. The damage is apparent in the State Library of Queensland photo below.

Not only were many brewery buildings gone, so too were 500 kegs of beer, worth about $250,000 by current values. Some were carried by the waters to the railway embankment, the nearest high ground, while others washed ashore at the foot of Bowen Terrace. The results were all too predictable. Word spread quickly and large numbers of men swarmed to the riverbank. The scene was described in the Brisbane Courier:

"A great deal of drunkenness was unfortunately observable in various directions. The weather was no doubt the excuse for the over-indulgence of many; but when kegs and barrels of beer floating away from the West End Brewery were washed ashore at the foot of Bowen-terrace and others from the Phoenix Brewery were picked up in Fortitude Valley the scenes enacted were disgusting in the extreme, and men were seen drinking all they could and then quarrelling for possession of the cask containing the balance. Several of the accidents which occurred are undoubtedly the result of this and similar misconduct."

Another news report read:

“Hundreds of casks of beer from the West End Brewery were seen floating along, some of which were rescued along the banks, tho bungs knocked out, and conscienceless beings (I cannot call them men) swilled the contents till they became mad drunk.”

It is not too hard to imagine similar scenes taking place now if kegs of beer were washed down the Brisbane River, and much of it would no doubt go straight onto YouTube, complete with overloaded utes, bogan fistfights, and the author of the 'Boggo Blog' struggling down the street with a wheelbarrow full of beer.

Despite their massive losses, the West End Brewery was rebuilt as an imposing brick structure and by the following year the owners were claiming to have the largest output of beer in Queensland.

(Brisbane Telegraph, 1894)

It might have survived massive floods, but the West End Brewery closed in 1913 and the premises was turned into a bottling factory.

For most Brisbanites the Great Flood of 1893 had been a tragic disaster, but for a few 'conscienceless beings' it brought manna from Heaven in the form of a bounty of free beer. What would you have done? 

Know Your Colonial Gaol History #4: Petrie Terrace 1860-83 (Part Two)

(See here for Part One of this article)
Conditions at Petrie Terrace
Overcrowding soon became as much of a problem at Petrie Terrace as it had been at the older Queen Street gaol. The visiting surgeon was concerned that such a crowded gaol would lead to an increase in serious diseases, and the whole situation lent urgency to the move to erect the lunatic asylum at Woogaroo, which eventually opened in 1864. Later in the decade it also saw the opening of the gaols at Toowoomba and Rockhampton and the use of the ship Proserpine as a prison hulk, which was moored at Fort Lytton and received 104 prisoners during 1864.

Queensland’s first set of prison regulations were issued in April 1864, and they provided for the separation of the prisoners into six classes. The gaol at Petrie Terrace, however, was too small to enable this and it was to be some time before the classification of prisoners was practical in the colony. In his 1862 report, the Registrar-General noted that:

 “I need hardly point out... how utterly futile it is to make any attempt at the proper classification of the prisoners – young and old, the thrice-convicted felon and the lad guilty of robbing an orchard, the murderer, and the servant who has broken his agreement, are all huddled together; reformation is, I fear, under such circumstances, past hoping for.”

Although conditions were thought to be worse at St Helena Island, there were several factors that made Petrie Terrace unhealthy. In 1868, Dr William Hobbs, the visiting surgeon at the gaol, claimed that the ventilation at the gaol was “very imperfect”, especially in the hot climate, and the high gaol walls prevented air circulation. He also noted that the cellblocks were facing the wrong way and received too much sun, making them unbearably hot in summer. He thought that the main cause of sickness at the gaol arose from “the derangement of the digestive organs from want of exercise and from the superabundance of food that the prisoners are allowed”. 

Who were the Petrie Terrace prisoners?
The gaol was originally designed to hold both sexes, with individual room for 108 male and 36 female prisoners. Before 1867, the year that the penal establishment at St Helena Island was in full operation, the Petrie Terrace received an average of just over 600 prisoners per year. Of these, 10-15% were women, while 5-10% were classed as ‘lunatics’. From 1870 on, all female prisoners were sent to the gaol in Toowoomba. The oldest woman ever held at Petrie Terrace was 76 years old and was convicted of stealing clothes. The youngest was only 11 and was sent there for stealing poultry. The oldest male prisoner was 96 and was convicted of vagrancy, while the youngest male was sentenced for stealing money from a till when he was just ten years old.

After 1870 the average number of prisoners per year dropped to under 500, and with a daily average that was just less than the capacity of the gaol it soon became clear that a new gaol would be required. 

The staff
It was not only the prisoners who found life at the gaol difficult. The staff made a public comment about their conditions in July 1863, when they presented a petition to Parliament asking for more money, so that in the case of “debility or infirmity” they could receive medical attendance and medicine. Moreover, they complained of fatigue after working long shifts, often at night. Sundays were dreadful days when they could not go to the pub (old turnkeys rule – do not frequent places where you might meet some of your recent ‘guests’), and visits to  church often ended in sleep because in “the hallowed precincts of a place of worship, the fatigue of the body, through the length of time on duty, and more especially at night, overpowers inclination, and shrouds it in unconquerable drowsiness”. It was signed by 14 men, describing themselves as “the Turnkeys of Her Majesty’s Gaol, and Warders of the Lunatic Asylum, Brisbane”.

One visitor to the gaol in 1876 was a reporter for The Week, who presented a somewhat rosier picture of life inside:

“One of the most noticeable features in connection with the gaol is the air of cleanliness and neatness which pervades the whole establishment. Every prisoner admitted has a bath and a shave, and those who intend to partake of [the chief Gaoler’s] hospitality for any length of time are supplied with a suit of clean clothes, and during their detention all the prisoners are obliged to take a bath at least once a week; but in this matter they do not need much pressing, as it rarely happens that the prisoners’ ablutions are confined to the minimum enjoined by the rules of the establishment. Shower baths are to be seen in all directions. In pleasing contrast to the ever-present massive masonry, I was glad to perceive that every available spot of ground had been utilised for the planting of flowers, and fruit and shade trees, the latter proving a very welcome shelter to the prisoners in their leisure hours.” (The Week, 18 November 1876)

As with the Queen Street gaol before it, the Petrie Terrace facility soon became obsolete, and demolition began in 1881 as a new gaol was constructed on Boggo Road, South Brisbane. All the prisoners were transferred to that establishment in July 1883. 

Next in 'Know Your Colonial Prison History' - The first Rockhampton Gaol, 1864-84 

'Haunts of Brisbane' Goes Live!

Busy, busy, busy... Liam Baker and myself spent several hours in Brisbane city centre last night exploring the out-of-the-way streets and places of historical interest. Why? We have been busy preparing a whole new history tour experience in the city - the ‘Haunts of Brisbane’ night tours that will be kicking off sometime this winter.

The tours were inspired by the success of Liam’s ‘Haunts of Brisbane’ blog, which features critical analysis of some of the ghost stories of the Brisbane area, most of which (thanks to the depth of his research) don’t survive the experience intact. Not that he didn't think there had been some paranormal incidents in these places, just that quite often the stories attached to them don't hold water. Through this work he found that there was a large audience of people who liked all things paranormal and not having their intelligence insulted. From the blog came the popular ‘Haunts of Brisbane’ Facebook page, which has branched out into other unusual or tragic aspects of Brisbane history. As a result of all this work, Liam has become something of a walking encyclopedia of historical knowledge.

The convict-built Commissariat Store at night (L Baker)

Having worked together (with Tracey Olivieri) on the South Brisbane Cemetery Moonlight Tours, which contain a large element of 'looking behind the myths', we realised there was a market for similarly-styled history tours in other places, and the natural starting point would be the city centre. Look around most major cities and you will find regular history tours on the streets. There have been a number of these in Brisbane in the past, but not many, and we want to bring something new to the marketplace. In fact, one of the best things about last night was the number of innovative and fresh ideas we had as we walked and talked. Creative brainstorming does get the adrenalin going, but there's still some planning and practicing to be done so we'll see how these ideas play out practically before anything further is said.

So, while the ‘Haunts of Brisbane’ Tours are being prepared for a winter launch, you can catch us in the meantime on the South Brisbane Cemetery Moonlight Tours. Liam will also be speaking at this weekend’s Centenary Fair of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland on the crime and execution of Ernest Austin in 1913. I will be presenting a paper at the RHSQ’s centenary seminar a few weeks later.   

The ‘Haunts of Brisbane’ tours will be not-for-profit, run under the auspices of the Boggo Road Gaol Historical Society, and therefore (as you'd expect from the BRGHS), quite affordable.  

THIS IS NOT THE LOGO! It's just some preliminary promo work.

 

The Last Hanging: Remembering 1913 and all that

We historians get very busy when centenaries come around. I found that out back in 2003 when the Boggo Road Gaol Historical Society organised the Centenary Open Day to mark the opening of Boggo Road’s No.2 Division back in 1903 (when of course it was known as the Prison for Women). These days there is always some kind of anniversary going on, be it the 50^th, 80^th, 135^th, whatever, it seems that any old round-ish or quartile number will do for a commemoration.

Truth be told, I’m not a fan of all these ‘110^th’ or ‘65^th’ anniversaries we see being bandied around all the time now. It makes the actual numerically-significant commemorations so much less special, and half the time it’s just impatient people trying to milk a bit of publicity out of nothing. 

2013 brings us two actual centenaries, with 1913 seeing the end of one thing and the beginning of another. These were the last hanging to take place in Queensland, and the founding of the State’s premier historical organisation, the Royal Historical Society of Queensland, and as it happens I have a finger in both these pies.

Ernest Austin (Qld State Archives)

It was the morning of Monday 22 September 1913 when convicted murderer Ernest Austin was ‘launched into eternity’ on the Boggo Road gallows. Nobody there could have guessed that this was to be the last time they would be required to go through the ritual of judicial execution. Plenty more men were sentenced to death over the following nine years but they all had their sentences commutated. In 1922 Queensland became the first part of the British Empire to abolish capital punishment and Austin took his place in history. He was the 94^th person to be hanged in Queensland and despite the horror of his crime (the brutal murder of 11-year-old Ivy Mitchell near Samford) he was by no means the worst or the most interesting of those who were executed here. Nonetheless, being the ‘last man hanged’ brings with it a certain kind of infamy and Austin’s name is invariably evoked in shortlists of famous prisoners. His name will no doubt be heard a lot more as the centenary of his death approaches, and while I'll be doing my bit in all that I think that reflection upon where we stood with capital punishment in 1913 is of more historical significance than revisiting the gory details of the demise of Austin and his victim.

This brings us to the other centenary, which is one that ties in neatly with the last hanging. On Sunday 2 June the RHSQ will be hosting a Centenary Open Day at their Commissariat Store home on William Street in the city, with special exhibitions, classic cars, a sausage sizzle, and a series of public talks, one of which will be given by the Boggo Road Gaol Historical Society. We will also be on hand to chat with visitors about the Boggo Road hanging beam they have on display there. This beam is still housed in the case that BRGHS members made for it when I curated the ‘Gallows of Boggo Road’ exhibition at Boggo Road itself back in 2005. 

(Courier-Mail, July 2005)

I have also been invited to present a paper at the RHSQ Centenary Seminar, and the subject matter will of course relate to the 1913 hanging. 

So what else is happening? Well, later this year the Supreme Court of Queensland will be hosting a new exhibition in the Sir Harry Gibbs Legal Heritage Centre to mark the centenary of the last hanging. I am doing ongoing consultation work with them on this project, including writing an article for the exhibition catalogue, and can tell you (without spoilers) that they have some brilliant stuff up their sleeve over there.
 

Sir Harry Gibbs Legal Centre (SCQ)

In addition to all that I’m also looking to complete a new e-book this year on the complete history of hanging in Queensland. This has been an on-off project of mine for several years now. The BRGHS are also working on a few ideas for other 1913 centenary projects that are yet to be announced. Then we can drop the whole subject for a while, at least until 2022 brings the centenary of abolition.

So, yes, centenaries are a great opportunity for historians to get some much-needed work as we attempt to convince the public that this-or-that is interesting and important, and it’s especially good to work around genuinely-significant dates.

The Kindness of Strangers, Part 3

Here's the third installment of comments from our 'Better Future for Boggo Road' petition over at change.org. Once again a big thanks to everyone who has signed so far, especially those who leave comments too. 

Thanks also to the thousands(!) of people who have signed the paper version of the petition.

Ian Hutchinson

heritage sites are public assets for the benefit of the whole community and should not be privatised

Stephen Paul Oldham

It is MY history and I have every right to protect it.

Ted Domanski

Because people who never experienced the feel of working amongst prisoners, shouldn't be running the place.

Julie Massie

I am concerned it will just get sold

Evelyn Williams

part of our history, i teach Legal Studies

Tony Smallwood

Heritage should be vailable to the community as easy as possible.

Chris Dillon

This is part of our heritage and history something needs to be protected.  Find somewhere else to ruin and leave this historical site alone.

Lorraine Carter

My father was born in Brisbane and I have cousins who still live there. I fly from WA to Queensland each year to do family research. Family researchers need easy access to all records. Boggo Road Gaol should be for the community and looked after by the govt as many heritage properties are.

Chris Wright

This is Qld Heritage and should be  available to all Queenslanders, which cannot be guaranteed if it is sold.

Marion Hall

The Boggo Road Goal is a heritage museum and should be available for the public as such.

Kevin Wallace

Public access to historical buildings is important and this must always be inexpensive.

dawn pearce

this is OUR heritage and should not be used only by private companies

Bruce Woodstock

As a fellow Historical Society we realise the importance of havibg access to premises that reflect the history of our state or country

Denise Comerford

I think our Public Heritage Assets should be protected.

Tony White

Keep our heritage in the hands of the people

Tennikah Webster

Brisbane has such few remnants of its history, don't take what's left.

Lynn Anich

Important parts of our state heritage are too important to be handed over to private enterprise

Kate Krause

This is a significant part of our history and everyone should be able to access it...it needs to be run by those who are passionate about taking care of it.

Lynda Hinz

Our Australian is so important to all of us and especially our children.

Anne Panitz

As a community museum volunteer i know the work it requires to keep these places open to the public. Dedicated volunteers have a love for these places and for preserving the history of such a place. Please let dedicated people with the history of Queensland in their hearts run such a place! 

sonya jackson

history is history it should be protected not sold to someone who may turn it into a shopping complex!

Barbara Wild

Brisbane deserves an accessible, interactive historical site. Why should Melbourne and Sydney have all the fun?

Denis Peel

The Historical Society has contributed a huge amount to the preservation and development of the gaol and are now being effectively locked out.

fred van essen

I recently took my family to the gaol. It is a fantastic site, the entry fee may have been   expensive.  but.... if the money made is also used for maintainence, you do not mind!!.but .... their is no maintainence being carried out on this site.So if placing control of this site back to the government brings the goal back to its formerly glory, then this should be done. 

Robyn Evans

I am sick of governments selling off our assets & history and would like to visit when I come to Qld every winter.

Tricia Simpson

This process should have been tendered and the historical society should have been taken into consideration

Ron Pokarier

History belongs to the people, not to commercial operators.

Glenda Pokarier

This historic site should not become an opportunity for small business profiteering.

Mick Dance

I worked at Boggo Rd for 11 years in the 1980's. It is a very special place for me and holds many memories. It should be refurbished and protected as an historical site. There are many tales to be told about "THE ROAD".

Maree Ganley

the work of volunteers researchers and tour guides helps to ensure all of our history is known and preserved for generations to come. We go into the future with the strength of knowledge of our past

Lynette Fleming

As a member of a local Family History Society I see the importance of preserving our history.

Evan Skuthorpe

Important part of our heritage.

Ken Davis

I'm sick of back door privatisations of public assets against the will of the community. Enough!

Steve Reynolds

People should be able to listen to the people who were warders or prisoners, not some pack of kids who know nothing about the jail.

John Strike

Lets keep history for future generations in the hand of people who are concerned for the Gaol as it is, not for money hungry privateers.

Laura Adler

this is heritage for everyone, should not be profit for only some!

Peter Wilson

Historical Society were fantastic, finding information and assisting my research.  Why destroy an outstanding community organisation for a few pieces of silver, Campbell?  

suzanne andrews

Because it's a wonderful part of Brisbane's history and should be available to all not at a profit for a private company. So many fantastic things about this city. It shouldn't have a price .

Karen Webster

the heritage of the State belongs to the people of Queensland, so they can learn about their history and where they have come from.

Jan Grant

Because it is a heritage site and should be managed by people who know how to preserve this heritage and keep accessibility free of private  commercial control whose only interest is in making money.

Ray Thurlow

Heritage matters are best left in the hands of a not-for-profit organisation as is already the case in many other places.

Margaret Greer

Our historic buildings should be accepted as such. And not allowed for private profit

Dorothy Joycey

The Historical interest is huge.

Rebecca Fitz-Herbert

History gives perspective on where we have been and who we are now.  The story needs to be told properly!

Lee Hunter

because we have sold off far too much of our government owned land and property as it is. Something like this needs to be preserved and available to the general public, not just those who can afford to pay the high prices a private firm would charge for access (if they dont just find a way to tear it down in the first place!)

Colleen O'Leary

It is part of our history in this state and should not be run as a profit making business.

Glenys Prins

Our heritage belongs to the people no to some private company to make money out of.

Tara Young

Australia's heritage & landmarks should be accessible by both Australians & tourists at a reasonable cost. They are our heritage & a symbol of our past, not a business to make a profit from. We have lost too much if our heritage already to it her Privatisation gone wrong or modern development. Listen to the people...we want this Gaol to remain affordably accessible & maintained for our future generations. 

Stefania Zara Kleynendorst

because it's a public historical building that should be available open to all

Cat Steele

Shame LNP shame! Boggo Road is our heritage

Bob Aldred

Historical sites are the property of the community, and not for the commercial profits of individuals and companies. Also, not for profits have something different to offer that commercial companies.

John Elliott

to preserve the historical site

Annette Hall

Too much of Queensland's history has been demolished.  The future is important but the past once was the future and is worth hanging onto for all time.

Greg Glidden

This is an important heritage site of historical significance. Furthermore, it is an asset which was paid for and belongs to the people of Queensland and must continue to be managed by the government. Private enterprise has no place here!

Steffy Duncan

Because my Grandfather worked there, not sure what his role was as I was only young but a part of Boggo's history is a part of my family history.

Brodie-Ann Wright

History belongs to us all.

Peter Johnson

As this is a Qld heritage site, it should not become a private business venture.