HISTORY
Milestones for Queensland, Brisbane & Bribie Island THIS ARTICLE GIVES A BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME IMPORTANT MILESTONE EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF QUEENSLAND, BRISBANE AND BRIBIE ISLAND UNDER FOUR HEADINGS OF POLITICS, PEOPLE, INFRASTRUCTURE, EDUCATION & HEALTH. AS YOU READ THEM, SOME YOU WILL PROBABLY KNOW, BUT OTHERS MAY SURPRISE YOU. IT IS ONLY WHEN CONSIDERING THE SEQUENCE, RATHER THAN THE DATE OF KEY EVENTS, THAT YOU BEGIN TO SEE THE EVOLUTION OF THE WORLD IN WHICH WE LIVE.
POLITICS
In 1859 a new Colony of Queensland was created by separation from NSW. Sir George Bowen was appointed the first Governor, and a few months later in 1860, Sir Robert Herbert promoted from Colonial Secretary to become Queensland’s first Premier. Queensland’s first official Flag with an imperial crown inside a Maltese cross was unfurled in 1876. The annexation of Papua New Guinea was proclaimed in the name of the British Government in 1883 Aboriginal Reserve established in 1887 at White Patch, Bribie Island, for remaining dispossessed indigenous people. The first Laws to regulate every element of Aboriginal lives passed by the Queensland Parliament in 1897 Queensland’s first military contingent to serve overseas volunteered for the Boer War in 1899. The World’s first Labor Government sworn into Queensland Parliament in December 1899.
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www.thebribieislander.com.au
The Bribie Islander
By Barry Clark Bribie Island Historical Society
Commonwealth of Australia began in 1901 with Federation and Queensland changed from Colony to State The efforts of the Suffragist movement were rewarded in 1905 with Queensland women granted the right to vote. Committed to a volunteer Army, Queensland Government voted against conscription in a 1916 referendum. Queensland became the first and only one-chamber State Parliament in 1922 when it abolished the Legislative Council.
PEOPLE Capt. D.D.Hamilton first acquired land at Toorbul Point in 1872, later sold to Markwell and then to James Clark, and land used for agriculture, grazing, beekeeping and Oystering. This is now the site of the Sandstone Point Hotel. After Fish canneries closed at Godwin Beach and north Bribie Island, a special lease was granted to Mrs Sarah Balls for a new Fish Canning works at Bongaree in 1908. In 1918 the first motor car to reach Bribie Island took two days over rough tracks and beaches from Brisbane, driven by Arthur Bestmann and Ian Hall, and then floated across the Passage to Bongaree. Ambassador for Women’s rights, Irene Longman was elected as Queensland’s first female parliamentarian in 1927. Our Federal seat of Longman, in which Bribie Island sits, is named in her honour. Queensland’s first female Police Officers commenced duty at Roma Street in 1931. Bill Shirley elected first honorary Councillor for Bribie in 1933 on Caboolture Shire Council. Albert Sweeting was the first of only two people ever buried on Bribie Island, at Red Beach cemetery. Prominent businessman and author Thomas Welsby wrote a book “Bribie the Basket Maker” in 1938 and created a legend about the island's history. John Goodwin built Bribie Island Hotel at Woorim in 1939, which was soon taken over by the military during WW2.
