History

Little Bribie Island

Barry Clark

Bribie Island Historical Society

When the Jetty was built at Bongaree in 1912 it opened the island to a few residents and a steady stream of visitors. The resident population of Bribie then was just 25 people making a living out of Cattle, Fish, Oysters, or Timber. It was also the birth of a new Steamship excursion and holiday business, in which early residents played a big part. Life was tough back then, and terrible things were happening elsewhere in the world. This article is about events over the last century that had a huge impact on world population and economy, while little Bribie played its small part. History is known to repeat itself.

THINK ABOUT THE NUMBERS

In 1912 the population of the entire world was 1,700,000,000 people. Today the world population is almost five times that at 8 billion. In 1912 the population of Australia was 4.7 million, of which 636,000 were Queenslanders and just 25 of them were resident on Bribie. World War 1 started in Europe in1914 and was thought to be the “War to end all Wars” resulting in the death of 16 million people, of whom 10 million were military, plus 20 million wounded. A battle at Passchendaele in 1917 resulted in casualties on both sides totaling more than the entire population of Queensland. Of the 5 Bribie residents who enlisted in the military one was killed in action in France in August 1918. He was William Gosling whose father was one of two lighthouse keepers on north Bribie Island.

DEATH IN PEACE.

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918 the guns on the Western Front stopped and the Great War ended. The bloody four-year conflict was finally over, but many weary malnourished soldiers would never reach home as a deadly Influenza virus rapidly spread through the military and civilian populations. This became known as the “Spanish Flu” and between 1918 and 1920 it claimed the lives of over 50 million people worldwide. The Spanish Flu killed 13,000 Australians of whom 300 were in Brisbane, but as far as I can tell the Spanish Flu never reached Bribie Island.

Almost 5% of the entire world population died in the “peace” after WW1, which was far more than all who had been killed during the War. Think about the numbers.

BOOM & BUST

European countries struggled to rebuild economy and infrastructure after WW1, but USA enjoyed an economic boom fed by repayment of war loans and profits from American industry. Five years after losing the War Germany faced bankruptcy and defaulted on its reparation payments,

leading to occupation of German industry in 1923 by French and Belgian troops. This further crippled German economy causing hyperinflation which destroyed

currency. A loaf of bread costing 250 marks at the start of the year rose to 200,000 million marks by the end, and a wheelbarrow of money could not buy a newspaper. In 1929 the financial bubble also burst in New York precipitating a global crisis of capitalism with share prices tumbling, panic selling on Wall Street, and Banks closed creating a world crisis. This led to the Great Depression affecting most industrialized nations, and between 1929 and 1933 world trade shrank by 65%. Australia’s unemployment was already high at 10% in 1929 and rose to 32% by 1932. Many were evicted from home and a few came to Bribie for the simple life it offered.

ANOTHER WAR

The first World War was not the War to end all Wars. Just 21 years later a second World War started in Europe in 1939 resulting in the death of 65 million people worldwide, The War involved 61 countries and about 75% of the entire global population of 2 billion people. More than 3% of all people on earth were killed in World War 2, including 40,000 Australian and 23,000 wounded, and 31,000 taken as prisoners of war of which 22,000 were held by Japanese and one third of them died. Think about the numbers.

Of the 250 prewar residents of Bribie just one of the 10 men and 2 women who joined the armed forces died in the War. He was John Band from White Patch who was killed in action in the Coral Sea in 1943. All but essential service people were evacuated when military structures and camps were built, and Bribie became a strategic Defence location against Japanese invasion. Thousands of American and Australian troops were trained at Sandstone Point and remains of military installations are still visible on Bribie. Sadly, the Australian Hospital ship Centaur was sunk by Japanese submarine off Moreton Island in 1943.

PEACE IN OUR TIME NATURAL DISASTERS

When hostilities ended there was a new geopolitical map. America became a superpower while Western Europe’s influence in global affairs diminished. The War sparked a fundamental

shift of the Australian economy and altered its relationship with Britain, forcing Australia to look towards the United States for support and security. Australia launched a massive immigration program, having narrowly avoided a Japanese invasion it must "populate or perish” as Prime Minister Ben Chifley would later declare, "a powerful enemy looked hungrily toward Australia”. At the end of WW2 in 1945 Australia's population was just over 7 million. Over the past 75 years natural population increase and migration have resulted in an Australian population of almost 26 million today and forecast to be 33 million by 2050. on a virtually uninhabited Bribie Island. Rainfall and floods in 1974 and 2011 were only half that of 1893, but the impact on Brisbane was much greater with increased development and population, but no great impact on Bribie Island. China had many disastrous flood events on the Yangtze and Yellow rivers between 1887 & 1935 resulting in the death of at least 4 MILLION people. Think about the numbers

BRIBIE ISLAND

As I write this article Eastern Australia is having extensive rain and flooding. There have been 38 significant floods on the Brisbane and Bremer rivers in recorded time. The 1893 event dropped a record 907mm of rain over this area in just one day, which silted up the Pumicestone Passage bringing an end the Oyster industry, closure of the Campbellville Timber Mill and Mission Point School. These events had significant commercial impact There have been many deaths on Bribie over the last 100 years, but only two people were buried in two different cemeteries in 1935 and 1964. The current population is approaching 22,000 and growing at the rate of about 2.5% per year. What will it be like in 30 years? As you have just read, the world has been hit by many significant events over the years. Queensland and Bribie Island have much to consider as inevitable global events emerge in the years ahead. Consider how fortunate you have been to be born when you were.

MORE BRIBIE HISTORY

Historical Society monthly meetings are on second Wednesday of each month at 6;30 pm at the RSL Club and visitors are always welcome. See more stories and photos of Bribie history on our Web Site Bribiehistoricalsociety. org.au and Blog Site http:// bribieislandhistory.blogspot. com or contact us on bribiehistoricalsociety@gmail. com