1859 - 1869

Map of Queensland at the date of separation, A.D. 1859. Courtesy: State Library of Queensland (RBM 840 1859 07738 e)

1859

The birth of Queensland

The self-governing state of Queensland was born on 6 June 1859 when Queen Victoria signed Letters Patent, effectively separating the region from British-administered New South Wales. The division was initiated in 1839 when the colony of Brisbane was officially closed as a penal settlement and was being prepared for sale. A unique sense of identity had begun to emerge in Queensland as its popularity, productivity and economy grew, including the official creation of the towns of Ipswich, Rockhampton, Maryborough and Warwick between 1860 and 1861. 2009 commemorates 150 years of growth and independence as well as an opportunity to celebrate what it means to be a Queenslander.

Source: The State of Queensland, 2009, Queensland’s History, viewed 12 January 2009, <http://www.qld.gov.au/about-queensland/history/index.html>.

Courtesy: State Library of Queensland (125818)

1859

Elise Barney (1815 – 1883)

Elise Barney was the wife of John Edward Barney who was appointed Brisbane’s first full-time Postmaster. After John’s death in 1855, Elise was appointed to his position, becoming the first female Postmistress in Brisbane. She continued to work hard and was promoted to head of the new Queensland postal department in 1859. She continued to run the office until 1864.

Source: Radi, H & Dean, D 1988, 200 Australian Women: a Redress anthology, Online Edition - Elise Barney 1815 - 1883 postmistress, viewed 18 December 2008, <http://www.200australianwomen.com/names/016.html>.

Courtesy: State Library of Queensland (159978)

1859

Lady Diamantina Roma Bowen (1833 - 1893)

Born Contessa Diamantina Roma on Corfu Island in Greece, Lady Bowen arrived in Brisbane in 1859 as wife of Queensland’s first Governor, Sir George Ferguson Bowen. She relished her official role of first lady as a gracious hostess, devoted charity worker and dedicated mother to her children. With silver spade in hand, she broke ground for Queensland’s first railway line in Ipswich and helped found the Lady Bowen Lying-In Hospital (now known as the Royal Women’s Hospital in Brisbane). She was known to be elegant, fascinating and compassionate as well as a wonderful pianist, singer and gardener. Her name is commemorated in many places throughout the state including the town of Roma, Roma Street in Brisbane and the Diamantina River in Central Queensland.

Source: Hugh Gilchrist, ‘Bowen, Diamantina (1833 - 1893)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography Online, 2006, accessed 15 January 2009, <http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/AS10053b.htm>.

Courtesy: The Mercy Heritage Centre

1860

Mother Vincent Whitty (1819 – 1892)

Mother Vincent Whitty dedicated 30 years of her life to establishing a network of Mercy schools and social institutions across the state. In 1860, she joined five other sisters to become the first religious woman in the newly formed Diocese of Queensland.

“…We are just one month here and so far have, I think, got on very well. Today 17th June, our Poor Schools opened. The Priests did not know we should have been ready and did not publish it from the Altar, but we have about 80 children…..still it is delightful to teach the poor little things – so neglected as they have been, and every other source of instruction so with held from them…”.
Excerpt from a letter written by Mother Vincent Whitty to Reverend Mother, Baggott Street, 9 June 1881.

Source: O’Grady, K 2001, Mercy Women Making History - from the pen of Mother Vincent Whitty, Corporation of the Trustees of the Order of the Sisters of Mercy in Queensland, Ashgrove, Qld.

Courtesy: State Library of Queensland (64485)

1861

Eliza O’Connell (1813 - 1903)

In 1861, Eliza O’Connell and her husband, Maurice, moved to Australia and dedicated their lives to caring for Queensland’s less fortunate. They initiated a training and employment program for women to become domestic servants, as well as introducing religious education into schools and striving to improve health care for the state’s women and children.

Source: Tehan, GB 2005, Dreams and Destiny – The life and times of Eliza O’Connell, Growing Awareness, Bald Hills, Qld.

Courtesy: M Nicol, Personal collection

1862

Rebecca Thorn (nee Willis) (1845 – 1916)

Rebecca Willis was born in Ireland in 1845 and with her mother, came out to Australia in 1851. Her father had intended bringing the family out, but he died before making the journey.

A the age of 17 in 1862, Rebecca married Henry Thorn, aged 21, in a grand ceremony at St Paul’s Church in Ipswich. After their marriage, they moved to Warra Warra station, at Warra near Dalby, where over fourteen years, they had twelve children.

It has been reported that whilst the family were at Warra, they used the shearing shed as a makeshift hospital for victims of an epidemic (either cholera or typhoid) and that Rebecca nursed many people back to health.

The years between 1876 and 1880 were dreadful years for Rebecca because she lost her mother (Elizabeth Willis), father-in-law (George), her new-born son (Alexander), and her husband (Henry) after a two-year illness. However there was some joy as her daughter Alice was born in 1876 and her son Charles in 1877. Rebecca went on to raise her large family on her own.

Rebecca died on 9 June 1916, aged 71, and was buried in the Ipswich cemetery in the Thorn family plot, along with her husband and his parents.

Source: M Nicol, 2009, family biography, 7 June.

Copyright: The Courier-Mail

1862

Margaret Berry (1832 - 1918)

Margaret Berry arrived in Australia from Ireland in 1856. After teaching at several schools in New South Wales, she was selected to become the first Headmistress and trainer of teachers at the Brisbane Girls' Normal (Central) School in 1862. She was known as ‘the indomitable Margaret Berry’ because of her bold stance supporting the rights of female teachers and students. She retired in 1905 after 43 years service to the school. A plaque on the former site of the Normal School in Brisbane commemorates the work of Margaret and her successor, Elizabeth Large, stating “Their contribution to the education of girls in this city was outstanding”.

Source: Tom Watson, ‘Berry, Margaret (1832 - 1918)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography Online, 2006, accessed 7 January 2009, <http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/AS10035b.htm>.