Written by Robyn Blucher, compiled by Dr Madeline Fowler
This is Part 1 of a blog series written by undergraduate students at James Cook University, who undertook research on objects in the Museum of Tropical Queensland’s maritime archaeology collection as part of the 2017 topic AR3008 Boats and Beaches. Continue reading An earthenware bottle from Yongala
Written by Jeff Powell, Cobb+Co Museum
The race named for George Watson is held at Flemington in July, but his name should also be linked with the Melbourne Cup. Northern Ireland born George made a name as a jockey and horse trainer back in the 1850s, soon after arriving in Melbourne. He was a founder of the Melbourne Hunt Club in 1853.
Written by Jeff Powell, Cobb+Co Museum
The 31st of October marks 100 years since one of the most the successful and audacious cavalry maneuvers of all time – the charge of the 4th Australian Light Horse Brigade at Beersheba (Be’er Sheva in Southern Israel). Continue reading Beersheba and More
Written by Jeff Powell, Cobb+Co Museum
October 2017 marks the end of motor vehicle building in Australia, but the industry goes back further than most people realise. The first car with a ‘Holden’ badge was built in 1948, but Holden in Adelaide had been building car bodies for General Motors’ Chevs, Pontiacs and Vauxhalls since the 1920s. GM-Holden had assembly plants in other state capital cities by the 1930s. Ford Australia also had assembly plants in Australian capital cities since the mid-1920s. Yet vehicle building in Australia began even a century before the earliest motor cars.
Written by Jeff Powell, Cobb+Co Museum
Contemporary newspapers which are now accessible via the TROVE website may help clear up the confusion. Regarding when it first Continue reading How big was the Leviathan ‘Monster coach’?
Written by Dr Maddy Fowler, Museum of Tropical Queensland
Following from Part 1 Shipwrecks, which detailed the 17 named shipwrecks represented by artefacts in the Museum of Tropical Queensland collection, Part 2 explores objects discovered at islands and reefs that are not ascribed to a known shipwreck. With the Great Barrier Reef, one of Australia’s greatest ship-traps, lying off the Queensland coast, it is unsurprising that shipwreck material occurs on many of the islands, reefs and cays both there and further offshore in the Coral Sea.
Continue reading The Maritime Archaeology Collection: Part 2 Islands and Reefs
Written by Dr Stephen Beck, Honorary Officer (Volunteer) with the Cultures and History Program at Queensland Museum.
The wreck of the Foam provides amazing archaeological insights into the conduct of the Queensland labour trade, the process by which it operated and the effect of contact, trade and exchange between different cultures. The Foam has the unique status of being the only known wreck on the Great Barrier Reef of a Queensland labour vessel that was actively engaged in the labour trade at the time of its demise. Thus, the Foam, together with its wreck site, has provided archaeological insights into life on board a labour vessel, both for the returning Islanders and the European crew, at a specific time in the Queensland labour trade.
Continue reading The Wreck of the Foam and the Queensland Labour Trade
