Book Review: Wangalpong to Mount Tamborine

This amazing book focuses on the area around Mount Tamborine and the Logan, Albert, Coomera and Nerang River valleys in southeast Queensland. The review by Nola Fulwood (formerly an archivist and Manager of Public Access at Queensland State Archives) is published here with her permission.

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Wangalpong to Mount Tamborine, volume 1: The Moreton Bay Story (by Karen Rosser)

This meticulously researched and beautifully written history is one we can enjoy as a good read and keep handy for reference. It is written from the point of view of The Mountain and its ancient people. They watched as the volcano rearranged the landscape, the ships sailed by, the explorers ventured north, and settlement began. The author has made extensive use of the eye-witness accounts of those explorers, administrators, surveyors, and settlers. Careful analysis has given an interesting new view of the history most of us learned at school. This is no dry as dust recitation of the bare dates and places but a fascinating story that carries the reader along and encourages us to explore further.

This book started as a family history but developed as the author's curiosity led to questioning our history as we have known it. As family historians, we should strive for meticulous research, accurate referencing, comprehensive indexing, and in-depth insights into what has made our own family unique.

We should all have this fascinating history of the beginnings of Queensland on our library shelves.

Available from the author or from InHouse Publishing.
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To that I would add... be sure to read the book's foreword!

(This post first appeared on https://qld-genealogy.blogspot.com/2023/07/book-review-wangalpong-to-mount.html.)

Lifeline Bookfest

Brisbane Bookfest - part of one of the three halls
(photo by Judy Webster)

Books relevant to family history are lurking in secondhand shops, markets and book fairs. One of the best places to find them is at a Lifeline Bookfest.

Bookfests are held at various times throughout the year in Brisbane, Bundaberg, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Mackay, Maryborough, Rockhampton and Sunshine Coast.

The Brisbane event is held in January and June each year, in the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre at South Brisbane. It's on right now and continues until 26 Jan 2015.

There are three separate halls: 'High Quality (prices as marked)', '$1 Section' and '$2.50 Section'.

Within each hall, books are arranged by category (Australiana; History; Biography; Reference; Paperback Fiction; Hardback Fiction; Children's; Humour and Oddities; Literature and Classics; Textbooks; Travel; Health; Science Fiction; Art and Music; Cooking; Computers; Hobbies; Sport; Gardening; Religion; Foreign Language; Vehicles and War Craft; Animals; Penguins and Pelicans; Economics; Sociology; Philosophy; Science). Each section also has magazines, stationery, videos, CDs, cassettes and records.

You may want to stock up on stationery items such as ring binders and lever arch files, which sometimes cost less than a dollar.

The real treasures for family historians are usually in the Australiana and History sections. Look for books about the history of regions, towns, schools, churches, businesses and organisations, and published family histories.

The Reference section has atlases, street directories, medical dictionaries, and sometimes unexpected items like a complete set of The Public Acts of Queensland 1828-1936.

With luck, you may find some of the titles listed on 'Suggested Reading (Genealogy and History)'.

Another money-saving tip? If you are on a very tight budget, wait until the last day when the (already affordable) prices are usually reduced.

I strongly advise you to bring a suitcase on wheels, as books soon get heavy when you are browsing. Local street parking is limited and fills very early. Undercover parking is available, but it costs about $17. You can travel by train to South Brisbane station or by bus to the Cultural Centre bus stop.

To find out more about Lifeline Bookfests in Queensland, do a Google keyword search to find the current Web page.

D is for Dunwich Benevolent Asylum

Continuing to the next letter, 'D', in the 'Family History Through the Alphabet' challenge... D is for Dunwich Benevolent Asylum.

Dunwich was established on North Stradbroke Island, Moreton Bay, Queensland, in 1865. When it closed in 1946, inmates were gradually transferred to Eventide at Sandgate. The function of Dunwich (as defined by the Benevolent Asylum Wards Act of 1861) was to provide for poor people who because of age, accident, infirmity or otherwise were unable to care for themselves. The inmates thus included not only the elderly but also younger people.

Sources (many of which are held at Qld State Archives) include:

1. Index to Colonial/Home Secretary's Office applications for admission to Dunwich with associated correspondence, 1890-1922.


2. Typed index to many Dunwich sources for various dates between 1859 and 1971.


3. Card index to Dunwich records.


4. Immigration Department register of applications for admission to Dunwich 1902-1904.


5. Index to Dunwich weekly returns from Qld Government Gazette notices, 1885-1907.


6. Index to Eventide (Sandgate, Qld) registers of deaths 1954-1959.


7. Index to selected names from 1860s/1870s Colonial Secretary's Office in-letters.


8. Home Secretary's Office: registers of letters received.


9. Indexes to various series of mental asylum records.


10. Index to old age pension records.


11. Police Station watchhouse charge books.


12. Books:  Brisbane: Moreton Bay Matters and Moreton Bay People, vols. 1-3.


13. Brisbane Courier, 25 Oct 1927, p.9: detailed article that includes photographs of the matron, nurses and other staff, Private WILKINSON aged 99, Mrs ROWE aged over 90, and other elderly residents.

Some of the Archives sources give excellent biographical details. These may include address, age, country of birth, religion, occupation, length of time in Qld; married or single; names, addresses and circumstances of applicant's sons and daughters; names, addresses and circumstances of other relatives; names and addresses of employers during the past 2 years, and length of time with each; real or personal property; aid received from hospitals or other charitable institutions during the past 2 years; reasons for desiring admission; through whom applying; and applicant's signature.

For a detailed explanation of the sources available (with Archives location numbers where applicable) and access restrictions that apply to some records, see the most recent edition of my book, Tips for Queensland Research. It is described on my Web site.

You will find more tips for family history in my other articles in this series. If the information and advice is useful, have a look at this page.

Moreton Bay and Peel Island

A limited reprint of the book Moreton Bay Letters by Peter Ludlow is now available. This is the 2003 sequel to Moreton Bay People - The Complete Collection. For more details see Peter's Web site about the history of Moreton Bay and Peel Island.

Central Queensland hints

After a trip to Central Qld, I have some hints for family historians visiting Rockhampton:

Arcade News, shop 6 in the Arcade off East Street, Rockhampton, phone (07) 49222044, has an outstanding selection of Central Queensland local history publications for sale. Very handy if you don't have time to visit local Council libraries or the Central Qld Family History Association!

Rockhampton Regional Council has appointed a new Heritage Collections Officer: Dr Dannielle ORR.

In Rockhampton, a great place for breakfast, lunch or a daytime snack is Sexie Coffie, on the corner of Bolsover and William Streets, half a block from the new Rockhampton Regional Library. For dinner I recommend the Punjabi Indian Restaurant, 137 East Street. (No, I am not related to the proprietors of these establishments - I just enjoyed eating there!)

Cunnamulla in Google Scholar

In Google Scholar, I searched for 'Cunnamulla' (my home town). Results ranged from 'The Role of the Church in the Rural Communities of South West Queensland' to a study guide for the film 'Cunnamulla'. The book 'Cunnamulla, a brief history of the Paroo Shire' has been cited in several articles. Other titles cited include 'The Geology of the Quilpie, Charleville, Toompine, Wyandra, Eulo and Cunnamulla'.

I also found a United States patent issued to inventor William Stewart BENTLEY, Mooning, Cunnamulla.

For the full text of this article see 52 Weeks to Better Genealogy, no.27: Cunnamulla in Google Scholar.