Category: Queensland State Archives’ Photostream About Fortitude Valley

Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

T. C. Beirne’s Christmas Novelties.

A great attraction has been added to T. C. Beirne and Co.’s Christmas novelties in the display of toy animals, forming a complete menagerie in one of their windows. Crowds of children visit the display daily. Another novelty that is exciting interest is the Speedaway, which is on view in the toy department. A miniature racing track occupies the centre of the room, and a large number of miniature motorists take part in the race. The result is exciting and most amusing.

Description source: The Brisbane Courier, 12 November 1913

Image source: Queensland State Archives Item ID 1640281

See Full Post >>

Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

25/ Christmas hotel dinners

Most Brisbane hotels are arranging special Christmas dinners, with all the “trimmings,” this year.
But the cost will range from 25/ – 35/ a head, plus extras.
Some hotels were already booked out yesterday, but most still had tables available. Main features of menus will be roast turkey.

Description source: The Courier-Mail, 16 December 1952

Image source: Queensland State Archives Item ID 1640281

See Full Post >>

Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

Santa Goes By Ship

Although Christmas is nine days away, Santa Claus already has called on 15 children in lonely parts of Queensland – by ship.
The youngsters live with their parents on nine lighthouses between Cape Moreton and Dent Island, off Prosperpine.
The Navigation and Lighthouses Department steamer, Cape Leeuwin, has just completed a visit to each of the lonely outposts delivering Christmas fare such as plum pudding, nuts, ginger and other delicacies, and toys for the children.
The vessel is due in Brisbane this afternoon.

Description source: Brisbane Telegraph, 16 December 1948

Image source: Queensland State Archives Item ID 1640281

See Full Post >>

Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

The Christmas Tree

There was a little tree that came
Into our house. It had no name
Until the fairies, overnight,
Dressed it with shining candle light;
And threaded tinsel in and out,
With jewel balls hung all about.
At the top, to keep all well,
With a sparkling wand to cast a spell,
Good Fairy smiles, and takes kind care
Of all the presents that are there.

Description source: Warwick Daily News, 3 December 1954

Image source: Queensland State Archives Item ID 1640281

See Full Post >>

Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

Christmas Waits.

The good old-fashioned custom of Christmas waits was observed in one or two directions, and the residents on River terrace, at any rate, or such as the melodious strains awakened, were delighted by some admirable selections of music, given with faultless taste and feeling, at an early hour of Christmas morning, by what appeared to be a compact little brass band, softened by a reed or two. The music performed had been chosen with evident care, and the effect, in the still, calm watches of the night, was exquisite.

Description source: The Telegraph, 25 December 1886

Image source: Queensland State Archives, Digital Image ID 5067

See Full Post >>

Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

Christmas

Arrangements are being made in every household for Xmas and decorations are placed in all the shops. At the different stores an array of beautiful toys can be viewed, and it looks as though Santa will have a very busy time.

Description source: Balonne Beacon, 21 December 1950

Image source: Queensland State Archives Item ID 1640281

See Full Post >>

Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

Plectronia is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the Rubiaceae family, and includes only one species: Plectronia parvifolia.

It is a plant from Burma and Malaysia. The leaves of this thorny bush are largely consumed by the natives in their curries. The pulp is attached to the seeds and eaten by the natives, but for the European taste, it is not very pleasant. In India the fruit is eaten by the Indians, and the leaves are also used as food and for the curries as a seasoning.

Description source: Wikipedia

Image source: Queensland State Archives, Digital Image ID 22449

See Full Post >>

Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

Araucaria cunninghamii is a species of Araucaria known as hoop pine. Other less commonly used names include colonial pine, Queensland pine, Dorrigo pine, Moreton Bay pine and Richmond River pine. The scientific name honours the botanist and explorer Allan Cunningham, who collected the first specimens in the 1820s.

The species is found in the dry rainforests of New South Wales and Queensland and in New Guinea. The trees can live up to 450 years and grow to a height of 60 metres. The bark is rough, splits naturally, and peels easily.

The leaves on young trees are awl-shaped, 1-2cm long, about 2 mm thick at the base, and scale-like, incurved, 1-2 cm long and 4 mm broad on mature trees. The cones are ovoid, 8-10 cm long and 6-8 cm diameter, and take about 18 months to mature. The disintegrate at maturity to release the nut-like edible

See Full Post >>

Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

Grevillea robusta, commonly known as the southern silky oak, silk oak or silky oak, or Australian silver oak, is the largest species in the genus Grevillea of the family Proteaceae. It is not closely related to the true oaks, Quercus. It is a native of eastern coastal Australia, in riverine, subtropical and dry rainforest environments receiving more than 1,000 mm per year of average rainfall.

It is a fast-growing evergreen tree, between 18-35 m tall, with dark green delicately dented bipinnatifid leaves reminiscent of a fern frond. It is the largest plant in the Grevillea genus, reaching trunk diameters in excess of 1 m. The leaves are generally 15-30 cm long with greyish white or rusty undersides.

Its flowers are golden-orange bottlebrush-like blooms, between 8-15 cm long, in the spring, on a 2-3 cm long stem and are used for honey production. The seeds mature in late

See Full Post >>

Queensland State Archives posted a photo:

Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundant cultivars are not found in the wild, only around human settlements in the East European and Caucasian mountains and Asia. Plum remains have been found in Neolithic age archaeological sites along with olives, grapes and figs.

The name plum derived from Old English plume or “plum, plum tree,” which extended from Germanic language or Middle Dutch, prume, and Latin, prunum.

Plums are a diverse group of species. The commercially important plum trees are medium-sized, usually pruned to 5-6 metres height. The tree is of medium hardiness. Without pruning, the trees can reach 12 metres in height and spread across 10 metres. They blossom in different months in different parts of the world; for example, in about January in Taiwan and early April in the United Kingdom.

Fruits are usually of medium

See Full Post >>