Published Sunday, 17 August, 2008 at 04:20 AM
Premier
The Honourable Anna Bligh
History gems in Queenslanders’ own backyards
Premier Anna Bligh has called on Queenslanders to search their own family albums as part of a new plan to create a digital record of our State’s history
The State Government funded Queensland Places project, based at The University of Queensland (UQ), is building a website and digital record devoted to Queensland settlements with present or past populations of 500 or more people.
“Ghost towns, old flour mills, shearing sheds and even the humble vegetable garden can tell the stories that will enliven Queensland’s 150th birthday celebrations,” said Premier Bligh.
“The historians behind the Queensland Places project believe that old slide collections and photo albums will hold some of Queensland’s most telling images.
“Family history that people cherish can tell an even bigger story that could be cherished by all Queenslanders in the centuries to come.
“Queensland is a young dynamic State that is now going through massive changes and this is a wonderful opportunity to record memories from the past.”
The centre’s interim director, Professor Peter Spearritt, said the interactive community website would tell the stories in words and pictures of over 900 cities, towns, suburbs and mission stations.
“We need the help of the public to find illustrations of towns and workplaces over the past 60 years, to complement the extensive photographic collections of the State Library and the Queensland State Archives,” Professor Spearritt said.
“The pictures will be scanned and immediately returned to their owners, as long as the owners are happy for their pictures to be accessible on the website
“We are particularly keen to hear from people who have coloured slides from the l950s to the l970s that include photographs which show both people and the landscape, including images of changes in land use, climate, social and economic conditions.
“Sometimes the most evocative image of a place might be of a backyard with a chook shed, an outhouse or a large vegetable garden. We need to know the location of the photograph, who took it, and when it was taken.
“Other images might depict the ravages of a flood or cyclone, or a mine closure or other industrial episode that reduced a bustling settlement to a ghost town.”
Professor Spearritt said each entry would have between 150 and 1000 words explaining a settlement’s growth, decline, and its ups and downs.
It would include facts about the economic basis of settlement, features of the place, and the latest population statistics.
Queensland Places is one of two major history projects involving UQ and supported by the State Government that will be of great interest to Queenslanders in 2009.
The Queensland Historical Atlas, a first for any Australian state, is being produced by UQ and the Queensland Museum.
It charts the development of Queensland from Indigenous occupation to the present and includes mining, agriculture, conservation and the growth of cities. The Atlas will be published in print and in electronic form.
Premier Anna Bligh said that people who believe they have an item of interest to Queensland Places can contact:
Emma Shedden 07 33656477 or write to Peter Spearritt, Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Qld, St Lucia, 4072, or email p.spearritt@uq.edu.au
Premiers: 07 32244500
The State Government funded Queensland Places project, based at The University of Queensland (UQ), is building a website and digital record devoted to Queensland settlements with present or past populations of 500 or more people.
“Ghost towns, old flour mills, shearing sheds and even the humble vegetable garden can tell the stories that will enliven Queensland’s 150th birthday celebrations,” said Premier Bligh.
“The historians behind the Queensland Places project believe that old slide collections and photo albums will hold some of Queensland’s most telling images.
“Family history that people cherish can tell an even bigger story that could be cherished by all Queenslanders in the centuries to come.
“Queensland is a young dynamic State that is now going through massive changes and this is a wonderful opportunity to record memories from the past.”
The centre’s interim director, Professor Peter Spearritt, said the interactive community website would tell the stories in words and pictures of over 900 cities, towns, suburbs and mission stations.
“We need the help of the public to find illustrations of towns and workplaces over the past 60 years, to complement the extensive photographic collections of the State Library and the Queensland State Archives,” Professor Spearritt said.
“The pictures will be scanned and immediately returned to their owners, as long as the owners are happy for their pictures to be accessible on the website
“We are particularly keen to hear from people who have coloured slides from the l950s to the l970s that include photographs which show both people and the landscape, including images of changes in land use, climate, social and economic conditions.
“Sometimes the most evocative image of a place might be of a backyard with a chook shed, an outhouse or a large vegetable garden. We need to know the location of the photograph, who took it, and when it was taken.
“Other images might depict the ravages of a flood or cyclone, or a mine closure or other industrial episode that reduced a bustling settlement to a ghost town.”
Professor Spearritt said each entry would have between 150 and 1000 words explaining a settlement’s growth, decline, and its ups and downs.
It would include facts about the economic basis of settlement, features of the place, and the latest population statistics.
Queensland Places is one of two major history projects involving UQ and supported by the State Government that will be of great interest to Queenslanders in 2009.
The Queensland Historical Atlas, a first for any Australian state, is being produced by UQ and the Queensland Museum.
It charts the development of Queensland from Indigenous occupation to the present and includes mining, agriculture, conservation and the growth of cities. The Atlas will be published in print and in electronic form.
Premier Anna Bligh said that people who believe they have an item of interest to Queensland Places can contact:
Emma Shedden 07 33656477 or write to Peter Spearritt, Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Qld, St Lucia, 4072, or email p.spearritt@uq.edu.au
Premiers: 07 32244500