john oxley library at work - home (state library of … but faithful: john oxley library at work to...

John Oxley Library at Work4 April – 11 October 2009Talbot Family Treasures Wall, Level 4State Library of Queensland

Bold but Faithful: John Oxley Library at WorkTo honour the 75th Anniversary of the John Oxley Library

The establishment of the John Oxley Library in 1934 by a group of interested members of the public encouraged signifi cant donations relating to Queensland’s history to remain in Queensland.

Today, 75 years after its tentative start, the John Oxley Library (JOL) is a vital part of the State Library of Queensland and recognised as Queensland’s primary resource for the collection and preservation of documentary heritage material relating to the past and present of our State. In its anniversary year, the John Oxley Library is honoured to have

the Talbot Family Treasures Wall to feature this selection of treasures

from its extensive Heritage Collections.

The material in this celebratory display has been chosen to illustrate the John Oxley Library’s wide-ranging collection policy

and to provide an insight into the many ways and means

that items have been acquired. Bold but Faithful also provides an

opportunity to invite some of our researchers and supporters to express their thoughts about treasures which hold special meaning for them. No claim is made that these are the “best” or rarest of their kind. Rather it is hoped that this small sample will encourage viewers to explore the John Oxley Library’s holdings and indeed, other public collections. History is not confi ned to grand narratives and personalities, or even to rare documents such as the William Bligh Log (3). Items such as an autographed American baseball (16), an album of family snap shots (11) or Paula Stafford’s 1950s fashion designs (45) can provide insights into the past and present. The only restraint on what these items suggest is one’s own imagination and resourcefulness.

The world has changed so much in the past 75 years that some of the priorities and expectations of the John Oxley Library’s founders now seem remote. Today’s researchers and historians can have their questions answered online, search back copies of newspapers without leaving home or browse photographs through the State Library’s Picture Queensland website. Yet the books, images, documents and artefacts which make

up Queensland’s heritage remain as important and irreplaceable as ever – a defi ning record of our culture. Saving the past and the present for the future is still the John Oxley Library’s primary purpose.

List of itemsCollection: John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland

All items are on display from April – October 2009 unless stated otherwise.

Where suitable duplicates or rotation items are not available for midterm display changeover, reproductions replace originals.

[Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visitors are warned that this exhibition contains images of deceased Indigenous people]

Foundation of the John Oxley Library

1 Maltese Crosses Brass Provenance unknown. Acc. 8024

This Queensland emblem marked the entrance to the old John Oxley Library Reading Room in the State Library of Queensland’s former William Street premises. These items were installed when the building was refurbished for the Centenary of Queensland in 1959. The Maltese Cross is the oldest part of the State Arms of Queensland. It was gazetted as the State Badge in November 1876 but the reason for its choice remains a mystery.

Pacifi c Voyages

2 A Catalogue of the different specimens of cloth collected in the three voyages of Captain Cook, to the Southern Hemisphere, London: Alexander Shaw, 1787.

Provenance unknown. An inscription on page one reads “F.T.Meek to T. Hetherington 1865”.

RBJ 746.041

This rare book contains swatches of tapa cloth collected during the three Pacifi c voyages of Captain Cook and assembled by Alexander Shaw. Many crew members brought samples back to London. According to Shaw’s preface the book contains “only select specimens for a few friends.” The book also includes

information on the manufacture of tapa, as well as a brief description of the origin and purpose of the specimens. About 20 copies of the book survive and each is unique. Most copies have 39 specimens, however this John Oxley Library copy has an additional 17 specimens.

Tapa cloth is still created today by Pacifi c Islanders from a variety of plants and made into clothes, mats and ceremonial garments.

3 William Bligh, A Log of the Proceedings of His Majesty’s Ship Providence on a Second Voyage to the South Sea under the command of Captain William Bligh, to carry the Bread Fruit from the Society Islands to the West Indies, written by Himself, July 17 1791 – September 6 1793. Vols. 1 & 2.

Provenance unknown but before 1955. The Log may have come through Sir Maurice O’Connell who was Bligh’s grandson.

Acc. 3551

Display period April – July 2009 Vol. 1. Title page.

Display period July – October 2009 Vol. 2. Sunday, 16 September 1792.

Coast of New Guinea on left, remarks on right. Bligh claimed all of the Torres Strait islands for Britain on the 16 September 1792.

This Journal is the earliest item in the John Oxley Library to mention the Torres Strait. A transcript of an offi cial log kept by Bligh, it is in a clerical hand and signed by Bligh. In keeping with naval practice, offi cers handed such logs to the Admiralty in order to receive their pay, but often kept a private log from which they might publish an account of their voyages of discovery. Bligh’s log books are now in the National Archives of the United Kingdom. This Journal was made after Bligh was acquitted in 1790 over the mutiny by the Bounty’s crew, but before he was made Governor of New South Wales in 1805, and his subsequent removal in 1808.

On page one Bligh noted, “I have been obliged to make many corrections in consequence of the errors of the person I employed to transcribe my journal”.

First Governor of Queensland: Sir George Bowen

4 Henry Fanner, R.A., Portrait of Sir George Bowen, 1882

Pastel on paper Purchased between Sep 1967 – Sep 1968. Acc. 4593

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Sir George Ferguson Bowen (1821–1899) was the eldest son of a rector in County Donegal, Ireland. Having attended Charterhouse, he won a scholarship to Trinity College, Oxford where he took a fi rst class degree in Classics and was twice President of the Union. He then read law at Lincoln’s Inn, completed some naval training in 1846 and between 1847 and 1851 was Rector of the Ionian University at Corfu. He also served the Colonial Service as political secretary to the Government of the Ionian Islands. Bowen enjoyed writing and published 3 books: Ithaca in 1850 (1851), Mt. Athos, Thessaly and Epirus (1852) and Handbook for Travellers in Greece (1854). In 1856 he married Diamantina, the daughter of Count Candiano di Roma then President of the Senate of the Ionian Islands.

Bowen campaigned energetically for William Gladstone in the 1852 election, which probably helped his appointment as fi rst Governor of Queensland in 1859. As Governor, Bowen supported education, immigration and the development of ports at Denison, Cardwell, Burketown and Townsville. He also encouraged the establishment of the settlement of Somerset on Cape York which he envisaged as an “Australian Singapore”. This portrait probably was executed around the time he became Governor of Hong Kong.

British artist, H.G. Fanner was active between 1854 and 1888 and exhibited at the Royal Academy (from 1854) and Royal Society of British Artists (1860–1877).

5 Sir George Ferguson Bowen ceremonial sword, c.1850

Manufactured by Henry Poole & Company, Savile Row, London.

Purchased between Sep 1967 – Sep 1968. Acc. 4837

6 Sir George Bowen, Letters to A. C. Gregory, 1859–1869

Acquired c.1972. Acc. 3648

These letters relate to the naming of Mackay and Roma Street in Brisbane.

A. C. Gregory was made Queensland’s fi rst Surveyor-General in 1859.

a. Letter dated 20 July 1860 re: Mackay. The town was named after John Mackay, the leader of the exploration team of 1863.

b. Letter undated. It was Bowen’s wish that Roma Street be named after his wife, the former Countessa Diamantina Roma.

7 Sir George Bowen Notebook, 1840–1844 Acquired in London through the State Library’s

Heritage Retrieval Project, April 2008. Acc. 7943

This notebook was kept by Sir George Bowen while a student at Oxford University. Bowen wrote the following in the notebook:

“These were notes (chiefl y on history) made by me when a student at Oxford more than 50 years ago. I leave them to my dear grandson, A. W. G. Campbell, who when at the University himself, may possibly fi nd them of some use. Anyhow, they will remind him of his grandfather, Sir George Bowen, who loved him dearly. G. F. Bowen, London. July 4, 1896.”

Pioneering and Exploration

8 Christian Ludwig Qwist, John Watts Necklace, c.1868

Gold swag necklace Made in Sydney for John Watts. Purchased through the State Library’s

Heritage Retrieval Project, 2006. Acc. 6681

The necklace is 18 carat gold with fi ve openwork hinged pendants. The central pendant depicts the ‘Advance Australia Arms’ which was in popular use between 1860 and 1900. Other pendants depict a horse, cattle, sheep and a sailing ship to refl ect the Queensland economy. Miniature hand-coloured photographs of the Watts family are enclosed in the medallions.

John Watts was a pioneering Queensland pastoralist. Having arrived in Australia in 1840, he worked on a South Australian dairy farm, then in 1846 came to Queensland. By 1859

Watts managed a sheep run near Rosewood and began his career as a politician while continuing farming. He was MLA for Drayton and Toowoomba in the fi rst Queensland Parliament of 1860, and was appointed to the Upper House in 1864. As Secretary for Public Works, Watts was instrumental in building the Helidon to Toowoomba railway line which opened in 1867 and the Toowoomba railway station. In 1867 he retired to England with his family, although he paid one return visit to Australia in the 1890s.

Danish emigrant Christian Qwist started out as a photographer on the Victorian goldfi elds around 1852, but by 1856 was practising as a silversmith and had a shop in Bendigo where he made objects from local gold. He moved to Sydney in 1860 and had a business at 15 Hunter Street between 1864 and 1866, and afterwards at various addresses until his death in 1877.

9 Unknown photographer, John Watts, n.d. from the John Watts Typescript, 1901

Silver gelatin print Private donation, 2004. Acc. 5823

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10 Unknown photographer, Album of Queensland Photographs, 1885–1895

Provenance unknown. Acc. 6574

This album contains photographs of several places in North Queensland including a coffee plantation, the Barron Falls, the Hinchinbrook Channel and Rockhampton. Both the photographer and the compiler of the album are unknown.

11 J. R. Humphreys Saddle, Whip and Harness Maker, Brisbane: Queensland Railways Advertising Branch, Government Printer, 193?.

Provenance unknown. HPT BUS001

The poster was designed for J. R. Humphreys whose premises were at 104 William Street, Rockhampton.

12 Rocklands Station Horsebook, 31 October 1927 – July 1954 from the Rocklands Station Records, 1886 –1981

Provenance unknown. Acc. 5429/04

This notebook from Rocklands Station near Camooweal illustrates the careful accounts that large stations kept of their stock, guests and the weather. It includes details of the horses including the value, sex, brand number and date, when and by whom they were broken, as well as their breeding and sales. Rocklands Station has trees which were marked during the visits of William Landsborough and explorer William Hodgkinson (1876).

13 Unknown photographer, Rocklands Station when the Governor, Lord Chelmsford visited in June 1908 from the Chelmsford Photograph Album, 1905–1908

Reproduction silver gelatin print Acc. 5482

World War II

14 Sgt. Lewis M. Miller World War II Photograph Album, 1941–1944

Purchased from a private collection in 2008. Acc. 7949

Display period April – July 2009 Pages of Mackay personalities.

Display period July – October 2009 Pages of souvenir postcards.

A career soldier, Miller came from Reading, Pennsylvania and during World War II served as a cook in the US 5th Army Air Force, based in Queensland between January – October 1942 and then until January 1945 in New Guinea. His album contains a wonderful collection of tourist-type postcards and photographs complete with the names and addresses of friends in Mackay.

15 American Baseball Rubber-corked centre with horsehide cover Purchased in 1989. Acc. 6495

Used and signed on Christmas Day 1942 by some of the fi rst American troops to be stationed in Townsville.

Artist: Robert Saunder Rayment

16 Robert Saunder Rayment, Brisbane at Sunset, 1886

Oil on canvas Provenance unknown. Acc. 6639

R. S. Rayment (1839–1893) was a British artist who was a pupil of John Ruskin. He came to Queensland in 1887 and for the fi rst two years painted pictures on commission as he travelled around the colony. Rayment gradually came to believe that he had made a mistake leaving England. During the early 1890s, Queensland went through an economic depression and Rayment was forced to seek employment as an art teacher in order to make a living. He taught art at the Brisbane Girls Grammar and was a member of the Queensland Art Society.

The scene is looking up-river from River Terrace at Kangaroo Point to the hills of Mt. Coot-tha. Parliament House is at the far right.

17 Robert Saunder Rayment Diary, 12 May 1887 – March 1889

Donated in February 1937 by his daughter.

Acc. 4434

Display period April – July 2009 Pages 47–48. Left: Monday 27th

“obtained ticket per Barcoo for Brisbane”. Right: Payments for paintings.

Display period July – October 2009 Pages 53–54. Payments for paintings.

This Journal, begun while en route to Queensland aboard the Chimborazo, contains a list of payments and receipts for Rayment’s commissions, including work on the tomb of Sir Anthony Musgrave at Toowong Cemetery in 1889. Musgrave ended his career in the British Colonial Service as Governor of Queensland between 1883 and 1888.

Qantas Airways

18 Qantas Log Book, November 1921–1932 Provenance unknown. Acc. 4117

Display period April – July 2009 First page of the Log Book, showing

details of ownership and aircraft registration.

are unknown.

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Frank McNamara, Australia. So Near By. Qantas. Australia’s Overseas Airline, 1960s

Colour process lithograph with screenprint poster

Purchased 2007. HPT TOU 024

Display period July – October 2009

Early and Rare Queensland Newspapers

20 Barcoo Independent, 15 November 1902 Donated by the National Trust of Queensland,

Townsville Branch in the 1980s as part of the Search and Rescue Newspaper Project.

Display period April – July 2009

Suburbia, 29 April 1941 incorporating the North Western District News & Western Suburbs Sennight

Donated by Mrs. Ellen Harle in 2008 as part of the Search and Rescue Newspaper Project.


Little is known of Suburbia beyond that it was established in 1926 and circulated around Kelvin Grove. This seems to be the only surviving issue.

Environmentalist: Romeo Watkins Lahey

21 Romeo Watkins Lahey glass slides, 1915 Donated in September 2005 by Mrs. Ann

Neale and Mrs. Alison Drake, daughters of Romeo Lahey.

Acc. 6177

Queensland-born Romeo Lahey (1887–1968) was trained as an engineer, then after serving in World War I, studied town planning at the University of London. While his main work was in the family timber, banana and dairy business of which he was Chairman from 1934–1949, Lahey also ran a private engineering practice and built the Mount Cainbable road. Although a timber merchant, Lahey was also a feisty advocate for conservation. These slides were used in lectures he presented to promote the foundation of Lamington National Park which occurred in 1915. Lahey also helped to found the National Parks Association of Queensland in 1930, then in 1932 with Arthur Groom founded Binna Burra Lodge and began to develop the well known walks through the area. After service in World War II, Lahey

worked for government agencies concerned with land usage and established the Save the Trees campaign in 1946.

Early Estate Maps of the Gold Coast

22 Pacifi c Ocean Estate, Easter Monday, plan of allotments offered for sale by Newman and Dawber Auctioneers, 5 April 1915

Provenance unknown. M E 0740


This allotment division includes the artist’s depiction of Hope Island.

Benowa Estate and Plantation, Nerang River, plan of allotments offered for sale by James R. Dickson & Company Auctioneers, Monday 17 October 1904, n.p.: Gordon & Gotch Lithographers.

Provenance unknown. M E 0454


The estate map covers the area between Nerang and Southport.

Censoring Hansard

23 Hansard #37, Queensland Parliament, November 22, 1917 from the Stable Collection

Donated by Professor Robert Stable, grandson of Capt. J. J. Stable in March 2000.

Acc. 2959

24 a. Typed letter on the recall of Hansard #37, 8 March 1917

b. Handwritten letter to Capt. Stable, 27 November 1917, from the Stable Collection

Donated by Professor Robert Stable, grandson of Capt. J. J. Stable in March 2000.

Acc. 2959

Captain Jeremiah Joseph Stable was a Commonwealth Government Senior Assistant Censor within the Intelligence Section of the General Staff, First Military District and had great powers to investigate mail and

intervene in matters of public interest. His son, Dr John Stable, provided the following account of the confrontation between Federal and State authority which occurred on 22 November 1917. The Queensland Premier, the Hon T.J. Ryan moved a motion in the Queensland Parliament protesting about the way the Federal Government and the Prime Minister W. “Billy” M. Hughes used

wartime censorship to stifl e public discussion on conscription and other political issues.

Display period July – October 2009 First page of the Flight Timetable Ledger.

(Logbook for the fi rst aircraft of the Western Queensland Auto Aero Service Limited)

In 1920 W. Hudson Fysh and Paul McGinness, former Australian Flying Corps offi cers who had served in Palestine, formed the Western Queensland Auto Aero Service Limited after they took 51 days in a Model T Ford to travel from Longreach to Katherine. They believed aeroplanes were the solution to outback travel. Graziers, in particular, Fergus McMaster, backed their idea. On 19 August 1920, Fysh, McGinness and Arthur Baird, who was an aircraft mechanic, ordered two Avro aircrafts for the company at Sydney’s Mascot airfi eld. In January 1921 they took delivery of only one, G-AUBG that had been designed by the British fi rm AV Roe Company but assembled in Sydney. The plane was used for joy fl ights and air taxi services, promoting the company, which they renamed Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited (Qantas).

19 Unknown artist, Qantas Empire Airways. Shipboard Comfort, Airways Speed. Published by W.T. Baker and Co. Pty. Ltd., c1938.

Colour process lithograph poster Purchased 2007. HPT TOU 025


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Story Bridge Albums

30 Brisbane River Bridge (Story Bridge) Photograph Album, vol. 4, Brisbane: Department of Public Lands, 1938–1941.

Presented by the Bureau of Industry, 9 April 1943.

Acc. 6377

Display period April – July 2009 Pages showing the Bradfi eld Highway to Main

Street. Bowen Terrace & Petrie Bight showing new wharfage. Both are dated 5 March 1941.

Display period July – October 2009 Pages showing the Croton Garden and Toll

Booth. Toll Booth & Offi ce. Both are dated 20 February 1941.

These albums document the work of J. J. Bradfi eld (1867–1943),

who was chief engineer for Brisbane’s Story Bridge. In 1912, the Brisbane-born but

Sydney-trained engineer assumed

the role of chief adviser for the planning

and construction of the Sydney Harbour

Bridge. Having travelled the world to study bridges, Bradfi eld submitted the idea of a single arched bridge. Between 1926 and its opening in 1932 he remained chief overseer of the construction by a British fi rm. In 1934 Bradfi eld was the obvious choice as consulting engineer for Brisbane’s Story Bridge. Work began in 1935 and the bridge opened in 1940. Bradfi eld also advised on the Hornibrook Highway and the St. Lucia site of the University of Queensland.

The Maroons

31 Noel McKenna, Maroons, 2004 11 piece ceramic coffee set Purchased from the Heiser Gallery, Brisbane in

2007. Acc. 7673

Brisbane-born Noel McKenna’s (1956–) art work includes paintings,

sculpture, drawings and ceramics many

of which make reference to

Australian events or places.

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28 Jimmy Bancks, More Adventures of Ginger Meggs, Series 27, Sydney: A Sunbeams Book, printed by Associated Newspapers, 1950.

Gift of Dr. Robert MacPherson in memory of his wife, Mrs Elenor MacPherson-Senior, 2007.

Acc. 7538

First drawn by Jimmy Bancks, Ginger Meggs is Australia’s longest running cartoon. Its mischievous red-headed boy, Ginger Meggs, has amused readers since 13 November 1921 when it fi rst appeared in Sydney’s Sunday Sun.

Lennons Hotel Plans

29 Emil Sodersteen, Plans for rebuilding of Lennons Hotel, Brisbane, 1940 from the Robert MacPherson Collection


Acc. 6863

Emil Sodersteen (1899–1961) began his architectural career in Sydney under the infl uence of Leslie Wilkinson who fostered classical design. At the fi rm Hall & Prentice, along with C. B. Dellit, Sodersteen helped design the Brisbane City Hall but returned to Sydney where, after 1925, private practice allowed him to enter the competition for the design of the National War Memorial, Canberra. The completed building was largely Sodersteen’s design. His fame in Sydney is based on the early apartment block, Birtley Towers at Elizabeth Bay, an art deco extension to the Australia Hotel, and No.7 Elizabeth Street, Sydney.

In 1941 Lennons Hotel, which was on the corners of George, Ann and Adelaide Streets, became the headquarters of the U.S. Army Forces in Australia (USFIA). It also was for some time, the residence of General MacArthur.

When Hughes heard of this he ordered Stable to demand the Government Printer hand over all copies of Hansard #37, the relevant offi cial account of the day in the Queensland Parliament. This power was bestowed in a document of 5 June, 1916 in which police were ordered to assist Stable in his offi cial duty. However, when Stable appeared to collect the offending Hansard #37, police refused him entry. Stable then fetched a horse and arrived with a troop of armed soldiers. The police capitulated and with Cummings, the Government Printer, they proceeded to destroy all but three copies. Later, Cummings gave his copy to the National Library in Canberra from where it subsequently disappeared. The copy taken by Capt. Robinson while destroying the Standard newspaper’s edition is missing. The State Library’s copy was discovered by members of the Stable family amongst garden pots and tools, following the death of J. J. Stable’s wife in 1974.

Ginger Meggs

25 Unknown maker, (Ginger Meggs), c. 1940

Woollen rug Gift of Dr. Robert MacPherson in memory of

his wife, Mrs Elenor MacPherson-Senior, 2007. Acc. 7538-05

26 Jimmy Bancks, Ginger Meggs and the Country Cousin, Sydney: Little Golden Book, Golden Press Pty. Ltd, n.d.


Acc. 7538

27 Jimmy Bancks, The Sunbeams Book–Further Adventures of Ginger Meggs, Series 2, Sydney: Sun Newspapers Ltd. Printed by Marchant & Company, Ltd., 1925.


Acc. 7538

Teacher and Linguist: Anne Mitchell

32 Aurukun sound recordings, n.d. from the Anne Mitchell Collection

Donated by Annette Pollitt (nee Mitchell) in 2003.

Acc. 3752

[Audio only]

33 Kevin Wikmunea, A crocodile, n.d. from the Anne Mitchell Collection

Crayon on card Donated by Annette Pollitt (nee Mitchell) in

2003. Acc. 3752


Sandy Koonutta, Two Birds, n.d. from the Anne Mitchell Collection

Pastel on paper Donated by Annette Pollitt (nee Mitchell) in

2003. Acc. 3752


34 Anne Mitchell, Years 2 & 3 downstairs; Years 4 + upstairs, c.1969–72 from the Anne Mitchell Collection

Reproduction chromogenic print Donated by Annette Pollitt (nee Mitchell) in

2003. Acc. 3752

35 Anne Mitchell, Lunchtime one school day; boys’ dining room, c.1969–72 from the Anne Mitchell Collection

Reproduction chromogenic print Donated by Annette Pollitt (nee Mitchell) in

2003. Acc. 3752

The Anne Mitchell Collection includes audio tapes, photographic slides, drawings by Aurukun children and other material which relates to Anne Mitchell’s time as a young teacher at Aurukun from 1969–72. Ms Mitchell recorded the children speaking their own Wik language in order to build up a written vocabulary so that reading material could be made available in the language.

Cartoonist: Hal Eyre

36 Hal Eyre, The Second Knot, 1928 from the Hal Eyre Cartoon Collection

Donated by Hal Eyre’s daughter, Mrs Curtis in 1969.

Acc. 8016


This cartoon appeared in the Daily Mail, 22 December 1928, just after Australia had been beaten by the English cricket team.

Hal Eyre, His Magic Bat: Don Bradman Has Established a World’s record by Scoring 452 not out against Queensland, 1930 from the Hal Eyre Cartoon Collection


Acc. 8016


Don Bradman set a world record for fi rst class cricket during the Sheffi eld Shield Match in Sydney on 6 January 1930.

37 Hal Eyre, The Aerial Bridge: which brings Sydney within 5 and a half hours of Brisbane, 1930 from the Hal Eyre Cartoon Collection


Acc. 8016


Hal Eyre, The Empty Cradle – The Empty Continent, 1928 from the Hal Eyre Cartoon Collection


Acc. 8016


This cartoon appeared in the Daily Mail, 10 March 1928. The Commonwealth Statistician had found Australia’s declining birth rate was the lowest since 1860.

This large collection contains cartoons dating between 1928 and 1940, mainly produced for the Brisbane Daily Mail, and covering such events as the Bodyline Cricket tour of 1932/33 and the Royal Visit of 1927.

Hal Eyre who was born in Sofala, New South Wales in 1875, began his career when his teacher, Julian Ashton, suggested he send a sketch to the Bulletin. During the 1890s he studied process engraving in Brisbane because nowhere in Sydney taught it. He worked briefl y in Sydney then returned to Brisbane where his work appeared in the Worker, Truth, and the Queenslander after the turn of the century. Around 1908 he moved to Sydney and was employed by the Daily Telegraph.

AIDS Poster and Artefacts Collection

38 Designed by Michael Callaghan, illustrated by Marie McMahon, fi lm planning by Paul Cockham at Redback Graphix Workshop; printed by Snap Ads Pty. Ltd, Condoman says: use condoms, 1988, 3rd version from the AIDS Poster and Artefacts Collection to

assist the Communicable Diseases Unit of Queensland Health

Stencil & screenprint colour poster HPT HEA 098

This poster was intended to target Indigenous males and was produced for the Commonwealth Department of Community Services and Health, Sydney. Commissioned for the National Advisory Council on AIDS (NACAIDS).

39 Box of Condoms from the AIDS Poster and Artefacts Collection to assist the Communicable Diseases Unit of Queensland Health

Donated by Queensland Health, 2001. Acc. 3248

40 HIV AIDS – Let’s Talk About It – World Aids Day 1 December T-shirt, from the AIDS Poster and Artefacts Collection to assist the Communicable Diseases Unit of Queensland Health



World Aids Day December T-shirt from the AIDS Poster and Artefacts Collection to assist the Communicable Diseases Unit of Queensland Health



Fashion Designer: Paula Stafford

41 Suitcase, n.d. from the Paula Stafford Collection

Leather Acquired from Paula Stafford in

2006. Acc. 6491

The suitcase is marked with Paula Stafford’s title “Gold Coast Consultant”.

42 Australasian Post, 5 October 1961


Pix, 22 June 1963


These popular picture magazines featured articles about Paula Stafford.

43 Photograph Album, 1960s from the Paula Stafford Collection

Acquired from Paula Stafford in 2006. Acc. 6491

44 Photograph Album, 1950s from the Paula Stafford Collection

Acquired from Paula Stafford in 2006. Acc. 6491

Display period April – July 2009 Pages 26–27. Models parading poolside at

a Paula Stafford resort wear fashion parade, 1950s.

Display period July – October 2009 Pages 42–43. Models parading Paula Stafford

resort wear.

This comprehensive collection includes photographic records of most of Paula Stafford’s fashion designs, overseas exhibitions and fashion parades between 1950s to the 1990s. Having trained in Melbourne, she moved to the Gold Coast in 1943 and designed all sorts of fashionable women’s clothes but is best known for her reversible bikinis. With a great eye for publicity, in 1952 her bikini clad model appeared on the Surfers Paradise beach. Attention from beach inspectors, police, and even a Roman Catholic priest fuelled her popularity, making Paula Stafford and Surfers Paradise instantly famous. At the height of her fame, Liberty and Selfridges in London sold her bikinis.

TV Personality: Hugh Cornish

45 Album of photographs (no. 1 of 4) from the Hugh Cornish Collection, 1950s

Donated by Hugh Cornish AM in 2007. Acc. 8078

46 “Together for Forty Years” celebrating 40 years of Channel 9, 1999

Video footage Donated by Hugh Cornish AM in 2007. Acc. 7569

[The video is shown without sound]

This extensive collection documents Hugh Cornish’s distinguished public career and private life. Known in Queensland as “Mr TV”, Hugh Cornish was the fi rst person to appear on Queensland television when Channel 9 went to air on 16 August 1959. Ipswich-born, Cornish became well-known thanks to his breakfast session on 4BH radio where he interviewed visiting stars including Johnny Ray, Katherine Hepburn and The Platters. In 1968 Hugh Cornish went on to be Program Manager of Channel 9, then General Manager in 1981 but left when Bond Corporation took over in 1985. Afterwards he worked with Channel 7.

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Acknowledgements

This exhibition was initiated and curated by Nancy Underhill and Dianne Byrne, Librarian Original Materials. We wish to thank Ann Cain for her assistance with the newspapers and Brian Randall for his contribution on the history of the John Oxley Library

The title of the John Oxley Library’s 75th Anniversary exhibition, Bold but Faithful is the Queensland State motto. It appears in Latin as Audax at Fidelis, on the Queensland Coat of Arms, the oldest State Arms in Australia which was granted to the Colony of Queensland by Queen Victoria in 1893. It was the fi rst Arms assigned to a

British colony since Charles II granted Jamaica its Arms in 1661.

Many of the items in Bold but Faithful feature in the State Library of

Queensland publication, Between the covers. Produced for the

State Library’s re-opening in 2006, Between the covers celebrates the

collections of the State Library of Queensland and highlights the importance of the State Library as the custodian of Queensland’s history. The book is available for purchase from The Library Shop.

Discover more about Queensland history through the John Oxley Library’s Heritage Collections, level 4, State Library of Queensland.

Cover illustrationDetail of item 1

Background illustrationsMaltese Cross design

Celebrating Queensland’s 150th birthday in 2009

john oxley library at work - home (state library of … but faithful: john oxley library at work to...

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