1893 floods in Brisbane - Queen St. in the CBD. Image from Wikimedia. We have all been shocked by the devastating floods in south-east Queensland and our hearts reach out to those living through this destruction. This is not just a crisis in one city, it has affected much of southern Queensland where 2.5 million people live. Seventy towns have been either flooded or … [Read more...] about Southern Queensland Floods – Again
Queensland
And the Speeches Went On and On and on and….
I had no trouble listening to Rob Oakeshott's speech yesterday when he took over sixteen minutes to tell us he was going to support Labor in parliament. Announcing his decision at the end of the speech rather than the beginning was a sure way to keep our attention. Would we have listened to his comments if he had announced his decision first? Oakeshott's speech was nothing … [Read more...] about And the Speeches Went On and On and on and….
Seeking Information about Queensland’s Bible in State Schools Referendum 1910
I have added a brief page outlining my current research interest - religion in state schools. Click the tab above and find out more. Throughout my research on Queensland's Bible in State schools referendum of 1910 I have been surprised at the absence of photos of the 1910 federal election and state referendum. There were plenty of cameras around in 1910. Commentators at the … [Read more...] about Seeking Information about Queensland’s Bible in State Schools Referendum 1910
Musings on Democracy – Part 1
Write about democracy my supervisor said. I immediately felt overwhelmed. Democracy is such a big concept, developed over centuries since the Ancient Greeks. It is a also a loaded term - wars have been fought over it and it has been incorporated into political ideologies. The way to cut this task to size is to recognise that democracy is but a word. It only develops … [Read more...] about Musings on Democracy – Part 1
The Federal Election – 1910/2010
It was the 2010 Australian federal election that finally motivated me to create this blog, something I have wanted to do for several months. During the day of the election I was reading newspaper accounts of the federal election held 100 years ago in 1910. I have been in the habit of writing e-mails to my supervisor with odd snippets from my research and wrote one about the … [Read more...] about The Federal Election – 1910/2010