Connecting Queenslander's with their past—the histories of families, local communities and the state. Significant records of government are available and accessible.

"Punk is an attitude, and it arrived in Queensland 100 years before the 1970s. Chinese miners on the Palmer Goldfields were considered debased and dirty. Yet here this man sits, relaxed – maybe too relaxed! – defying the antagonism around him, proud of his heritage." View the original image at the Queensland State Archives: Queensland State Archives Digital Image ID 1885

Queensland State Archives Item ID ITM1035331 View this and other original records at the Queensland State Archives: Series ID 192

Guest blogger: Niles Elvery - Manager, Public Access, Queensland State ArchivesYou might have already seen the blog post from State Library of Queensland sharing the details of digitised heritage tourism…

The advised diet for Queenslanders who had succumbed to the Spanish Influenza in 1919. The diet was simple, with a focus on soft foods (and a great deal of boiling in terms of preparation). You can view the complete record over on Archive Search Queensland State Archives, Digital Image ID 23550 --- Recipes for Invalid Cookery suitable for Influenza Patients. DIET. FIRST STAGE (When the temperature of the patient is over 102 degrees.) Milk. Beef Tea made by long process. Barley Water may be added to the milk. In cases of vomiting, milk should be pre-digested (peptonised). Feed patients every 2 hours. Total quantity every 24 hours—2 pints milk and 1 pint beef tea. SECOND STAGE (see pages 7-10). When the temperature of the patient is between 100 and 102 degrees.) Eggs—boiled or poached. Egg Flip. Custard. Bread and Milk, Chicken or Mutton Broth. Bread and Butter. Jelly Crystals. Tea or Cocoa. THIRD (OR CONVALESCENT) STAGE (see pages 11-14). (When the temperature of the patient is below 100 degrees, or as normal.) Steamed Fish. Stewed Tripe. Stewed Mutton Chop. Chicken. Mashed Potatoes. Baked Apples. Puddings—Rice, Sago, Tapioca. FIRST STAGE. PEPTONISED MILK. Materials.— pint milk, pint water, half-tube peptonising powder. Mode.-Put milk and water into an enamelled saucepan. Bring to blood heat. Put the peptonising powder into a jug. Pour warm milk and water into the jug. Cover the jug and let it stand in a warm place for 20 minutes. Then pour mixture into a saucepan and bring to boiling point quickly. Pure milk, instead of milk and water, may be used for patients strong enough to digest it. BEEF TEA-BY LONG PROCESS. Materials.—1 lb. lean juicy beef (rump is best); 1 pint very cold water; half-teaspoonful salt. Mode.—Wipe meat with damp cloth to make sure meat is clean. Remove every particle of skin and fat. Place on board; with a sharp knife scrape or shred across the grain as fine as possible—the more finely it is shredded the more juice you will extract. Weigh, allowing pint of water to the pound. Put into a thick jug or jar. Add water. Separate well with a fork. Cover with a double piece of white greased paper; tie down. The grease on the paper makes it non-porous and prevents the strength escaping. Allow the beef tea to stand for half an hour at least before cooking The cold water helps to draw the juices out. Stir again before commencing to cook. Stand in a saucepan containing cold water sufficient to reach tree parts up the jug or basin. Put the lid on saucepan. Allow the water to simmer around it for three hours, replacing it as it boils away. Strain; add salt. Remove fat by passing a piece of clean white blotting paper over the top. Serve hot. This may be cooked in a jar standing in a dish of water in the oven. It will take four hours in an oven. The contents of jug or jar must be kept below simmering point, otherwise the tea will be spoiled. As the meat cakes by the long process, in order to extract all juice it is sometimes better to lift the paper and separate the cake once or twice with a fork while cooking. BARLEY WATER DECOCTION. A LIQUID FOOD. Materials.—1 oz. pearl barley, 1 quart cold water, the thinly pared rind of half a small lemon, juice of one lemon (if allowed), sugar to taste. Mode.—Put barley in saucepan and cover with cold water. Boil two minutes, then strain. Return barley to saucepan; add the water; simmer gently for half an hour. Add rind and continue simmering for half an hour longer. Strain; add lemon juice and sugar. When cold, use as required. Barley water can be made without the lemon and with milk added to it after straining. It is a nourishing drink. The barley for both recipes may be used a second time with more water added to it, and this is even better. BARLEY WATER INFUSION. Material.—2 oz. pearl barley, four lumps of sugar, thinly pared rind of half a small lemon, 1 pint boiling water. Mode.-Cover the barley with cold water; boil two minutes; strain. Place the barley, sugar, and lemon rind in a jug; pour in the boiling water and cover closely. When cold, strain and use. This forms a nutritious and palatable drink, and it is also largely used to dilute milk, thus making it easier of digestion. SECOND STAGE. INVALID METHOD OF BOILED EGG. Method.-Place egg in saucepan of boiling water, put lid on, and remove the saucepan off the fire. Allow to stand exactly seven minutes. POACHED EGG. Method.—One egg, one pinch salt, a few drops of vinegar or lemon juice, a round of buttered toast, and boiling water. Break the egg into a small cup or basin, being careful to keep the yolk whole. Half-fill a small saucepan with water and put on the fire to boil. Add salt and vinegar, which helps to keep the white of egg a good colour. When the water is gently simmering, slip the egg carefully into it. Let it cook three minutes until the white is set without being hard. Lift it out with a small fish-slice. Rest on towel to drain. Trim off any ragged edges. Place it neatly on buttered toast. Garnish with a sprig of parsley and serve at once. In place of butter a little boiled milk is poured over the toast, and sometimes a little hot cream is poured over the egg. EGG FLIP. Method.-Break an egg into a basin with a teaspoonful of castor sugar. Add a drop of vanilla, or (if allowed) one teaspoonful of brandy or whisky; then add slowly a teacup of hot or cold milk as is necessary. STEAMED EGG. Method.-Grease a cup; drop fresh egg into it; cover with greased paper; stand in saucepan of simmering water until about three minutes or until just set. Lift out on to a slice of buttered toast. Sprinkle with salt. BOILED CUSTARD. Method.-Yolks of two eggs, pint milk, one heaped teaspoonful of sugar, quarter-teaspoonful of vanilla. Beat yolks of eggs and sugar together. Heat the milk and add slowly to eggs and sugar. Pour into a jug and stand in a saucepan of boiling water. Stir the custard until it coats the back of the spoon. Take out immediately. Add the flavouring of vanilla, and pour into a cold jug. Serve in custard glass. CRUMB BREAD AND MILK. Method.-Two heaped tablespoonfuls of white bread, one teaspoonful of sugar, tablespoonful of boiling water, pint milk, pinch of salt. Put crumbs into saucepan; add sugar, salt, and boiling water. Add milk. Bring to the boil. Serve hot. To make a change, the bread may be cut into small cubes, white or malted bread being used or hot buttered toast. At this stage thin slices of bread and butter may be served with liquid foods. CHICKEN BROTH. Method.-One chicken; one teaspoonful salt; 3 pints water; one dessertspoonful arrowroot. Draw and singe a chicken. Thoroughly cleanse. The inferior parts will do for making the broth. The breast may be cut off and reserved for steaming. Cut the rest of the chicken into joints first. Then cut all meat from the bones into small pieces. Chop the bones and wash any part that is not quite clean. Remove any fat, but use the skin. Wash the neck; let it soak in cold water to cleanse. Open the gizzard; clean and wash thoroughly. Carefully remove the gall-bag from liver; wash liver and heart; soak feet in boiling water and scrape well. Take a deep saucepan; put in prepared chicken with gizzard, feet, &c. Add teaspoonful of salt and just cover with cold water. Put the lid on, and bring slowly to the boil. Remove all scum thoroughly. Allow to simmer very gently four to five hours to extract all goodness from meat and bones; strain. Remove fat. Serve as it is, or slightly thickened with a little arrowroot or cornflour blended and added to the broth, which must then be brought to the boil again. MUTTON BROTH. Method.-1 lb. neck or knuckle of mutton ; 2 pints cold water; half an onion; one dessertspoonful rice; one teaspoonful salt; pinch of pepper. Wash and cut up mutton; put it into a saucepan; cover with cold water ; bring to boiling point; simmer for two hours. Remove fat; add washed rice, onion, salt, and pepper; simmer for an hour; pass through a sieve; serve. JELLY FROM JELLY CRYSTALS. Method.-One packet jelly crystals; pint boiling water; one tablespoonful of port or sherry. Place crystals into a basin and thoroughly dissolve with boiling water. When nearly cool add wine; pour into small moulds to set. Tea or cocoa may be given at this stage, and may be made with boiling milk. Third (or Convalescent) Stage. STEAMED FISH. Materials.—One whiting, teaspoonful of butter, quarter of lemon, pinch of salt. Mode.—Remove all bone from fish; wash quickly in salt and water; lay fish on greased tin plate; sprinkle with salt and a little lemon juice. Cover with another greased plate and stand on a saucepan of boiling water. Cook from ten to fifteen minutes. The fish must be milk white in appearance when finished. Serve with a little butter or white sauce. STEWED TRIPE. Materials.- lb. tripe; one tablespoonful butter; one tablespoonful flour; } pint milk; one onion; salt; parsley. Mode.Put tripe into a saucepan with cold water; bring to boiling point; strain off water; scrape tripe; put it into saucepan with cold water to well cover; add chopped onion. Simmer for four to six hours. Remove from water; cut into dice-shaped pieces, and reheat in white or parsley sauce; flavour with salt. WHITE SAUCE. Melt dessert spoonful of butter in a saucepan. Take off fire and stir in one dessertspoonful of flour, using wooden spoon; then add half-cup of milk and half-cup of water; stir well until it boils; season with salt. If desired, add a teaspoonful of finely chopped parsley. STEWED CHOPS. Materials.—Two chops, slice of onion, pepper and salt, half-cup milk, one teaspoonful of flour, one cup of boiling water. Method.--Remove fat from chops; trim neatly; put into saucepan with slice of onion finely minced, cup of boiling water, and half-cup of milk. Allow to simmer very gently for one hour; add pepper and salt; simmer gently one and a half hours longer. Lift chops on to hot dish; remove all fat from liquor by passing paper over surface; add flour blended with a little water; stir until it boils. Strain over chops. STEAMED CHICKEN. Materials.-Half a chicken, to be sprinkled with salt and a few drops of lemon juice; half a cup milk; one teaspoonful flour. Method.—Wrap in a greased paper; place in a dish; stand in a steamer over a saucepan of boiling water; steam until tender (about one hour). Strain liquor in which it was cooked ; remove fat; add half a cup of milk ; thicken by adding a teaspoonful of blended flour; stir till it boils. If a steamer is not available, cook by stewing; same recipe as stewed chops. MASHED POTATOES. Materials. Two potatoes, two cups water, half teaspoonful salt, two tablespoonsfuls of boiling milk, one teaspoonful butter. Method.-Scrub and wash potatoes; peel thinly, or, better still, cook in their jackets; place in cold water with salt; bring slowly to the boil; allow to cook slowly for about forty minutes. When just tender, drain dry by placing cloth on top of them to absorb steam, then mash free from any lumps. Add a pinch of salt and the hot milk with the butter melted in it. Beat with the back of a wooden spoon for two minutes. Serve made rough on outside with a fork. BAKED APPLES. Materials.-Two apples, one dessertspoonful of sugar, one teaspoonful butter, two cloves. Method.-Wash apples; core and score with a sharp knife right round the skin of the apples twice. This prevents the apple breaking whilst cooking. Fill the centre with butter and sugar and a clove on top. Stand on a greased tin; pour round one tablespoonful of water; cover with a greased sheet of paper; bake slowly, until tender. Serve with a little sugar sprinkled over it. PUDDINGS-RICE, SAGO, OR TAPIOCA CUSTARDS. Materials.—One tablespoonful of grain, one dessertspoonful of sugar, quarter teaspoonful vanilla, one egg, one cup of milk, one nutmeg, half teaspoonful butter. Mode.—Well wash grain and place it in a saucepan with the milk; stir over the fire until it boils; allow to boil five minutes. Remove from fire, add sugar, butter, vanilla, and a well-beaten egg very slowly. Pour into a greased pie-dish; grate a little nutmeg over the top; stand in a dish of water; bake in a very slow oven from forty minutes to one hour.

Queensland State Archives Image ID 26928

ITM1019117 www.archivessearch.qld.gov.au/items/ITM1019117 Warwick Examiner and Time Saturday 11 February 1893 "Crossing from the North Quay to South Brisbane the sight which meets the eye is appalling. The streets themselves covered to a depth of inches by a thick foul smelling mud were on Tuesday partially blocked by half-demolished houses, telegraph poles and posts with the wires (forming a trap for those who were not sufficiently careful in getting about), crockery-ware, dead animals, and articles of broken furniture. It was of course impossible to obtain anything like an accurate estimate of the number of houses destroyed, but it is safe to assert that quite two-thirds of the houses between Montague-road and the river has been carried away. [...] Along Stanley, Grey and Merivale streets, the same state of affairs exists - house piled on each other, house fronts hanging on the chimneys of less damaged dwellings, odds and ends of furniture jutting out of eight inches of mud - all tell their own tale of ruin. The people themselves were broken-hearted; their stories of misery and despair were heart-rending in the extreme. Some were too much overcome to make reply to the queries put to them, and had to be left to their grief. A visit to the municipal chambers also revealed a sad phase of a terrible flood. Women, dirt besmeared and almost naked, trooped into the rooms set apart for the supply of stores, while their husbands carried on the cleansing operations." More information on the 1893 floods from www.brisbanehistory.com/1893_brisbane_flood_intro.html reproduced below: "1893 Brisbane Flood - Detailed History and Images After reported cyclonic weather off Brisbane, on the 4th of February 1893 the swollen Brisbane River burst its banks and deluged a large portion of the main business district of Brisbane and inundated many of the low lying suburbs. This flood had come some three years after a similiar less destructive flood in 1890. The Brisbane community was very mindful of the devestation that was wrought by the earlier flood and many were quick to remove furniture and belongings to higher ground. However those who just escaped inundation from the earlier flood were complacent and watched in disbelief as the waters rose and engulfed their possessions. The 1893 Brisbane flood claimed the record as the worst flood experienced in the Brisbane area since white settlement. Brisbane at the time was a vibrant port with vessels coming up the river to the wharves spread from Eagle Street to Albert Street and those lining the banks of South Brisbane. Being a river port, it presented a particular dilemia for authorities. Large ocean-going vessels had to be moored securely or become dislodged from their moorings and float with the flood potentially causing damage to wharf structures and bridges. Rising waters caused large ocean vessels to float above the roof lines of the wharves causing damage to the structures. The low lying areas of South Brisbane and West End on the banks of the river were especially vunerable to the raging torrent. The force of the water shifted houses from their stumps in West End and sent them down river to be smashed against the pylons of the Victoria Bridge. This punishment along with the force of the water eventually collapsed half of the bridge superstructure nearest the northern bank and it was washed away. Floating houses then became a danger to the ships anchored in the river. All through the remaining days of the flood the sound of houses being dashed against the bows of the ships became familiar. The newspaper the 'Brisbane Courier' reported on the 1893 floods."

A secret report warned the historic building would cost $2m to restore.