Chris Dawson | Travel company

Chris Dawson

Phone: +61 432 554 470

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25.01.2022 It seems difficult to get young children enthused about old cemeteries, but our Symbol Hunts at South Brisbane Cemetery really do it. We had one or two sulkers that didn't want to come to the boring old cemetery that day but were dragged along, and ended up loving it. It really gives us a great sense of achievement.

24.01.2022 This is a really interesting story about finding loads of Chinatown artefacts during excavation work int he city, which is surprising considering the amount of previous construction on the same sites.

24.01.2022 The first 'History Among the Graves' was held yesterday, a nice bit of Public History in action. It was a free talk (about cemetery history) in a very relaxed atmosphere on the grass and under the trees on a beautiful winter's morning. I really did enjoy this format, two presenters tag-teaming 5-minute segments of the talk, the audience spread around in a semi-circle on camp chairs and blankets, tea and coffee on the go, questions and answers afterwards, it really was a great example of what we are trying to do there, namely getting the public inside the place and engaging with the history. Now I'm sat down working on another talk for next month. These could well become a winter staple at the cemetery.

23.01.2022 Fighting for the future of the only 'real history' night tours in Toowong Cemetery.

23.01.2022 Common sense and fair play have prevailed. It's only a tour a month, but an important principle was at stake. This is a big win for history groups, public history, and people power. A big, big, thank you to everyone who supported the cause.

22.01.2022 A CEMETERY RESIDENT - Ellen Hicklin, aged 40, of Chester Road, Yeronga. 'Drowned in Oxley Creek. The magisterial inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the ...death of Ellen Hicklin. whose body was found floating in Oxley Creek on June 2, was resumed yesterday, before Mr. T. Austin, J.P. Frederick Hicklin, husband of deceased, deceased that he last saw her alive on May 25 last. When witness returned in the evening he missed his wife, and as she did not return that night he reported her absence to Constable McNeil. He also advertised in the newspapers requesting her to return, because about nine years ago she had left him for four days whilst she was suffering from a fit of melancholia. Witness and his wife had lived very happily together. On June 2 he identified the body at the morgue as that of his wife. He did not remember to have heard her threaten to commit suicide, although she frequently suffered from melancholia and epilepsy. For fully 12 or 13 years previous to her death deceased was suffering from a peculiar form of epilepsy. Water always seemed to have an attraction for her. She would sit near it and look into it for some time. He had once taken her to Oxley Creek, where she fell into ecstasies over a place where waterlilies grew. Witness assumed that she made her way back there, and fell into the water through an epileptic seizure. Dr. Wray, Government medical officer, gave formal evidence, and the inquiry closed.' (From the 'Telegraph', 14 July 1899) ' See more

22.01.2022 Ooooh glass slides. I've worked with slides before and they are as high res as you can get. There's some very nice photos here and I hope we get to see them all soon enough. One pet peeve - they aren't from the '1800s' - that was 1800-1809. These seem to be from the 1890s. The 19th century was not the '1800s'.

20.01.2022 A new article looking at the responsibility tour operators have in not just making up 'history' about a cemetery. Nobody should fabricate history just because they find it hard to make real history interesting.

19.01.2022 Something I wrote this morning.

19.01.2022 I spent some quiet time on Sunday afternoon cleaning back this grave monument at South Brisbane. The lichen had smothered the sandstone and obfuscated the inscription. It's the grave of Walter and Edmund Rice, and Edmund was the son of the Rev Richard Rice of Berkshire, as the inscription makes a big point of noting. It's quite nice, still needs finishing off in spots.

18.01.2022 Yet another Sunday in the cemetery. This time it was with the Guardian Angels, and as always some new faces, some familiar ones, and every one a splendid person. Which stands to reason, really. The kind of person who donates their time and energy to go to an old cemetery and wash and tidy graves with a community group on a Sunday has got to be OK. We got a lot done and are on track to getting this big section of the cemetery completely cleaned any month now.

18.01.2022 This article by Joe Nickell looks at the wafer-thin credibility behind claims that Brisbane's Tower Mill might be haunted.

16.01.2022 A look back at the bad old days when showmen used to stage fights between usually decrepit tigers and bulls.

15.01.2022 The not-for-profit community publishing project 'Boggo Books' offers a range of accurate, accessible and affordable booklets on such subjects as prisons, hangings, cemeteries, and local history. You can like their Facebook page for updates, and check out their website for info on titles and purchasing. https://www.facebook.com/boggobooks

14.01.2022 My review of a new book on policing in Colonial Brisbane.

13.01.2022 Hi all, the Friends of South Brisbane Cemetery will be holding their next community 'Guardian Angels' grave cleaning day in a few weeks. All welcome, the more the merrier. Help us get this amazing heritage place looking better than ever for its 150th anniversary. It's a lot more fun than it sounds! Details can be seen here - https://www.facebook.com/events/955756131534960/

13.01.2022 A look at the old whaling days out at Tangalooma, on Moorgumpin (Moreton Island).

13.01.2022 Some of the trees to be found within the South Brisbane Cemetery.

12.01.2022 Something i wrote for Westender.

09.01.2022 Jacaranda time in the cemetery

07.01.2022 Had a splendid morning in the cemetery yesterday co-presenting a public talk about headstone symbols. The place really lends itself to this kind of thing, with a peaceful, green, historical setting. It was an interesting talk to research, tracking symbols back to ancient cultures to explore how those symbols have evolved over time. And these events attract like-minded people so it's always good to have a chat there over coffee afterwards.

07.01.2022 This is a little online resource I threw together for the new signs at the South Brisbane Cemetery, with more information about the 'areas of interest' listed beneath the maps.

05.01.2022 The old Boggo Road heritage prison is owned by the Queensland public and is an amazingly useful and versatile space near the city centre and with great public transport options. It should be a busy community hub but it is dead and empty most of the time. A total waste of space. Ongoing public access is deliberately restricted by the small businessman running it at the moment to maximise his intake on expensive 'ghost tours' and fake rubbish like that. Boggo Road should be so much better than what it is right now. The space should be opened up for use by not-for-profit groups and community organisations, including the arts sector. Current management has had his chance and failed. Time for change.

04.01.2022 Some photos from yet another brilliant weekend at the cemetery.

04.01.2022 The History Vault on the Boggo Road Gaol website contains hundreds of pages and is the most comprehensive online source of historical information about the Queensland prisons system. This is one of my creations from a few years back.

04.01.2022 Another good day at South Brisbane Cemetery last weekend. While the job is to eventually get through the whole cemetery and give the thousands of graves a good tidying and washing - and we did finish another few dozen of them on Sunday - what is even better is getting members of the people come in from near and far and have a really good time doing this. Everyone who comes leaves with a much better appreciation of this heritage place, and the FOSBC get a real buzz from their enthusiasm. Some people have been multiple times now, from as far away as the Gold Coast and Logan, and our group have made some brilliant contacts that are helping us with other projects. For a community group like ours to actually be engaging so well with the 'community' feels as good as actually getting the cemetery cleaner.

03.01.2022 Gearing up for this Sunday's 'All Hallows' Day' event at the cemetery.

02.01.2022 We will be hosting a free public talk at the cemetery this Sunday on the subject of 'Secrets of the Cemetery Symbols', in which historians Tracey and Chris will discuss the meanings behind various headstone symbols. This will be an outdoor event, under the shade of trees, so bring along a blanket or a chair and enjoy a bit of history among the graves. Free tea and coffee will also be served.... The talk will run from 10.30-11.30 am, including a Q and A session. We'd love to see you there, so it would be great if you could make it along. Social distancing will be observed. https://www.facebook.com/events/738512416714166?

02.01.2022 The community newsletter is just one of the ways for a history group to connect with the public. I edit the the 'South Brisbane Cemetery Guardian', which is always a reminder of how much work we do in the cemetery every month and ends up being much longer than I envisioned, trying to fit it all in. https://drive.google.com//1gtGYRtWFIxOidyUXeElL_vUiL/view

02.01.2022 Coming up a week on Sunday - I'll be co-presenting a free public talk with Tracey Olivieri in the South Brisbane Cemetery, about the history of the cemetery. Hopefully this will go well enough for us to do a few more this year as we mark the 150th anniversary of the place. The cemetery is a splendid place to sit and relax, and we've been thinking about doing events like this for ages now. It is also part of one of our 'We're Here to Help' days, where we help people with queries and finding graves. All in all, well worth an outing. Also great for people with mobility issues.

01.01.2022 One of those seemingly fabricated tales of history that is not backed up with any real evidence whatsoever. A young boy is pulled through a George Street printing press and basically only a finger remains.