Miegunyah House Museum in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | History Museum

Miegunyah House Museum

Locality: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Phone: +61 7 3252 2979

Address: 35 Jordan Terrace 4006 Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Website: http://www.miegunyah.org

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• Education
• Landmark & historical place
• History Museum
• Landmark

25.01.2022 Remembrance Day. We will remember them.

25.01.2022 This lovely little watercolour is purported to be by Miss Challinor who was related to Dr Challinor came out to Queensland on the Fortitude in 1849 with the first of John Dunmore Langs migrants to Moreton Bay.

24.01.2022 Julia Winifred Gill married Mervyn Chivers on 28th June 1941. The wedding was reported in The Age on Sept 27th . War time austerity not yet present.

24.01.2022 Celebrating women artists. You can visit this painting at the NGV when we are able to go to Victoria again.

24.01.2022 This sporting life. North Coast 1920s.

24.01.2022 The Tableau - a popular theatrical device used by photographers. This one recreates the scene of Mary Queen of Scots and her ladies in waiting just prior to her death. Miss Jane Thorn (later Mrs Harris who lived at Newstead House for a time) played the central role. Her ladies in waiting and the gentleman were all prominent socialites. The tableau was reported in the Brisbane social pages at the time. Qld Figaro 23rd August, 1884. p25. The typed description is from the Archives c.1959.

23.01.2022 Remembering the women who served in different capacities in the Second World War.Elsie May Donnelly represents them today.

23.01.2022 One of the more intriguing mysteries in the collection. This scrap of fabric was donated and described as being a piece of the Coronation robes of George IV. Coronation July 1821. Owned by Mr and Mrs W.B. OConnell. We are endeavouring to discover its story. Several hypotheses are possible. One is that is was created as a souvenir of the event. Another is that it is the end of a roll of fabric and that it was kept by the tailor. Certainly interesting.

21.01.2022 Three generations of the Mant family and a newspaper clipping of Marjorie Rose who was born two years after the baby(Charles) in the photo. Geoge Mant (1836-1913) was the son of Lt Col Mant who served with the British Army in India. George was born in Bombay but came out to Queensland in 1856 (age 20) to work with his uncle (an Anderson) who was in business with George Leslie. George was very adept and enjoyed station life. He soon became sole owner of Gigoomgan station and b...y 1865 was importing and breeding shorthorn cattle. He was very involved in local government and council affairs. His son Charles was born in 1867 and is seen here in the photo holding his eldest son Charles who was born in 1910 at Wyandra, the Brisbane residence in Bowen Hills. Marjorie Rose was born there in 1912 and later inherited the property. She and her husband donated part of the block to enable Twelfth Night Theatre to be built. Marjorie and Brian Johnstone were very well known in the arts circle and enjoyed entertaining and promoting artists. Their art gallery was connected to the Twelfth Night Theatre via a walkway. She was also involved with the QWHA at Miegunyah and gave a tablecloth that had been made and used in India by her great grandfather. See more

21.01.2022 Almost every object at Miegunyah has a back story. This china set is part of a large dinner service given to us by Mrs Baddeley in 1967. Mrs Baddeley was the wife of the very Reverend William Baddeley who was Dean of Brisbane from 1958 to 1967. She gave the dinner set upon their return to England. Reverend Baddeley was an extremely popular Anglican minister and renowned for his joie de vivre. One famous anecdote is that he made a name for himself as the Racing minister after visiting the races and backing six winners out of seven races.

21.01.2022 Ian Arthur Harcourt Perry was the 2nd child, only son of Arthur and Beatrice Perry. Ian was born 16/12/1916. His mother was living at Miegunyah with Leila and Herbert and while Arthur, his father, was away serving in the First World War. Ian later served himself when war came again. He documented his memories and the family published them in a book about his life.

21.01.2022 Into the hallway and to the sitting room.

20.01.2022 Little Lord Fauntleroy outfit. We had fun in the nursery yesterday.

20.01.2022 Drama group 1879. Roma. Costuming is amazing considering the period. Queensland was still very sparsely populated. It demonstrates the importance of cultural life in our pioneering settlers.

20.01.2022 Back to the Theatre. These programs are from a Private Viewing of the blockbuster movie The 10 Commandments. Made in 1956. There was a lunch and private screening held at the Winter Garden Theatre in Brisbane. Judith Anderson, the notable Australian actress, was in the film. We were claiming her as our own even though she was born in Adelaide.See the previous posted newspaper clipping that features her.

19.01.2022 Jackson furs were sought after by all well to do ladies for their evening wear in winter. This rabbit fur was donated by one of our recently retired guides and is on display currently as part of our 'High Society' exhibition. Although furs are no longer in vogue in western countries they are still highly sought after in other areas of the world. The Covid-19 pandemic revealed that mink farming is very big business in Denmark where the disease infected the animals.

19.01.2022 Fan favourites revisited.

19.01.2022 Serendipity today in our posts.

19.01.2022 Some nice memories of an exhibition featuring our wedding dresses.

16.01.2022 Spills. These paper twists were used to light pipes.

15.01.2022 Another glimpse of a different time and different thinking. High ideals and sentimentality often dont reflect reality. Another difficult history.

15.01.2022 Wonderful find for us. This picture shows Lady Bowen wearing the bracelet given to her by the Unmarried Ladies of Brisbane at the end of her time in Brisbane. The bracelets motifs of twigs and green emeralds symbolise Lady Bowens love of gardening. Its one of our treasures.

15.01.2022 Little sewing machines for little people. Used for making dolls clothes like these and teaching children how to sew. One of our dolls was a model at a photoshoot today.

15.01.2022 The Gentleman's dressing room.

14.01.2022 Starting to install the Evening Wear exhibition. Watch this space for a virtual display. The newsprint dress was made using the Mt. Morgan Chronicle in 1906. Dr Marendy has been conserving the dresses and has repaired the torn lace on that dress. The chic blue evening gown is a 1940s dress with the typical silhouette of that era.

14.01.2022 Some more newspaper clippings about women involved in Theatre and in Brisbanes broader cultural life in the 1950s.

14.01.2022 Some sporty women. Betty Webb was a famous cricketer in the 1930s. She loved the sport. The tennis players are from BGGS 1910 - 1913. Photos are courtesy of BGGS. The girl standing at the right in the group of four with the bonnet and bow is Doris Waraker a great benefactor of ours at QWHA.

13.01.2022 Some theatre history. Before there was such a thing as Trove our archivists collected newspaper clippings containing historically interesting items. Our archives are full of these bits and pieces and they do provide a starting point when we are researching for an exhibition. This week I shall share a few of these clippings. Members are always welcome to come and view the archive.

13.01.2022 These photos are all from the same scrapbook. The captions tell their individual story.

13.01.2022 Chinese Coat. Silk.Late 19th Century. George Perry was fond of his. Sometimes worn as Fancy Dress.

12.01.2022 Some theatre history. Theatre was important to people from the beginning of settlement. There are newspaper accounts of meetings to find ways to build a theatre in Brisbane in the 1860s. The first photo is of Her Majestys Theatre in 1904. Pupils from Brisbane Girls Grammar School. Her Majestys name changed over the years as the monarchy changed.

09.01.2022 Highlander Kilt. Made in Aberdeen. McLean Tartan. Dressed ready for a fancy dress ball.

08.01.2022 A ladies dressing table.

07.01.2022 Now we are entering the dining room. This room would have been divided by bifold doors but we like to keep the open space for public events and exhibitions like this. Blue teal dress 1930's.

07.01.2022 We dont often accept donations of objects from the 1950s but we made an exception in this case because of the story associated with the wedding and because its rare to have the complete ensemble including underwear and accessories.

06.01.2022 Waistcoat. Very intricate embroidery. Silk. Possibly part of Court dress. 18th Century.

06.01.2022 This is another lovely view of the evening coats.

05.01.2022 Let's start at the very beginning. 1920's Navy wool suit.

05.01.2022 Perry House. Now the Albert Hotel. Built by the Perry family in 1914. The first high rise in Brisbane and a testament to the families business acumen. Cnr Elizabeth and Albert street.

03.01.2022 With the Anniversary of the end of the Second World War we would like to acknowledge the small part that Miegunyah played. Z Force was a secret military unit that planned an attack on Singapore Harbour. The Krait successfully eluded the Japanese and bombed the harbour disabling much of the Japanese fleet. Z Force used Miegunyah as a base to plan the attack and as an R&R base. A documentary of their incredible feat was filmed for Television with a commentary by Sir James Killen and the house featured prominently. On the 28th April,1986 a special event was held at Miegunyah when the survivors of Z Force asked permission to hold a reunion.

03.01.2022 Another lovely little Chinese jacket. This one was made from a shawl that covered a piano in a house in Coorparoo called "Waituna". Owned by Kathleen King who was born in 1898. The shawl was originally in her grandparents home.

02.01.2022 Two weddings one veil. Photograph of Frances Finlay on her wedding day in Jan 4th 1958 with her mother Ann. Frances is wearing the veil that had been handed down in the family since it was brought to Australia from Liverpool by Ann Connah for her wedding to Thomas Blackett Stephens in July 1856. The veil is made of Brussels lace. It is shown in the second photo being worn in the wedding portrait of Ann Stephens, granddaughter of Thomas Blackett Stephens, and Edmund Finlay on October 9th 1928. Ann has cleverly rearranged the veil to suit the modern look of the 1920s.

02.01.2022 The display room has had a makeover ready for the exhibition. Photo and curtains from our resident fairy godmother Lindal Pitcher.

01.01.2022 This looks good too.

01.01.2022 Some lovely pieces from the jewellery collection.