News and Events

Visit to Wolston House

September 18, 2018

Located on the east bank of the Brisbane River in the suburb Wacol is the historial Wolston House, a heritage-listed residential farmhouse from the nineteenth century. At the end of August, our research team visited the house as it represents a unique historic site that documents life in the beginning… Read More

Biography of Patrick Shea (1834 – 1916)

September 18, 2018

Read about Patrick Shea, who arrived in Queensland in 1858 and first settled at Pilton. He later moved to Drayton, then Southbrook, where he took up Rockmount Station. Patrick milked a small dairy herd and travelled to Toowoomba by horse and cart up to three times a week to… Read More

HGRC presents at Brisbane History Group seminar

July 20, 2018

The Brisbane History Group is holding a seminar, History in the Digital Age,  on Saturday July 21 2018 at the Ship Inn function room. Professor Mark Finnane and Dr Lee Butterworth will speak about the Harry Gentle Resource Centre – its background, goals and future direction. Access the seminar program… Read More

Read About Queensland Land Commissioners

July 20, 2018

Read about the significant impact of the Crown Lands Commissioners on land policies and practices, the administration of justice, the treatment of Indigenous people and the formation of regional communities surrounding Moreton Bay settlement after it was opened to free settlers in 1842. Access Dr Margaret Shield’s project here. Read More

HGRC Welcomes New Director Professor Mark Finnane

July 4, 2018

The Harry Gentle Resource Centre welcomes historian and ARC Laureate Fellow Professor Mark Finnane as the new Director from July 2018. Mark is a Professor of History in the School of Humanities, Languages and Social Sciences, Griffith University, and a member of the Griffith Criminology Institute.  He is a Fellow… Read More

Dutch Exploration of Northern Australia

June 29, 2018

A short history of Dutch exploration of the Torres Strait, the Gulf of Carpentaria and the eastern coast of Cape York has been added to our website under ‘Rare Books and Documents‘. Of special interest is the bibliography that lists  material written in languages other than English related to… Read More

Dr Margaret Shield Seminar

June 22, 2018

Research Fellow Dr Margaret Shield presented her project on Crown Lands Commissioners in Pre-Separation Queensland as part of the joint Queensland State Archives and Harry Gentle Resource Centre seminars. Dr Shield discusses the significant impact of the Crown Lands Commissioners on land policies and practices, the administration of justice, the treatment of… Read More

Double Book Launch

June 22, 2018

Two publications by the outgoing Director of the HGRC, Professor Regina Ganter, are being launched at the Australian Historical Association Conference in Canberra on 3 July 2018. Tim Rowse will launch Ganter’s new book, The Contest for Aboriginal Souls: European Missionary Agendas in Australia and Jane Carey will launch Indigenous… Read More

Prestigious Award for Dr Bill Metcalf

June 13, 2018

The Harry Gentle Resource Centre congratulates Dr Bill Metcalf, recipient of the 2018 John Douglas Kerr Medal of Distinction for research and writing of Queensland history. The award is presented by the Royal Historical Society of Queensland at the Queensland Day Dinner held on 6 June each year. Dr Metcalf… Read More

New Mapping Brisbane History Website Goes Live!

June 8, 2018

The new Mapping Brisbane History website went live on 7 June 2018. The resource is an online interactive history map of Brisbane from the early 19th century to the late 20th century. It is an evolving research tool that presents the history of Brisbane in the spatial dimension, revealing local… Read More

New Visiting Fellow in the HGRC

May 31, 2018

Dr Annemarie McLaren has been appointed Visiting Fellow in the HGRC from April 2018 to April 2019 to examine the original documents relating to the Zion Hill Mission in Nundah (1838-1848): While the Nundah Missionaries are celebrated as the first free settlers of Brisbane, there is far more to their… Read More

Visiting Fellowship Extended

May 3, 2018

Dr Ray Kerkhove will continue as a Visiting Fellow at the HGRC for another 12 months. Ray’s research will concentrate on the unofficial exploration of Moreton Bay through timber and fishing camps in pre-Separation Queensland. Read More

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