Monthly Meetings
All monthly meetings are held at the Wynnum Ambulance Museum Auditorium, Cnr Tingal Road & Cedar Street, Wynnum (entry is via Cedar Street) on the third Thursday evening of each month (except January and December). Meetings commence at 7.00pm and conclude around 9pm with tea and coffee. Interesting speakers attend each meeting and there is a raffle and a door prize on offer as well as our bring and buy table. The meetings are open to members and visitors. Cost of attendance is a gold coin donation. Visitors are always welcome.
February 15 Father Michael Twigg talked about his experiences in Wynnum. Fr. Michael has been the Rector and Principal at Iona College for the past nine years. He is a local man, being born in Hemmant and attending Iona College as a boy. He has been a strong supporter of the Wynnum Manly Historical Society. He was also a strong defender of the name Lindum and attempts to get the suburb recognised. Another point he made was that Sibley Road should be "Sibley's Road". Fr Twigg mentioned the efforts Iona has made to help other schools in the area including the special school at Darling Point while construction is in progress.
March 21 Michael Beard talked about the history of his house. How the land had been subdivided, and who the previous owners were.
April 18 Chris Seymour talked about the intrepid botanical painter Marianne North who traversed the world in the late 19th century, painting the local flora and sometimes the fauna and scenery. In 1880 she came to Brisbane and stayed at Government House, painting among other things the Brisbane Botanic Gardens. She travelled by ship, train, Cobb and Co Carriages and private means. In Queensland she visited Dalby, Toowoomba, Stanthorpe and the Bunya Mountains before moving on to NSW and Victoria. In six months in Australia she completed 80 oil paintings, in vivid colours. Chris is a retired Mining Engineer with an interest in art. He is State secretary of the Royal Queensland Art Society. His slides are here.
May 16 Russell Turner talked about the Queensport Aquarium. It opened on 7th August 1889 and is considered Queensland's first theme park. The marine life ranged from seals to sharks, and there were tigers, a panther, a cheetah, bears, monkeys, and a collection of birds. Other attractions included a switchback railway, a skating rink, picnic grounds and a hall for concerts. During its short life the park suffered several disasters, including floods and a storm in 1893 which resulted in the switchback falling in the river, but it was the depression of the 1890s that killed off the park which closed in 1901.
June 20th Ed Harwood talked about the establishment of the port of Brisbane. He told of the establishment of the Fisherman's Island facility in the 1960s and showed slides of its progressive development. He talked of the ownership progressing from a State authority to a State Corporation and the subsequent privatisation and the partial ownership by superannuation funds. Ed has been at the Port of Brisbane for nearly 10 years and is currently the Community Relations Manager.
July 18 Elaine Carroll talked about the Wynnum Bowls Club, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
August 15 Rick Holder talked about the Coast Guard, which is celebrating a 50th anniversary. Rick had many interesting stories, including about the December 2023 incident when a large boat overturned near Green Island. Eight people were rescued but unfortunately three died. The rescue involved close co-ordination between different agencies. Rick also covered the ongoing re-organisation in Queensland with the state taking more responsibility. The Coastguard will remain a predominantly volunteer organisation.
September 19th Greg Hallam . His topic was: “The old Gabba and the ‘Cinderella’ railway over on the Southside”
An encounter with the South Brisbane railway system during the 1960’s was truly a step back in time to the early 20th century. Greg will talk about how the Gabba depot came to be, why it disappeared, and how a ‘flag and bell man’ was such an iconic part of the old streetscape and railwayscape of inner-city Brisbane for many decades.
Greg Hallam has been with Queensland Rail for nearly 25 years and is the Historian for the organisation. Greg has been active professionally in the cultural heritage and community history field for nearly 30 years. Greg also comes from a third-generation Queensland railway family and enjoys documenting and relating the nearly 160-year story of the railways in Queensland. His slides are here
October 17th Chris Seymour - talked about the history of St Johns Anglican Cathedral in the city. His slides are here.
November 21 Eric Laakso gave a talk “50 years of a Wynnum barber” about the Louie's Barber Shop on Edith Street which was started 50 years ago by Louie and is now run by his son Michael. The meeting also featured an interesting quiz of local knowledge compiled by Jill Greenhill and a raffle of Christmas hampers.
February 20 2025 TBA
The 2025 program of meetings will be announced soon.
