Reminiscences of Queensland, 1862-1869

by William Henry Corfield

I learnt now that some Brisbane ladies did not possess politeness, as one of them sat on my hat when it was on my head, and did not apologise. It happened in this way. In those days the Brisbane trams were drawn by horses. I wished to go to Ascot. When near the Custom House I saw a two-decker car just leaving. A lady was mounting the steps to gain a seat on the top. I ran and caught the car, following the lady up the steps. At the turn of the road the driver gave the horses the whip, they jumped forward, the sudden jerk caused the lady to lose her balance and her grip of the hand-rail. She sat on the hat on my head. The article, a hard felt, was pressed down with her weight. The sides opened up, and the rim fell down and became fast over my nose. I saw stars, but not the lady's face. The conductor assisted to dislodge the hat from my nose, and I left the car to purchase a new hat. Probably, I saved the lady's life, but she continued her way to the top, apparently treating the accident as an every-day occurrence. I was unable to make a claim for damages to my hat or self respect.

Mr. Tozer (the then Home Secretary), was a lover of deep-sea fishing, and I frequently accompanied him in his excursions. One Friday, when the House was not sitting, I accepted an invitation to join him in a trip to a new fishing ground. I joined the "Otter" at the Queen's Wharf at 2 p.m. Our party comprised Captains Pennefather and Grier, John Watson, M.L.A., and Messrs. W. H. Ryder, A. A. McDiarmid, Primrose and myself, besides the officers and crew. We cruised along Moreton Island and caught sufficient fish for our tea, after which we retired to our bunks, and the steamer made for the Tweed Heads. About 3 a.m., we were awakened by the cry of "Fish Oh!" On reaching the deck we found the officers and crew hauling in schnapper as fast as they could bait their hooks. We were all soon engaged in the same sport. Each line had four hooks on, and the fish were so plentiful that often when a line was pulled up with, as one thought, one big fish on it, there would be three or four, some hooked through the eye, others by the tail. We fished until 8 a.m., and found on counting we had 1,100 fish aboard. Tozer had caught the highest single catch of 155, whilst mine, the smallest number, was 79. The sailors cleaned as many as they could on our return. When opposite the South Passage we sent a boat to the Lighthouse to wire Brisbane for any person wanting fish to meet the boat at the wharf, and to bring bags with them. Many did so, but all could not be taken away, and a quantity was dumped into the river. This was the record catch of the season, and I have never heard of it being beaten.

At this time, and for a few years afterwards, I had as partner in a small pastoral property, a Mr. Wm. Booth. He was said to have been mixed up with some troubles connected with Irish affairs, and that the name he went under was assumed. Whether this was so or not, I found him to be a fine, straight-forward man, and was greatly affected when in 1894 his charred remains were found on the run. The mystery of his death remains undiscovered. On his death I wound up the pastoral partnership, and placed the value of Booth's interest in the hands of the Curator of Intestate Estates. Every effort was made to discover his relatives, but so far, I believe, his estate remains unclaimed.

To those interested in constitutional law, the Kitt's case, which occurred in 1888, may prove interesting. This incident happened in connection with a pair of boots, but from it was obtained the decision that the Governor should follow the advice of his ministers on matters not affecting the authority of the Crown. It was laid down that they were responsible for giving the advice, not he for accepting it. The incident was a small matter to define a very important point.

I think it was about this time that the police were called upon to act in opposition to the Naval Forces of the State, under the following circumstances. The Naval Commandant of the time had a disagreement with the Minister administering the Navy, and ordered the two war vessels, the "Paluma" and "Gayundah" to put to sea, contending he was under the control of the Admiral in charge of the station, and defied the Minister. Steam was up on the vessels, when a rather large body of police, fully armed, was marched down to the Botanic Gardens, and lined the river banks ready to fire on the ships if they were moved. Meanwhile, the wires were at work. The Admiral disclaimed control over the vessels, as it was a time of peace, and the Commandant retreated from the stand he had taken. The matter quietened down, but the Commandant shortly afterwards retired from the service of the State.

Mr. W. Little, more popularly known on northern goldfields as Billy Little, represented the electorate of Woothakata in the Assembly. When speaking on the railway which it had been decided should start from Cairns to Herberton, he argued, "S'help me G——, Mr. Speaker, they are building a railway at Cairns over a mountain, down which a crow couldn't fly without putting breeching on." The simile convulsed the House, but did not affect its decision.

During this session I could not but admire the patience and courtesy with which Sir Samuel Griffith treated all, even his opponents, after he once expressed himself on a measure. Time and again he would point out defects, which his legal mind detected in the wording of Bills, but which were not perceptible to the ordinary lay mind.

In 1889, when the Estimates were being formed, Sir Thomas McIlwraith insisted that £40,000 should be put on for building a Central Railway Station in Ann Street, Brisbane. His colleagues dissented, holding the view that the then existing station would serve for a generation, or longer. McIlwraith resigned the premiership, but retained the office of Vice-President of the Executive Council.

Mr. B. D. Morehead succeeded him as Premier, but there were no other changes in the personnel of the Cabinet.

During the recess of 1890, I left Winton in March, after a good, wet season, to make a tour of my electorate, visiting the townships and stations throughout the district, and going close to Lake Nash, over the border of the Northern Territory.