Reflections still a local bestseller

Gerard signs copies at Mary Ryans, New Farm, where the book is No. 2.

MORE than three years after its publication, Reflections on New Farm is still a best-seller at the local Mary Ryan’s bookshop.

Maybe the book’s popularity has something to do with New Farm’s old world charm and the fact that it is Brisbane’s most densely-populated suburb (5,900 people per sq km, June 2010).

According to co-author Gerard Benjamin, the book inevitably sparks a string of memories with readers who once lived in the locality.

“Here’s a typical reaction,” Gerard explained. “A daughter shows her mother the book. The mother recalls living on Merthyr Road first at No. 116 then No. 34 (referred to in Reflections as the Penton house), then came the 1974 flood. This dramatic event made such an impression on the mother, that her daughter made it the subject of a school assignment…”

It’s no wonder that there are whispers on the grapevine that a new New Farm book may be on the drawing board for 2012… (Photo courtesy of Holly Keys)

Comparing Queensland’s first and second novels…

JOHN CLAVERING WOOD’S novel Tom Hurstbourne or A Squatter’s Life came into sharp focus on 19 November 2011, when an abridged version of its fellow literary work Fern Vale or The Queensland Squatter was published by Boolarong Press.

Fern Vale (1862) and Tom Hurstbourne (1865) are Queensland’s first and second novels respectively.

Historian Rod Fisher’s assessment of Tom Hurstbourne in the leadup to its publication in 2010 inspired him to look more closely at the novel’s predecessor, namely Colin Munro’s three-volume opus which was published in London in 1862. The result is Rod’s very fine abridged and notated one-volume version of Fern Vale.

While droving in Tambo in the 1870s (pictured ca 1888), novelist J. C. Wood was supplying a regular column to The Queenslander, using the pen-name Major Veritas.

Addressing the launch was Professor Pat Buckridge from Griffith University who wrote the literary forewords for both books. In comparing the novels, he wrote:

IT WOULD BE hard to imagine two more dissimilar treatments of similar subject matter, namely pastoral pioneering in southern Queensland prior to Separation in 1859. 

Where Hurstbourne surrounds its pioneering theme with large chunks of melodrama, romance and comedy, generating a fast-paced, suspenseful narrative, with many surprising twists and turns, Fern Vale proceeds at a stately and deliberate pace, keeping the focus firmly on the central action, that of the Ferguson’s family migration from New England to the Darling Downs.

Copies of both books may be ordered online from Boolarong Press

Mischief, Morse Code & Ministry book launch

THE LAUNCH took place on Saturday 31 December 2011, of Ruth Delbridge’s Mischief, Morse Code & Ministry, a 488pp volume with over 400 images (photos, maps and documents), for which Gerard Benjamin handled the formatting, and book and cover design.

Brisbane author Ruth Delbridge invested five years and extensive research to produce this rich social history which celebrates 100 years since Reg Delbridge left Kent for Queensland, where he was later joined by his wife Mrs Edith Marion (May) Delbridge.

Reg Delbridge grew up in Chatham in Kent, a spot well familiar to the famous novelist Charles Dickens. Employed at the Post Office, Reg became a morse code operator, a skill which stood him in good stead as a World War I AIF signaller on active service in France and Belgium.

This carefully-indexed book includes segments of the history of the Methodist Church in Queensland from 1912 to 1964, and the role that radio played in Reg Delbridge’s ministry. Reg’s wartime accounts of his experiences on the Western Front will interest military historians.

The Rev. Dr Noel Preston eloquently performed the launching honours for Mischief, Morse Code & Ministry at Merthyr Road Uniting Church, 52 Merthyr Road, New Farm, on Saturday 31 December 2011.

For further information and to order copies, please contact the author: ruth(-at-)mary-and-ellen.com, visit the State Library of Queensland bookshop or order online from Amazon.com,

New Farm’s history leads the way

New Farm's past was in focus when 4BC presenter Ian Maurice (left) interviewed Gerard Benjamin

IAN MAURICE of Brisbane’s Radio 4BC 1116 chose New Farm to begin a regular series on the origins of Brisbane suburbs, and naturally asked Gerard Benjamin, co-author of Reflections on New Farm to set the suburb’s scene.

The origin of the name, early citizens, well known street names, the colonial racecourse, the locality’s changing demographics, and the war years were among topics covered during the 20-minute interview.

Ian loves the stories that history produces, and was keen to hear one that Gerard related about Thomas Welsby and George Willcocks, both prominent New Farm identities, whose homes in the locality still stand.

This incident took place in Brisbane’s Queen Street at the Stock Exchange around the 1890s. Willcocks, a wealthy railway contractor, had business interests with Welsby, who was well-known for his love of boating in Moreton Bay and the islands.

A ragged little newsboy with no shoes came up to sell a paper to Willcocks. Welsby watched while his friend exchanged some words with the boy. Next thing, Welsby sees the railway contractor take out his chequebook and start writing. The amount was £200, a very handsome sum.

“Who’s that for?” asked Tom Welsby.

“You,” said Willcocks. “I want you to round up all the newsboys in Brisbane, along with their parents and brothers, and take them for a day out in your boat. I want you to give them good meals, and between meals, give them fruit and soft drink (no hard stuff). Oh, and also get a band for the day.”

Welsby readily accepted the request, quickly rounded up three newsboys and invited them to his home Amity. He asked them to form a committee, and with their help, the task was carried out.

Willcocks’ home, Wynberg on Brunswick Street, is now the residence of the Roman Catholic Archbishop. Welsby’s home Amity can be seen from the Riverwalk behind the white picket fence adjacent to Cutters Landing apartments. (Photo kindly supplied by Jamie Wells, 4BC)

Hurstbourne’s Mason bushranger character inspired by Frank Gardiner

WHEN Frank Gardiner and gang held up the gold escort at Eugowra NSW in June 1862, and pulled off Australia’s largest gold robbery, John Clavering Wood was less than 170 miles away in Queanbeyan, writing for the local “Golden Age” newspaper.

Perhaps the brazen heist planted the seeds of an idea in JC Wood’s mind about featuring a bushranger in a possible future novel… After the robbery, Gardiner disappeared, only to be spotted in March 1864 as a respectable inn-keeper at Apis Creek on the road to Peak Downs outside Rockhampton.

Is it any coincidence that JC Wood, who began his magnum opus in September 1864, set his novel for the most part at Peak Downs? Furthermore, Gardiner’s famous horse Darkie was reflected in JC Wood’s naming his character ‘Darkie Mason’. The congruences go on… If you have such a larger-than-life character in the newspapers, why not stitch him into the adventure and intrigue surrounding your protagonist Tom Hurstbourne!

For a close up first-person insight into Frank Gardiner’s character, keen readers with an eye to the historical need look no further than Robert Macklin’s excellent book Fire in the Blood about ”Australia’s most notorious bushranger” who was a ”gentleman to the core”.

This insightful study of Gardiner and the early bushranger phase of Australian history may one day serve to diminish Ned Kelly’s dominance  in the popular imagination, especially since Kelly came a generation later than Frank Gardiner. (Thanks to Peter Brockett for the Escort rock photograph)

Radio waves recall Brisbane’s floods

EARLY on a beautiful sunny 13 January 2011, you’d never imagine that Brisbane was in flood, but as pretty as Newstead’s Booroodabin Bowls Club looked, its green was awash.

Six months after this extraordinary natural event, Brisbane’s Radio 612 ABC staged an outside broadcast from this very spot.

Presenter Kelly Higgins-Devine interviewed Gerard Benjamin about how Newstead fared, and how water levels compared with the 1974 flood, and its much bigger predecessor in 1893.

Despite radio’s visual limitations, Gerard succeeded in describing the gist of photos such as this marvellous 1893 scene (above) of a sailboat in motion on Breakfast Creek Road, only a few hundred yards from where the outdoor broadcast was taking place.

No doubt in 100 years time, the historically-minded will dust off their digital images of January 2011′s flood, and consider them to be ‘historical gold’, for showing how the city looked in that era.

Talking Books at New Farm

LAST Saturday morning’s book-signing at New Farm Editions in Merthyr Village brought lots of interesting conversations, particularly with people who love books and good stories, and are intrigued with the publication process.

On hand to assist Gerard were his mother Vivienne Benjamin and his middle sister Leonie McEniery. All the way from Ballarat (though not just for this event) was Sandra. She and her mother Aline were interested in Ethel Monk, grand-daughter of the novelist JCW. An enlarged family tree came in handy in order to plot the connections.

Local New Farm resident Tamsin O’Connor, having grown up on the edge of Shropshire, obliged listeners with an ‘accent sampling’ of how both John Clavering Woods may have sounded.

Almost all who lingered to chat at this busy spot in Merthyr Village, knew about or had read Reflections on New Farm, but had not necessarily connected it with the editor of Tom Hurstbourne and A Shropshire Squire.

Many thanks to Chris Derrick for taking superb photos on the day.

Booksigning in New Farm, 25 June

THERE’S been a long-standing request for Gerard to sign books at New Farm Editions at Merthyr Village, and at last it’s happening.

On Saturday, 25 June during 10am to noon, feel free to come along and meet Gerard Benjamin who will be delighted to show you his forebear’s magnum opus, Tom Hurstbourne or A Squatter’s Life (1865), only the second novel written in Queensland.

You’ll also enjoy making the acquaintance of New Farm Editions (3254 2122), a shop reputed for its tastefully eclectic display of giftware including quality books.

Perhaps you have a book idea of your own that you’d like to talk about. Come and have a chat with Gerard. As for coffee and meal possibilities at Merthyr Village, you’ll be spoilt for choice!

More about JC Wood, early Canberra correspondent…

FOLLOWING John Clavering Wood’s arrival in Sydney on 14 June 1860, he quickly became acquainted with local social and political issues. By 8 December, he was lauding the parliamentary candidacy of William Redman (1823-82) for the seat of Queanbeyan.

Writing in the Queanbeyan Age and General Advertiser (aka The Golden Age) as the columnist “Occulus”, JC Wood described himself as one making “his first attempt at ‘things political’.” More columns by Occulus were to follow, but meanwhile much general reporting during 1861-64 (though unattributed) smacks of Wood’s style, as apparent from his 1865 novel Tom Hurstbourne or A Squatter’s Life.

Canberra historian and retired librarian, Trish Frei, has painstakingly transcribed myriad valuable newspaper stories in her book, Calamities, Fatalities and Realities: Local and Regional Anecdotes from ‘The Golden Age’ 1860-1864, Queanbeyan NSW, Canberra ACT (2005). Even the first extract, ‘A Traveller’s Wayside Sketches’ sounds uncannily like JC Wood.

Trish Frei offered her opinion:

As far as I’m aware, [John Gale, editor of The Golden Age] didn’t have that many correspondents in those early days, mainly because educated people were hard to find within a small farming community… JCW could have written more than you think…

Gloria’s Final Farewell

AROUND 100 friends and relatives farewelled Gloria Grant (nee Nonmus) at New Farm in Brisbane on Saturday 29 January 2010. The funeral service, conducted by Revd Ray Herrmann and assisted by Bishop Raymond Benjamin, took place at the Merthyr Road Uniting Church.

As a friend of Gloria’s observed, for the final goodbyes to take place so close to where Gloria was born 81 years before was “delightful circularity”.

Several people wished to speak. Gerard Benjamin sketched a brief biographical outline, beginning with Gloria’s Buderim upbringing as daughter of sawmiller and prominent citizen Gilbert Brierly Nonmus and Agnes (Neil). Gloria’s son Robert and daughter Jay (Mooney) depicted various facets of life with their talented mother.

Local councillor and artist David Hinchliffe paid tribute to Gloria’s achievement in chronicling the history of New Farm. “She was the unofficial biographer, along with Gerard, of an entire suburb. For that we are in her debt,” he said.

Most attendees remained afterwards to enjoy morning tea in the Centre’s covered courtyard. The question guaranteed to introduce relative strangers was, “How did you know Gloria?”

The family felt indebted to Ross and Desley Garnett for facilitating the gathering at relatively short notice. First-rate musical accompaniment was kindly supplied by Desley Garnett (piano) and Sophie Manoharan (flute). Photos courtesy of Chris Derrick. Read the obituary in the Sunshine Coast Daily.