1 citation

A FATAL ACCIDENT.

17 December 1900, The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), page 4

…Terrace " & " died " from 1880 until 1954 across the The Brisbane Courier & The Courier Mail , over 700 articles are located - we will need to go through each of these to evaluate their content (time consuming I know, but 100% necessary).  In doing so, we find that no article exists regarding a young girl toppling over a balcony & dying, so our story of Hannah is looking very shaky...however what we do find is very interesting, & possibly gives us an idea of how the story of Hannah evolved.  On the 17th of December 1900, on page 4 of the The Brisbane Courier , we find an article concerning a fatal accident on Petrie Terrace.  According to the article, an infant boy, being nursed by his young sister on their balcony, accidentally toppled over the rail & fell to the stone landing below - after being rushed to the hospital, little could be done to save the boy & he subsequently passed away shortly after.  A week later on the 25th of December, on page 4 of The Brisbane Courier , we find details of the Magisterial Inquiry into the young boy's death. From these two articles, we now know that the boy's…

1 citation

MAGISTERIAL INQUIRIES.

25 December 1900, The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), page 4

…is very interesting, & possibly gives us an idea of how the story of Hannah evolved.  On the 17th of December 1900, on page 4 of the The Brisbane Courier , we find an article concerning a fatal accident on Petrie Terrace.  According to the article, an infant boy, being nursed by his young sister on their balcony, accidentally toppled over the rail & fell to the stone landing below - after being rushed to the hospital, little could be done to save the boy & he subsequently passed away shortly after.  A week later on the 25th of December, on page 4 of The Brisbane Courier , we find details of the Magisterial Inquiry into the young boy's death. From these two articles, we now know that the boy's name was Joseph Giffen Stewart & he died on the 16th of December 1900 - if we use this information in an historic records search on the Queensland Births, Deaths & Marriages website , we discover that Joseph's parents were Joseph Robert & Elizabeth Stewart.  We also discover in a BDM search that Joseph had an older brother, David Alexander (aged 8), & two older sisters, Ethel Elizabeth (aged 9) & Jannie Dixon (aged 6).  A little…

1 citation

Advertising

17 December 1900, The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), page 2

…we now know that the boy's name was Joseph Giffen Stewart & he died on the 16th of December 1900 - if we use this information in an historic records search on the Queensland Births, Deaths & Marriages website , we discover that Joseph's parents were Joseph Robert & Elizabeth Stewart.  We also discover in a BDM search that Joseph had an older brother, David Alexander (aged 8), & two older sisters, Ethel Elizabeth (aged 9) & Jannie Dixon (aged 6).  A little further digging in the newspaper archives also gives us Joseph's funeral notice, on the 17th of December on page 2 of The Brisbane Courier : From this, we now know that little Joseph was buried at Toowong Cemetery on the 17th of December 1900, a detail we can confirm by running the details through the Brisbane City Council's Grave Location Search .  Of greatest importance are the address details given for the mother's residence, on Petrie Terrace near Musgrave Road .  As we know, Petrie Mansions is located very close to the corner of Petrie Terrace & Musgrave Road, just before the Normanby Five-ways...not only have we now located an actual historic event that closely matches the ghost story, but we've also confirmed that…

1 citation

PETITION FOR LIQUIDATION.

21 August 1900, The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), page 7

…South Africa to serve in the Boer War, between 1899 & 1902 - however, on checking the nominal rolls for the Boer War on the Australian War Memorial website , there is no indication that Joseph's father served during this conflict.  So, we return to the historic newspaper archive at the National Library of Australia to see what we can locate the father Joseph - keeping in mind that we also know from the funeral notice, that Joseph Snr was a Produce Merchant trading on Roma Street.   Another search provides two articles in The Brisbane Courier , on the 21st of August & 6th of September 1900 , showing that only months prior to young Joseph's death, his father had been declared insolvent & creditors had been called in to liquidate his assets.  The articles also indicate that Joseph Snr is living at Enoggera at this stage.  Using that piece of information, an additional search uncovers that a Joseph Robert Stewart, living in Enoggera, had served as a Councillor in the Ithaca Shire Council throughout the 1890's - are our two Joseph Robert Stewart's the same person??  They may very well be...something we need to add to our notes, which can be…

1 citation

MEETING OF CREDITORS.

6 September 1900, The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), page 4

…in the Boer War, between 1899 & 1902 - however, on checking the nominal rolls for the Boer War on the Australian War Memorial website , there is no indication that Joseph's father served during this conflict.  So, we return to the historic newspaper archive at the National Library of Australia to see what we can locate the father Joseph - keeping in mind that we also know from the funeral notice, that Joseph Snr was a Produce Merchant trading on Roma Street.   Another search provides two articles in The Brisbane Courier , on the 21st of August & 6th of September 1900 , showing that only months prior to young Joseph's death, his father had been declared insolvent & creditors had been called in to liquidate his assets.  The articles also indicate that Joseph Snr is living at Enoggera at this stage.  Using that piece of information, an additional search uncovers that a Joseph Robert Stewart, living in Enoggera, had served as a Councillor in the Ithaca Shire Council throughout the 1890's - are our two Joseph Robert Stewart's the same person??  They may very well be...something we need to add to our notes, which can be validated during a trip to…

1 citation

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS. STEPHENS DIVISION.

30 January 1894, The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), page 6

…in mind that we also know from the funeral notice, that Joseph Snr was a Produce Merchant trading on Roma Street.   Another search provides two articles in The Brisbane Courier , on the 21st of August & 6th of September 1900 , showing that only months prior to young Joseph's death, his father had been declared insolvent & creditors had been called in to liquidate his assets.  The articles also indicate that Joseph Snr is living at Enoggera at this stage.  Using that piece of information, an additional search uncovers that a Joseph Robert Stewart, living in Enoggera, had served as a Councillor in the Ithaca Shire Council throughout the 1890's - are our two Joseph Robert Stewart's the same person??  They may very well be...something we need to add to our notes, which can be validated during a trip to the State Library & State Archives in Brisbane for further research. So...after carrying out some searches based solely on what is available on the internet, we've uncovered quite a bit of information that we can now utilise for higher-level research.  We've virtually dispelled the local folklore of Hannah, but have located a remarkably similar event in time that likely gave rise to the legend...we've positioned this event…