Queensland Review

The experience of syphilis in early Queensland as recorded through hospital records

2023-05-11T11:22:17+00:00

The story of colonial expansion has often been entwined with the social and health impact of syphilis. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of syphilis (in its primary, secondary and tertiary forms) on hospital admissions and individual patients in Queensland in the pre-antibiotic era. This article centres on available hospital patient records for the years 1880–1920, stored at the Queensland State Archives. From these records, 220 cases of syphilis were retrieved, the majority diagnosed as primary-stage infections. Overall, it was found that the number of deaths from syphilis in its tertiary form was not significant compared with other causes of death in that period. The perception of colonial syphilis as highly prevalent and a serious threat to the population is not supported by our review of hospital records, which suggests that its reputation in relation to its social implications exceeded the evidence of its prevalence.

Restorative justice as diversion for adult offenders in Queensland, 1990–2021

2023-05-11T11:22:12+00:00

This article provides a summary history and critique of the Queensland experience of restorative justice for adult offenders, with a focus on policy development and program implementation. It aims to identify key lessons to improve policy and implementation that may be transferrable to similar jurisdictions. Public source material was analysed to identify significant moments of change, including the launch of programs, the political rhetoric and commentary, as well as key activity data (e.g. referral rates). Results identified a significant lack of program uptake, with limited referral rates hindering the utilisation of restorative justice as an effective diversionary mechanism for adult offending in Queensland. In terms of both diversion and prevention, the study was restricted by a lack of data, indicating a significant practice and research gap, hence the need for enhanced research, increased application and greater transparency. Combined with a review of the literature, the results suggest the need for a greater focus on the welfare needs of victims and offenders to improve client and program outcomes, and reduce reoffending.

39 Juliet Street, Mackay

2023-05-11T11:22:01+00:00

My earliest memories are of 39 Juliet Street, Mackay. The house was built in the 1920s, my parents bought it in 1949 and it was sold after my father’s death in 1998. I have positioned the house within the environment and architecture of North Queensland, and particularly the town of Mackay. Changes are illustrated and dated through the inclusion of some family photographs, which double as a pictorial history of a Queensland family between the 1950s and 1970s. We all think of ourselves as part of families, but when one house contains a family over decades, it too is part of the upbringing. The essay begins with a discussion of North Queensland houses – ‘Queenslanders’, as they were known – and the weather conditions that influenced their architecture. This is followed by a description of the house and its immediate neighbourhood, the uses made of the upstairs and the downstairs areas, and 1960s renovations. My parents are described, along with our means of transport, the Protestant–Catholic divide of the 1950s and 1960s, and my upbringing and that of my brother and sister. The article also discusses holidays, schooling and discovering the world beyond Mackay.

Gordon Bennett, 'Selected Writings', edited by Angela Goddard and Tim Riley Walsh

2022-09-26T01:35:12+00:00

Gordon Bennett, Selected Writings, edited by Angela Goddard and Tim Riley Walsh

Brisbane: Power Publications and Griffith University Art Museum, 2020, 216 pp., A$45, ISBN 9 7809 0995 2013

Sophie Cooper, 'Forging Identities in the Irish World: Melbourne and Chicago, c. 1830–1922'

2023-02-13T06:30:20+00:00

Sophie Cooper, Forging Identities in the Irish World: Melbourne and Chicago, c. 1830–1922

Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2022, 272 pp., $110, ISBN 9 7814 7448 7092