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Saunders Beach, Queensland, Australia

~ Tales from the Past

Saunders Beach, Queensland, Australia

Tag Archives: Beach Banter

George Saunders’ Role in Queensland’s Kangaroo Cull

02 Tuesday Aug 2016

Posted by saundersbeachhistoryproject in LOCAL HISTORY, SAUNDERS BEACH

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Australian War Memorial, Beach Banter, Crown Land, George Saunders, Queensland State Archives, Saunders Beach, Saunders Beach Community Centre Association Inc, Springfield, Thuringowa Divisional Board, Thuringowa Marsupial Board

Queensland became a separate British colony from NSW in 1859, cash poor but rich in land. The first parliaments knew a prosperous pastoral industry would generate income for Queensland through wool and beef exports so the politicians listened to the wants and needs of their constituents on the land.

One pressing complaint of the rural sector, both agricultural and grazing concerned kangaroos, wallabies and other marsupials. They ate food intended for both humans and stock and drank sparse water in drought-prone areas.

The situation couldn’t go on. Action was needed, action that took the form of a new law:

1877 Title

Image 1. The header of Queensland’s new law authorising a cull of kangaroos, wallabies and other marsupials. Image from the Queensland Government Gazette 1877 Volume XXI.

‘Destruction of Marsupials’ quite simply meant money for scalps. In the 1877 Act a scalp is defined as “a portion of the skin of the head of any marsupial to which both of its ears are attached”.

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New Year’s Eve 1891

31 Thursday Dec 2015

Posted by saundersbeachhistoryproject in LOCAL HISTORY, SAUNDERS BEACH

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Beach Banter, Black River, Crown Land, JCU Library, Mathew Index, nickel refinery, North Qld Herald, Queensland State Archives, Saunders Beach, Saunders Beach Community Centre Association Inc, Springfield, Thuringowa Divisional Board, Volunteers, Yabulu

The first Europeans to settle on what is now Saunders Beach were the Saunders family. They spent New Year’s Eve 1891 hosting a party for about thirty guests at their residence Springfield, north of the Black River.

The guests danced and sang and an enjoyable night passed too quickly, reports The North Queensland Herald of 6 January 1892 (available on microfilm at James Cook University).

On New Year’s Day “a riding party proceeded to a fine beach…where a pleasant picnic took place”. Afterwards some members of the party relaxed under the spreading trees while the more energetic rode races or walked along the beach. That night there was more dancing until the party-goers were exhausted.

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Community Christmases at Saunders Beach

27 Sunday Dec 2015

Posted by saundersbeachhistoryproject in COMMUNITY ACTIVITY, LOCAL HISTORY, SAUNDERS BEACH

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Tags

Beach Banter, Community Centre, Delta Dogs, NanKivell Park, rural fire brigade, Saunder Park, Springfield, Volunteers

By all accounts the Saunders family generously opened their home Springfield in the late 1800s and the early twentieth century. George Saunders and his wife Elizabeth were from rural backgrounds – George came from the small village of Whitwell in Hertfordshire, England and Elizabeth was a farmer’s daughter from Cappyroe, Offaly, Ireland. They carried the hospitality of rustic life learnt in their homelands to Springfield, hosting such activities as a New Year’s Eve 1891 house party for thirty guests.

Modern Saunders Beach unknowingly carried on this tradition when the Saunders Beach rural fire brigade put on the first kids’ Christmas Party on the beach at the northern end of Reef Street in 1990.

1990 Tug-of-war.

1990 Tug-of-war.

1990 Santa

1990 Reef Street car park (now Saunders Park).

 

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NanKivell Park

02 Tuesday Jun 2015

Posted by saundersbeachhistoryproject in LOCAL HISTORY, SAUNDERS BEACH

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Beach Banter, Great Depression, Saunders Beach Community Centre Association Inc, Springfield, Thuringowa City Council, Thuringowa Shire Council, Townsville City Council

NanKivell Park is a large open well-tended grassy space situated between Coral Street and Lagoon Avenue, Saunders Beach. Continue reading →

Saunders Beach History Project acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of Saunders Beach, the Wulgurukaba people.

THANK YOU

Thank you everyone for your kind contributions of photos, stories and memorabilia to the history of Saunders Beach.
We at Saunders Beach History Project take great delight in hearing your memories of the Beach. Please email saundersbeachhistoryproject@yahoo.com or add a comment to one of the stories if you have something to share.

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  • Saunders Beach: Bird Smuggling Destination
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24 Reef Street, Saunders Beach

The first permanent house in Saunders Beach, built for Bruce Robinson, grandson of George and Elizabeth Saunders. Photo by Judith Ecuyer, May 2009.

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