A key message from the talk was the central role played by developing a clear understanding of the spatial arrangement of the town as a whole and the individual premises within it. Ham's 1863 Map of Brisbane was a crucial tool. Anyone wanting to have a (digital) copy to guide their own research can download it from the Data Queensland site https://www.data.qld.gov.au/. Use the menus to follow the path Organisations / Resources / Historical cadastral map ... / Various scales—miscellaneous maps 1858–1986—Brisbane where you will see Ham's map at row 3 of the 26 Miscellaneous Maps listed. |
Like all cadastral maps, the name shown within the boundaries of each allotment was the original purchaser (who may not have been the resident or tenant in 1863). Although that can be used to confirm that George Edmondstone did give his daughter and son-in-law (John and Georgina Markwell) a wedding present of a Queen Street shop as Sharyn told us.
Among the many interesting things that Sharyn did not have time to tell us was "By which fire were the people she named affected?" This map will let you answer that question for yourself. We know that the April fire was between Edward and Albert Streets on the Adelaide Street (western) side of Queen Street and the December fire spread from Albert to George Streets on the Elizabeth Street (eastern) side. Once you find Mr Kosvitz in the Directory to get his number and then locate that number on the street, you will know if his store was burned early or late in 1864.
If you are interested in reading more about Ham's Map then try this SLQ blog post. To get an overview of the impact of the December fire, you can turn to the newspapers in Trove such as "DESTRUCTIVE FIRE." The North Australian 17 December 1863 page 7. Or (if you have access to the BCC Library) you could borrow Sharyn's book and read the stories for yourself. (Note that there is another book Year of disasters - Brisbane 1864: fire, plague, cyclone and flood that covers similar territory but is (IMHO) not nearly as good!)