Sepia Saturday 491: Saturday 12th October 2019

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"Our theme image this week features mill workers in America in the early years of the twentieth century, and it is an image that has a very personal connection for me. Whether you, like me, have mill workers in your family tree or not, the fabric of our theme can easily stretch to encompass any aspect of the world of work. Or machines, or fabrics, or .... whatever your imagination wants to do with it."  Alan Burnett on Sepia Saturday 

 Today's post is going to be very weavy, windy because that is how my brain is at the moment.  Very weavy, windy.  Not windy.  Winedy. 

 So I set out with the intent of talking about my Forfar ancestors, because I believe they worked in mills in Bannockburn, Scotland.  When I googled Bannockburn, I came up with a Bannockburn in Queensland.  How about that?  





It's just south-west of Yatala (where you can get some delicious pies) and is part of Logan City Council.  You can find out more about Bannockburn here.  

 Here is an article about the property from Trove.


According to the article below, Alexander Watt had been a forrestor for the Earl of Wemyss.This is entirely possible as he was born at Aberlady which is in the vicinity and was still there in 1851 as an Ag. Lab.  
South Coast Bulletin, 18th August 1954, courtesy of Trove.
On a Pigot's Directory, I found a James Watt wheelwright at St Ninians (near Bannockburn) and also some Raes (another one of my ancestors' names I think) and learned that a "flesher" was Scottish for butcher; Alexander Rae was a flesher at St Ninians as well as a grocer and spirit dealer.  


I had hoped to find you a photo of the property but it has been a long time since I looked at SLQ's new website, so there went a day trying to navigate my way around it.  These photos are the closest I could come up with something at least in the same vicinity.  
Employees of Otmoor Sugar Mill, Upper Coomera, ca. 1890 courtesy of State Library of Queensland

One of those employees is distinctly child-like - thought this was probably the norm.  Mike of Temposenzatempo you will know why I selected this photo!  Now please tell me what the instrument is !
Australian South Sea Islanders at Otmoor sugar plantation in Upper Coomera, Queensland, ca. 1889 courtesy of State Library of Queensland
Isn't everyone well-dressed?  But not particularly happy looking.  I think they must be at church as some of them are holding books.  Bible I presume.  

The next photo is from a mill on the Sunshine Coast, north of Brisbane, rather than south but I just loved the clarity of it.  Can you see the two boys?

Workers at the Moreton Central Sugar Mill, Nambour, Queensland, ca. 1900 courtesy of State Library of Queensland 

Sad to say, the Moreton Central Sugar Mill is no more as I suspect is the Otmoor Sugar Mill.  There's a great list of current and old sugar mills of Queensland here on Wikipedia.  It reminded me that when I was helping out on the mobile library earlier this year that we had travelled past cane fields when we went to Alberton, Cabbage Tree Point and Jacobs Well.  We must have been very close to the Rocky Point Sugar Mill.

 Here I go a wandering now.  I do like maps.  I think that is why I liked Milly Molly Mandy so much - the map in the front of the book.  Here is a map of Bannockburn courtesy of the Library of Scotland.  You can see it much better on this website.

Anyway, that's enough from me.  For more sensible stories head on over to Sepia Saturday.

Comments

La Nightingail said…
Some good photos here, and interesting news articles. The instrument looks like it MIGHT be a clarinet? But Mike would be the one to truly know! :)
October 14, 2019 at 4:49 AM
Mike Brubaker said…
It's a flute made of African blackwood, which is why it could be mistaken for a clarinet made of the same wood. With just a few keys and open finger-holes it's an early 19th century style suitable for folk songs and dance music. I enjoyed reading the first article so dense with description. I had not appreciated how Scottish immigrants contributed to Australia's cultural mix. I imagine Scotland's Gaelic words added a special spice to Australia's version of the English language.
October 15, 2019 at 10:34 AM
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