The Queensland Women's Historical Association is a historical society in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia which studies the history and heritage of Queensland, including its pioneer families and the contribution made by women. [1] The Association is headquartered at the heritage-listed house Miegunyah in Bowen Hills.
The association was established in Brisbane in April 1950 as the Women's Historical Association. Its headquarters were at the heritage-listed Newstead House. [2] In 1957 it was renamed the Queensland Women's Historical Association. From 1960 to 1983 the Association placed plaques to commemorate historic sites associated with Queensland's history. [1]
In 1966, Newstead House was to be converted into a museum so the Association required new headquarters. At the same time, a nearby historic house Miegunyah (then called Beverley Wood) in Bowen Hills was about to be demolished. Through an appeal to members, the Association raised the funds for a deposit to buy Miegunyah to restore it to its former glory, and to fulfil the goal to have a Folk Museum dedicated to the pioneer women of Queensland and to display their collection of Queensland artefacts. [1]
The Association continues to restore and maintain Miegunyah, which is open to the public as a museum and a venue for talks, exhibitions and social events. [1] The Association maintains a library and archive and publishes books.
Some of the plaques placed by the QWHA include:
In the absence of a well-defined collection policy, over the years the Association acquired via donations a number of items in its collection that did not fit its primary mission to collect and preserve women's history, often to save precious artefacts which might otherwise have been lost in the absence of other collecting organisations. [5] Following the establishment of a collection policy and a review of the collection in 2016, it was decided some original items should be donated to more appropriate collections. [6]
In 1964, Roma Browne, granddaughter of the first Queensland Governor, George Bowen, donated a silver spade to the QWHA. Bowen had used this spade to turn the first sod of the Queensland Northern Railway at Rockhampton on 27 September 1865 and had been presented with the spade as a souvenir of the occasion. [7] In 2018, the Association donated it to the State Library of Queensland. [6]
Also in 1964, Mrs Vernon Alford donated a parian ware vase to the Association. It is believed to be a favourite wedding present of Mrs Louis Hope of Ormiston House. In 2018, it was donated to the Ormiston House Museum. [6]
Published works of the Association include:
Sir George Ferguson Bowen, was an Irish author and colonial administrator whose appointments included postings to the Ionian Islands, Queensland, New Zealand, Victoria, Mauritius and Hong Kong.
Boonah is a rural town and locality in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, the locality of Boonah had a population of 2,484 people.
Bowen Hills is an inner north-eastern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census Bowen Hills had a population of 3,226 people.
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Elizabeth Ann Dewar Churcher was an Australian arts administrator, best known as director of the National Gallery of Australia from 1990 to 1997. She was also a painter in her own right earlier in her life.
A gasworks or gas house is an industrial plant for the production of flammable gas. Many of these have been made redundant in the developed world by the use of natural gas, though they are still used for storage space.
Newstead House is Brisbane's oldest surviving residence and is located on the Breakfast Creek bank of the Brisbane River, in the northern Brisbane suburb of Newstead, in Queensland, Australia. Built as a small cottage in the Colonial-Georgian style in 1846, the cottage was extended and today is painted and furnished in a late Victorian style.
George Henry Thorn (junior) was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly and a Premier of Queensland, Australia.
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Diamantina, Lady Bowen, was a noble from the formerly Venetian Ionian Islands who became the wife of Sir George Bowen, the first Governor of Queensland.
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Cintra House is a heritage-listed villa at 23 Boyd Street, Bowen Hills, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1863 to 1890s. It is also known as Cintra. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
Miegunyah is a heritage-listed detached house at 35 Jordan Terrace, Bowen Hills, Queensland, Australia. It was built c. 1885. It was also known as Beverley Wood. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. It is now home to the Queensland Women’s Historical Association and operated as a late 19th century period historic house museum.
William Perry (1835–1891) was a business man and politician in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Council.
Templin is a rural locality in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Templin had a population of 86 people.
Marjory Fainges is an Australian researcher and historian on the subject of the Australian Toy Industry over the last 100 years in particular the commercial manufacture of dolls. She has written 16 books and is a doll judge of antique, collectible, modern and artist dolls and she has lectured internationally.
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