This month marks 150 years
since the proclamation of Townsville as a municipality in 1866. The population
at that time is likely to have been only a few hundred but when the city turned
100, it had grown to be the home of roughly 60,000 people.
The centenary celebrations
were timed to coincide with the arrival of a party of white settlers who
arrived in Cleveland Bay in late 1864 and included a Centenary Pageant at the
Sports Reserve, a Centenary Community Fair held in Hanran Park, the official
opening of Jezzine Barracks, and the unveiling of a memorial plaque in Anzac
Park.
On Sunday, 1
November, Queensland Governor Sir Henry Abel-Smith, unveiled the bronze plaque
in Anzac Memorial Park that commemorated one hundred years of European
settlement. Set in a massive granite rock brought from Kissing Point, the
plaque was inscribed with the names of the men who were key figures in
Townsville’s founding - John Melton Black, Andrew Ball, Mark Watt Reid and
Robert Towns.
The Townsville Daily Bulletin reported that
Sir Henry Abel Smith told the assembled crowd that “it was indeed an historic
occasion”.
“During the past
century a swamp has been turned into the second city in Queensland, one of the
most beautiful tropical cities in the world and undoubtedly the most healthy,” Sir
Henry said.
The Governor believed
that Townsville’s greatest accomplishment had been to “show the whole world
that a city predominantly of western races could spring up and be one of the
healthiest places in the world,” he said.
Also present at the
ceremony was respected Townsville physician, Dr R.A. Douglas - grandson of
pioneer Andrew Ball - who was believed to be the only descendant of the men
mentioned on the plaque, still living in Townsville.
“The memorial, in
timeless bronze and native granite, is something that should last forever, and
these men in a thousand years will still be recognised as the main founders of
Townsville,” Dr Douglas said.
But the organisers of
the Centenary Pageant, held on the afternoon of Saturday 31 October, which
featured 100 performers, were disappointed with the “handful” of people who
turned up to watch the two-hour pageant.
According to the Bulletin, half an hour out from the
start time, there were less than 30 people in attendance. The pageant, which
took the form of tableaux and floats, featured Indigenous dancers and
historical re-enactments, all designed to highlight the city’s progress over
the previous 100 years.
Re-enactment of 1866 Speech by first Mayor, Mr. John Melton Black at Incorporation of Townsville Municipality. Photo: Alex Trotter, held by Townsville City Libraries. |
The chosen highlights
included the arrival of the first white settlers to the area; the first
Townsville race meeting; the speech delivered when the city became a
municipality; the founding of Anglican and Roman Catholic churches; and the
raising of the newly-designed Australian flag by the Earl of Hopetoun here in
1901.
By the time the
pageant cast had assembled for a final circuit of the Sports Reserve, 300 people
were in attendance, but this was still a disappointing turnout.
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