Prelude to Peace

The signing of the Armistice between Germany and the Allies on 11 November, 1918 signalled the end of the First World War and sparked a celebration in Townsville, the likes of which the city had never seen before. 

A float outside the Railway Station, ready to celebrate the Armistice signed between Germany and the Allies on 11 November 1918.  Photo: CityLibraries Townsville Local History Collection

The first news about the signing of the Armistice reached Townsville on Friday, 8 November, and the Mayor, Alderman J E. Clegg, invited the public to gather together at the Town Hall at noon the next day. However, this news turned out to be premature, as the agreement hadn’t been signed yet. 

Considering that the events of the previous few days all pointed to the likely cessation of hostilities, Alderman Clegg felt it was only a question of hours before the German command gave way, so the celebration went ahead anyway. At the Mayor’s request, all businesses closed at 11.30 am, and a procession was organised by the Returned Soldiers’ Association which marched from the Post Office to the Railway Station and back to the Town Hall. 

Floats in Flinders Street, celebrating the signing of the Armistice, November 1918.
Photo:  CityLibraries Townsville Local History Collection.

The signing of the Armistice remained unconfirmed until the night of Monday, 11 November. The following day there were jubilant celebrations in Townsville. Most of the workers in the railway workshops, the waterside workers and employees of local traders, marched in Flinders Street from 9.30 am until noon. The City Council’s regular meeting was postponed. 

At 3 o’clock a crowd assembled in front of the Railway station, with all sections of the community eager to participate. The procession was made up of an estimated 55 motor vehicles, 36 motor and horse lorries and about 100 cabs, buggies and spring carts, all of which were elaborately decorated. 

Crowds assemble outside the Town Hall in Flinders Street, celebrating the signing of the Armistice, November 1918.
Photo:  CityLibraries Townsville Local History Collection.

The procession stretched over a mile and a half and passed through Flinders Street three times. Celebrations went on into the evening and included a huge bonfire on top of Castle Hill, and a patriotic concert held on The Strand. 

The Cairns Post considered Townsville’s enthusiasm for the celebrations “unprecedented”, and described all the colour and noise of the celebrations on 12 November. 

“Early in the morning the whistles of vessels in the harbour were set going and continued for hours. The waterside workers took up the movement by ceasing all work, and headed by two motor lorries bedecked with flags and accompanied by a couple of pipers, marched into town and along Flinders Street.” 

Parade celebrating the Armistice in Flinders Street East, Burns Philp building on the left, 12 November 1918.
Photo: CityLibraries Townsville Local History Collection.

“One by one the business places closed and bevies of girls rushing into the street with flags of all sorts, commandeered whatever vehicles were available, delivery vans, motor and horse vehicles, and tradesmen’s carts, and within an hour the main street presented an unprecedented spectacle.” 

“All sorts of toy trumpets, bullock bells, kerosene tins, dinner gongs and anything that could produce a noise, was called into requisition, and the din was continuous, until lunch.” 

“An adjournment was then made until 4 pm, when the most remarkable procession ever seen in Townsville paraded the main street, accompanied by three bands, two orchestras, pipers and a bugle band. The decorations of all conceivable kinds of vehicles were brilliant, and the throngs lining the streets were immense.”

Women and children crowd on to a motor vehicle in the parade to celebrate the Armistice that ended World War I.
Photo: CityLibraries Townsville Local History Collection.

Then and Now – A Walk in the Cairns CBD – Part One

Cairns is home to many wonderful heritage buildings in its central business district. A stroll around the CBD provides a glimpse into the city’s rich and diverse history.

Cairns was established in 1876, primarily as a port to service the northern goldfields.  Early industries that supported the development of Cairns included the timber industry and both gold and tin mining. Later, agriculture became an important industry, particularly sugar cane, but bananas and rice were also important early crops.  Tourism was important to the Cairns economy too, even as early as the 1890s.

The Boland Centre

Boland’s, c.1928. State Library of Queensland image

Boland’s, 2014. Image: Trisha Fielding 

This building was built in 1912/13 for Michael Boland, an Irish immigrant who came to Australia in the 1880s and became a successful businessman and prominent citizen in Cairns.  This ornate and striking building occupies the corner of Lake and Spence Streets and is one of the earliest examples in the Cairns region of the use of concrete to construct large buildings.  The three-storey building housed a large department store and continues to be used for commercial purposes today.  It is a rare surviving example of its kind – that is, a large, pre-World War I department store.

Former Adelaide Steamship Co. building

Former Adelaide Steamship Co. Ltd, 1976Image: Cairns Historical Society

Former Adelaide Steamship Co. Ltd, 2014Image:  Trisha Fielding

This building was built in 1910 for the Adelaide Steamship Company Limited, which had been established in Adelaide in 1875.  The company had established a branch in Cairns around 1905, but was operating as an agency in Cairns as early as 1895.  The Queensland Heritage Register describes the building style as a tropical adaptation of the “Arts and Crafts”, a style that started in Europe.  A local heritage trail brochure describes it as “Spanish Revival Style”.  It was built by Cairns contractors Wilson & Baillie, at a cost of almost £3,000.

The Adelaide Steamship Company’s SS Manunda, entering Cairns Harbour,
Image:  State Library of Queensland.

Office of the Cairns Post newspaper

Cairns Post building, c. 1930Image: State Library of Queensland

Cairns Post Building, 2014.Image:  Trisha Fielding

The history of newspapers is often a bit tricky to chart, and the Cairns Post appears to have gone through a few different incarnations.  The Cairns Post was started in the early 1880s by Frederick Wimble in a small building in Lake Street.  It was later called the Cairns Morning Post and in 1909 it was renamed the Cairns Post.  The building that exists today in Abbott Street was built in 1908 and designed by architect Harvey Draper.  It was originally only the first three bays on the left and was extended to its present size in 1924.