Anthony Ogden - a moral crusader dogged by controversy

Anthony Ogden was variously an iron-moulder, a journalist for the Townsville Daily Bulletin and Townsville Star, a Board Member of the Townsville Harbour Board, a Mayor of Townsville, a Member of Parliament, a union organiser and advocate for industrial rights, editor of the Townsville Labor newspaper – the Clarion, a methodist lay preacher, a temperance advocate, a career politician, and many other things besides. And he is definitely an interesting figure in Townsville’s history.

Anthony Ogden, mayor of Townsville from 1924-1927
Photo: CityLibraries Townsville Local History Collection

Born in Yorkshire in 1866, Ogden arrived in Queensland – at Cooktown – in 1884, when he was 18 years old. He married in Townsville in 1888 and he and wife Mary-Ann had seven children together. Ogden served as Mayor of Townsville from 1924-1927. 

Ogden Street, in the city, takes its name from this, at times, controversial character. In 1926 Flinders Lane was renamed Ogden Street. Alderman Ogden had long lobbied to have Flinders Lane cleared of its reported “slum-like conditions”. There were a lot of sub-standard buildings in Flinders Lane and many of these harboured illegal gambling dens and brothels, which Ogden wanted to stamp out.

Controversy seems to have followed Ogden everywhere

In 1912, when Alderman John Henry Tyack was appointed as Mayor of Townsville, Alderman Ogden vigorously opposed Tyack’s appointment as Mayor because although he was appointed by the Queensland Governor-in-Council - he wasn’t the majority choice of the Townsville Council. An election had been held but the council had failed to appoint a Mayor in the allotted timeframe, so the Governor had to act as an adjudicator to resolve indecision on the part of the Council. Tyack’s appointment caused a real storm within the council, and there was so much dissension, that at one meeting, the Town Clerk had organised for two police constables to be stationed at the entrance to the Town Hall, while two more were stationed inside the building.

Several aldermen refused to recognise Tyack’s appointment until they had seen the official Government Gazette. Alderman Ogden was the most vocal in his opposition to Tyack’s appointment as Mayor. He argued that until he had seen the Governor’s signature, then it was not official. Ogden was scathing about the appointment, arguing that:

“It was only by log-rolling and pulling strings that Alderman Tyack was appointed in any case. He was the nominee of a minority.”

After Ogden had stirred everyone up, one of the other aldermen asked Tyack to resign. Tyack’s response to this outburst was to promptly reply: “No hope!”.

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A few years later Ogden came close to punching the Mayor – this time it was Alderman McClelland - at a council meeting in March 1916. On this occasion, before the meeting even began, Ogden was extremely worked up about an incident earlier in the day where the Mayor had apparently interfered in his business – by asking him not to take copies of the council minutes until they had been confirmed – which on this occasion they had not.  The banter went backwards and forwards for a while, until Alderman Ogden jumped up out of his chair and in a couple of strides had reached the Mayor. He went to strike the Mayor, but stopped, shaking his fist just inches from the Mayor’s face. Apparently the other aldermen shouted as one, “Stop man!” After this incident, the headline in the newspaper read: “Alderman Ogden in Les Darcy act”.

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The previous month, Ogden had tried to have Dr Anton Breinl removed from his position as resident surgeon at the Townsville Hospital, on the grounds that he was an “enemy alien”. Breinl was foreign-born - Austrian - and at this time the First World War was raging in Europe. The Townsville Hospital Committee voted on the motion but it was easily defeated. Ogden then said that he would move a request be sent to the Federal Government to have Dr Breinl removed from the Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine. It’s worth mentioning here that Dr Breinl had been in Townsville since January 1910, so it must have been galling to him to have been singled out in this way because of his nationality.

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In 1931 Ogden was prosecuted for defamation. This was a rare occurrence in Townsville in those days. The judge presiding over the case said there hadn’t been a defamation case in the city for 10 years. Ogden found himself in court after he declared at a council meeting that a man named Don McInnes was a “systematic law breaker”. This was in regards to not having licensed the Hollywood Miniature Golf Links that his daughters ran. To be fair to McInnes on this one, the other miniature golf links had not applied for a license either. Never one to tread lightly, Ogden also accused McInnes of having bribed police so that his illegal gambling establishment – located in the basement at the back of his tobacconist shop in Flinders Street – would not be raided. Ogden defeated the defamation suit.

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There's no doubt though, that the conservative sections of society thought Ogden was truly marvellous. The combined churches of Townsville lauded his efforts in trying to stamp out gambling, and praised his moral convictions generally. Perhaps by today’s standards, Anthony Ogden might be considered to be something of a fanatic. But what's undeniable, is that he never shied away from his convictions, and he worked absolutely diligently at everything he took on.

Duncragan - a house with a big history

A Townsville property that continues to pop up time and again in my research, and in surprising places, is Duncragan.[1] So I thought it was time I wrote something about it, and the many different functions it has fulfilled over the years. Situated in Cleveland Terrace, on Melton Hill, adjacent to the old Supreme Court building, Duncragan was built around 1917 for William Duncan, managing director of Messrs Brand and Dryborough’s Cleveland Foundry.

Duncragan, Melton Hill, Townsville, 1960s.
Photo: University College of Townsville Handbook. 

It was described by the Townsville Daily Bulletin at one time as “one of the most commodious residential buildings in Townsville, with a panoramic view unexcelled anywhere, from all points of the compass.” [2]  The home was large and spacious, with four bedrooms plus a maid’s bedroom, a lounge room with a skylight, a large living room, a billiards room and a lookout turret. The house was surrounded on three sides by 12ft-wide verandahs.

Duncragan's floor plan at the time of the State Government's purchase of the house from the Misses Duncan. Note the location of the former turret, indicated lower left-hand corner.
Source: Queensland State Archives.

World War II

According to Peter Dunn’s ozatwar.com website, during World War II Duncragan was “commandeered by the US Army and used as a private residence for at least one US General”. Stories exist about the parties held there in those years, and according to one report, American officers used to dance on the billiard table![3] It was during WWII that the house’s turret was taken down.

Maternal and Child Welfare Home

In November 1949, William Duncan’s daughters – Olive Duncan and Nita Duncan – sold the property to the State Government for £10,000.[4] The government wanted to convert the property for use as a Maternal and Child Welfare Home. It had been canvassing properties in Townsville since the mid-1940s but had not found anything suitable until Duncragan was offered for sale. In June 1950, the government declared the land as a Reserve for Health (Maternal and Child Welfare) Purposes.[5] 1n 1951 the government proceeded to plan alterations and additions to the property that would “add to the efficiency and convenience of the home”.

The work encompassed conversion of the main building to provide an infants’ nursery, a toddlers’ nursery, bedrooms for mothers, sitting and dining rooms, various specialised kitchens, a sun room, a toddlers’ play area, and a trainee lecture room. Outbuildings were converted into modern laundry facilities. Plans also included a new annexe that provided a suite for the Matron, six bedrooms for Sisters, sitting room for the Sisters, a kitchenette and other general amenities.[6] It was important that the facility have a “homelike and bright appearance” as the mothers who would be staying there were not ill. Every care was taken with furnishings and fittings, with most pieces made from silky oak timber - stained walnut - and “all linoleums to be green inlay jasper or marble – not plain brown”.

The overall purpose of the Maternal and Child Welfare Homes were to provide specialised care for infants with an intellectual disability, without removing the child from its mother. But at the same time as planning for the improvements was progressing, the Hospital Board in Townsville requested that Duncragan be made available for the accommodation of nursing staff of the Townsville General Hospital. The need was intended to be temporary, while new Nurses’ Quarters were completed at the hospital.[7]

Nurses Quarters

In February 1954, it was announced that Duncragan would be used as temporary nurses’ quarters.[8] In December, the Townsville Daily Bulletin reported on a Christmas function held there.

“Duncragon, the nurses’ quarters at Melton Hill, was the venue for the gaieties… guests including ships’ personnel from the Paringa and Ribera, members of the Surf Life Saving clubs and RAAF. A special guest was Matron E. McCarthy, who wished all the joys of Christmas and New Year. There was dancing until midnight to orchestral music supplied by a trio of nurses and to add to the social enjoyment small tables and chairs were set up for conversation in a garden setting of sloping lawns. Some very special and delicious dainties were submitted for supper which was served buffet-style.”[9]

University students, outside Duncragan, 1960s.
Photo: University College of Townsville Handbook.

University Student Accommodation

In 1961 Duncragan became a hostel for female university students. The North Queensland University Association, through an appeal to the people of North Queensland, established two Halls of Residence in Townsville for male and female students of the University College of Townsville (later James Cook University).[10] Duncragan was used to accommodate 22 women, in “agreeably furnished single and double rooms”. Full board at the Halls of Residence cost £6 per week, and at Duncragan a “simply but adequately furnished common room” with a “very attractive panoramic view” was provided for recreational purposes. [11] 

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[1] There seem to be many variations on the spelling of this house – variously Duncragan, Duncraigen, Duncragen, Duncragon.

[2]  Townsville Daily Bulletin, 13 February 1954, p. 2

[3] ‘Melton Hill’s Duncraigan’, ABC North Queensland radio broadcast, 3 August 2010.

[4] Letter to the Public Curator, dated 11 May 1949, which included a contract to sell the property, signed by Olive Duncan on behalf of herself and her sister Nita Duncan. Held by Queensland State Archives; see also Memorandum from Assistant Supervisor of Works to Department of Public Works dated 11 November 1949, held by Queensland State Archives.

[5] Queensland Government Gazette, 24 June 1950, p. 3082.

[6] Memorandum from Acting Chief Architect to Department of Public Works, dated 27 June 1952, held by Queensland State Archives.

[7] Letter from Secretary of Hospitals Board, Townsville to Under Secretary, Department of Health and Home Affairs, dated 20 June 1952, held by Queensland State Archives.

[8] Townsville Daily Bulletin, 13 February 1954, p. 2.

[9] Townsville Daily Bulletin, 27 December 1954, p. 5.

[10] The other property was Stuart House, in Wulguru, which could accommodate 66 men; while Olsen House, in Stagpole Street, West End, was established in 1963 and accommodated 38 men. University College of Townsville Handbook, 1965.

[11] University College of Townsville Handbook, 1965.