June 1938 School Magazine

June, 1938

Brisbane Girls' Grqmmor School Mclgczine

CETEBRATING ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEANS OF AUSTRAII.A.'S FOUNDATION IN SYDNEY. It wos o beoutiful doy, the woters of ihe Harbour spcrkled in the sunlisht, ond the ferry b'oots went bocl< ond forth in the "troio* of itte qreot bridqe. On this doy, Austrolio's Mqrch to Notionhood wqs to be unfolded os q pqseont. The clock at the Generql Post Office chimed ten, qnd for down Mocquorie Street the crowd cheered. A troop of New South Woles Mounted Police led the proces- sion, ond they were follor,r'ed by four mounted herolds in sporklinq siiver choin moil. Then. cqme floats, on the first of which wqs represented the storY of primitive Austrolia;-the originol inhobitonts, the oborigines, were shown, some sittinq outside the qunyqh cook- lng, others in wor-point woving bomerongs cnd nuilcr-nullas' Next, Coptoin Cook wos seen lcndinq ot Boiany Bay crnd beins sreeted Ly crborioines. As the Coptoin Cook floot pcssed on, ihe Coptoin Phillip floot wqs seen with Collins ond Boll crnd the morines dressed in red ond white coots qnd white breeches, three cornered \ots crnd block boots, ond lost come the convicts, slouching qlons, some singing, others grumbling. Models of the "Sirius" ond the "Supply" followed. Mony floats followed, representing mony scenes: The Pioneers in coloured shirts cieored the lcnd for cultiva- tion ond built los homes; the New South Woles Army Corps, whlch once coused so much trouble, now ployed o stirring morch; Bcrss ond Flinders soiled cmong the "greot woves" in the "Tom Thumb", just os thev did in 1795. Then we were shown the Tonk strecrm, once Sydney's woter supply, anC the discovery of cool qt Newcostle by Lieutencrnt Shoitlcnd. John Mqcorthur, founder of the wool industry, wos show1, o.rd th.tt c sociql gothering qt Ccmden. Next' Governor Blish wos "depcrting", not, crs the slonderous story once told, beinq drogged {rom under c feother bed. Then Wentworth, BIox- lcnd, ond Lcrwson were seen crossing the BIue Mountoins in 1813. Here, the spirit of couroge ond odventure were mogni- ficently reccptured. Mccquorie, the roqd builder, then opened the first rood from Sydney to Bothurst. The representotion of the discovery of qold by Hqrsreoves wcs followed by one of the qold rushes, where men, women crnd children were seen in cll kinds of conveyonces on their wcy to the qoldfields. Models of the first Post Office ond the present one were seen side by side. The first troin, trqm ond fer4', "penny- forthinss", ond the Wentworth cooches were also in the pro- cession.