Cape York Peninsula Oral History

Oral history with Bill Russell who was born in Cooktown and moved to Cloncurry at age 17 where he worked as a tin miner. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Kathleen Savage was born Kathleen Nora Doolan, in 1910, the daughter of a tin miner at Grass Tree, which was about 70 kilometres south of Cooktown. There were nine children in the Doolan family. The Doolan children attended school at Rossville. They rode horses to Rossville, a distance of about 20 kilometres, accompanied by their father on a Monday. He would then take the horses home and return to collect the children on a Friday. The children stopped with their Aunt, Mrs. Walsh, who had the hotel at Rossville.

Kathleen Savage began her schooling at the age of eight. Her working days began at the West Coast hotel in Cooktown. She then went to Cairns and worked at the Tropical theatre before returning to Cooktown to take up hotel work again at the commercial. Kathleen married Herb Savage and spent many years in the James Savage general store. The 100 year old building was demolished in 1985.

The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Ernie Kerr was known as the father of tourism in Cooktown. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Rollo Gollop was a former engineer with the Main Roads Department and second administrator appointed of the Cook Shire Council. This interview covers most of his period with Main Roads and the development of roads in Cooktown and the Cape York Peninsula. 

The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Rex Johnston discusses the timber industry and coastal shipping in the Bloomfield region. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Bridget Connolly's father was a tin miner and leased the Lode Hill tin mine. She discusses her childhood in the Bloomfield Scrub, China Camp and Cooktown. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Ann Colman discusses living through the cyclone that hit Coen on the 16-17 December 1943. Rose Ann Colman is Bow Gostelow's sister. The Gostelow family were pioneers of the Cape York cattle industry and respected throughout the Cape York Peninsula.

The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Irene Taylor discusses how Coen got its name; Mount Croal Cattle Station; Port Stewart and Flinders Island; Wenlock Gold Fields; flying with Tommy McDonald; the cyclone that hit Coen in 1946-1947; and Aboriginal homes in Coen. 

The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Millie Parsons discusses her grandfather Captain Iver Osmundsen, a Norwegian, who was the first European settler in Bloomfield as well as her life in Bloomfield. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. There is no transcript.

Felicia Watkins was born on Darnley Island and lived in Bloomfield River. She discusses her family history and her experiences living through the cyclone in 1934. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. There is no transcript.

Jack Wallace discusses growing up in Cooktown. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. There is no transcript.

Bill Ward discusses travelling to Cooktown to tune pianos. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Evelyn Martin discusses living in Cooktown. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Ernie Stephens discusses hotels in Cooktown. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. There is no transcript.

Beatrice Parsons discusses the Chinese in Cooktown and tin mining in Rossville. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. There is no transcript.

Duncan Jackson, former ABC news journalist, provides a recording of the history of the Cape York Peninsula as well as background information on this oral history collection. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Beatrice Parsons discusses being asked to officially open the Endeavour Sunset Lodge and living in Cooktown, Rossville and China Camp. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Micky Finn who was the Cape York Peninsula mailman. Micky's father, Edward (Ned) Patrick Finn was the mailman on the Cooktown-Bloomfield run prior to the Second World War. Micky Finn, who was born with the same name as his father, succeeded his father on the mail run when he was 14 after his father's death.

The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Dick Dyer who was an employee of Donald and Black, the general store in Cooktown. He started working there at the age of 14. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Sir Clarence Byrne who was involved in the Queensland Mining Industry. He discusses his involvement in the discovery of bauxite at Weipa. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Stan Holland who discusses the Holland family story. Stan's father was Cyril Thomas Holland, also known as Ginger Dick. Cyril Holland worked for Frank Jardine when he was known as the cattle king of Cape York. Cyril was involved in mustering cattle and breaking in horses and joined the AIF in the First World War. 

The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Cecil James Murdoch who discusses growing tobacco outside Cooktown and working in the timber industry. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Laurie Hicks who discusses the establishment of the Comalco Mining Museum in Weipa. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Edna Dyer (nee Vallis) who discusses working for the Cook Shire Council. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. There is no transcript.

Reading of a press release written by Clive Foyster about Butcher Hill Station which is now the township of Lakeland Downs. The press release is read by Phil McGuire. Narration provided by Duncan Jackson. The transcript is in Series 2.

Oral history with Vic Masterson about Butcher Hill Station which is now the township of Lakeland Downs. Vic Masterson is the son of Ted Masterson who transacted the sale of Butcher Hill to Clive Foyster. The transcript is in Series 2.

Reverend Colin Ford discusses the 25th Anniversary of the Australian Inland Mission Hospital and Hostel in Coen. Reverend Colin Ford was the first Padre to operate from Coen.

The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Official welcome by Bishop Tony Matthews-Hall to the 25th anniversary of the dedication of the James Simpson Love Home, a war memorial hospital and welfare centre in Coen. Includes a sermon by Reverend Colin Ford. 

A partial transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Bill and Barbara Wentworth. Bill Wentworth was a Federal politician for 28 years and served as the Minister for Social Services (1968–1972) and Minister in Charge of Aboriginal Affairs (1968–1971). They discuss travelling to the tip of the Cape York Peninsula.

The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Isobel and Gordon Raymond discuss living at Kimba Station. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. There is no transcript.

Oral history with Doreen McFarlane (nee Clark) who was born in Cooktown in 1914. She lived at Cooktown for most of her life prior to the Second World War. At the age of five, Doreen was an eyewitness to the 1919 fire which destroyed the Burns Philp store and adjoining properties.

The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Lady Ettie Morris, wife of Sir Kenneth Morris, who was the Deputy Premier of Queensland from 1957-1962. Lady Morris, along with Sir Raphael Cilento, played a large role in the restoration of the Cooktown Convent so that it eventually became the James Cook Museum.

The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Dr Barry Goldman, the Director of Lizard Island Research Station on the Great Barrier Reef. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Dorothy Brown (nee Yateman) who discusses living in Rossville. Her father was Robert Yateman who migrated to Australia in 1891 and worked as a tin miner in Rossville. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. There is no transcript.

Oral history with Leffler Conrad John Buhmann who discusses his career as the Chairman of the Cook Shire. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2. 

Oral history with Ann Cameron and Walter Jack, two Aborigines who were taken from their parents when they were very young and left in the care of the Lutheran Mission at Cape Bedford. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Tom Newman, a retired police sergeant who was stationed in Coen from 1960-1965 and Thursday Island from 1973-1976. He discusses his time in the police force and a shoot out between Bill Toohey and John Harris on the Cape York Peninsula in 1964.

The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Fred Shephard who discusses his family history, growing up in Coen and cattle droving. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Ernie Stephens who discusses the history of the Cooktown to Laura railway which closed in 1961. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

First part of an oral history with Doris Schipke who discusses her father, Fred Schipke, who was responsible for the running of the trains and rail motors between Cooktown and Laura for almost 25 years. The second part of the oral history continues at OH6/165.

The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2. 

Oral history with Gertrude Shephard (nee Wallace) who discusses the history of the Wallace family. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with James Robert Waters who discusses living in Cooktown and working with Civil Aviation. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Elizabeth Catherine Waters who helped to establish the James Cook Museum. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with George Watkin who discusses carting goods between Helensvale to Cooktown using horse teams. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Effram Brown, also known as Yogi Bear, who was employed as a painter of a new ship loader at Evans Landing. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Paxton Piel who worked for the Cook Shire Council in the Main Roads Department and then worked for mining company Enterprise Explorations (Comalco). The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Ken McDonald, mine manager at Weipa for Comalco. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Eve Bluemink, a Weipa housewife. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Charles Harding Wallace. Charles Wallace was born at Herberton, the son of Charles Norman Wallace and Doreen Mary Wallace, who for years, were at Butcher Hill station, now Lakeland Downs. Charles Harding Wallace is the great grandson of James Earl who pioneered the Peninsula land settlement at Butcher Hill in 1874, at the time of the Palmer River gold rush.

The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with William (Bow) Gostelow, who is the son of William Henry Gostelow and Rose Ann Fox. He tells the story of the Gostelow family who were pioneers of the Cape York cattle industry. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Sister Mary Magdalen Bowe who was stationed at the Cooktown Convent. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Neville Mitchell who tells the story of himself and his brother Frank Mitchell, who after the Second World War, flew a Gipsy moth aircraft to Cairns and played a big part in the North's aviation history.  The Mitchell brothers both started work for the Cairns Flying service. It was the first post war aerial service at Cairns. In time, it was succeeded by the North Queensland Aero Club.

The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Eileen May Chatfield who discusses growing up in Cooktown. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Bishop John Torpie who played a major role in the handing over of the Cooktown Convent to the Queensland National Trust for use as a museum. It became the James Cook Museum.

Also includes an interview with Claude Le Roy, who was the skipper of the Hales ferry and was involved in transporting the caste-iron spiral staircase of the Cooktown Convent to Cairns in boxes aboard the ferry. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. There is no transcript.

Oral history with Rene Hallam who played a major role in the transformation of the Cooktown Convent into the James Cook Museum. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Daniel George Bolan who was born at Cooktown in 1905. He was the son of Daniel Edward Bolan and Frances May Ethel Bolan (nee Bathe). He talks about their life in Far North Queensland. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Sister Mary Bearchman Scanlon and Sister Mary Ormonde who were stationed at the Cooktown Convent. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with George Adderton who discusses his life on the Cape York Peninsula. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. The transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Claude Le Roy who spent many years prospecting for gold and tin and this gave him great knowledge of the far north Queensland coastal area and its adjacent mountains. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A partial transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Bruce Toohey who discusses managing cattle properties on the Cape York Peninsula. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with George Snow who discusses crocodile hunting and trochus shelling on the Cape York Peninsula. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Betty Goodwin who discusses the Goodwin family's overland trip from Cairns to the tip of Cape York in 1963, her first impressions of Coen and running the Coen Hotel from 1964-1966. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Oliver Jarrott who at the age of 70 went to Bamaga to find a water supply. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Sister Mary Angela Davies who talks about her childhood and her schooling at the Cooktown Convent. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Frank Sims who talks about being an itinerant teacher for the Primary Correspondence Schools on the Cape York Peninsula with his wife Colleen Sims. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Colleen Sims who talks about being an itinerant teacher for the Primary Correspondence Schools on the Cape York Peninsula with her husband Frank Sims. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Alex Temperley, the general manager of the Silica Sand Mining operations on Cape Flattery. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Kenny Jimmy who was the counsellor for the Kowanyama community for 38 years. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Maude Frazer who was a past chairman of the Kowanyama community. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Val O'Brien who was the sister in charge at the hospital at Kowanyama. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with John Goodin who was the community manager at Kowanyama. He discusses a sewage plant that was being developed at the time of the interview. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Robert Wallace Holroyd of the Edward River community. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Mabel Pamulkan who grew up on the Aurukun Mission. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Gerry Pascoe who talks about life at Lockhart River and trochus shelling. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Suzanne Hood who is a nurse from the Queensland Child Health Department and is associated with the Royal Australian Flying Doctors Service and flies in and out of the Cape York Peninsula. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. There is no transcript.

Oral history with Jim McDowall who was the packhorse mailman from Laura to Coen. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Norman Traves who was the Queensland managing director of consulting engineers, Gutteridge, Haskins & Davey in 1986. The engineering firm was asked by Enterprise Explorations to try and locate a large supply of fresh water for the treatment of bauxite at Weipa.

The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Ray Rose, a director of consulting engineers, Gutteridge Haskins and Davey. He discusses the construction of the Rossville-Bloomfield Road. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Ruth Wallace who talks about her upbringing. Ruth Wallace was born Ruth Warwick at Mornington Island in 1933. She was a member of the Lardle tribe. Her mother was an Aborigine from the Normanton-Burketown region who had a Philippino father and was taken away from her tribal mother when she was a little girl. Ruth's father was from the Roper River district in the Northern Territory. At the age of three, Ruth Warwick was brought to mainland Australia and was reared at the Mapoon mission on the Batavia River.

 The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Lloyd Grigg who talks about shooting crocodiles. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Queenie Waters was born in Cooktown in 1916 and was adopted William Pitt's family of Bloomfield when only 2 weeks old. She talks about being raised in Bloomfield. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Leslie Edward Skinner who worked for the Queensland Justice Department in a number of places including Cairns, Normanton and Thursday Island. Following his retirement in 1973, he wrote a book about the native police entitled 'Police of the Pastoral Frontier'.

This interview covers the return of civilians to Thursday Island following the Second World War, his association with Bamaga as Under Secretary to the Justice Department and native police in Cape York. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with John Spearritt who works for the lighthouse section of the Department of Transport. He discusses lighthouses on the Cape York Peninsula. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Monica May Callaghan who discusses living in Palmerville. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Captain William (Bill) Thomas Cain who was a pilot with the Torres Strait Pilot Service. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Herbert John Harris who was involved in contract mustering, grazing, droving and store keeping on the Cape York Peninsula. He also ran the Coen Hotel. He discusses cattle, Fred Kepple, Danny Charmaine, Alf Colman, the Coen Hotel and barramundi fishing.

The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Ann Mason who grew bananas at Baileys Creek at Cape Tribulation. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Bill Mason and his mother Ann Mason who were living at Cape Tribulation when a cyclone struck in 1934. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with John Albert Kaine who was railway porter on the Cooktown to Laura railway. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with William Athol McGuffie who discusses growing up and working in Cooktown, farming in the Endeavour Valley and working for Enterprise Exploration in Weipa. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Gladys Wallace Black who was the daughter of David Black. David Black went into partnership with Bob Donald in 1920. Donald and Black were agents for the pearling vessels and for the John Burke Shipping Line. Gladys Black discusses Cooktown thriving and then declining. 

The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Hugh Frederick Fisher who discusses working on the Wenlock Goldfield River and the local Aborigines. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Rhonda Fisher, a Wenlock housewife. She discusses her life on the Wenlock Goldfield. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Percy William Parsons who discusses the Maytown pack team. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with William Henry Lott Gordon who discusses working on various stations including Strathleven and Cape York pioneers. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Margaret O'Connor who discusses the new shopping complex O'Connor's Arcade in Cooktown. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Herbert William Cummings who discusses shipping cattle by boat from Cape York to Cairns, turtles and crocodiles. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Stanley Henry Boyd who reads about the history of the Palmer River Goldfields. A transcript is available in Series 2 (included in OH6/102 transcript).

Oral history with Connie Gostelow who discusses growing up at Palmerville. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Rene Hallam, Hans Looser and Stan Boyd who tell the story of the Cooktown Museum. The interviews took place in 1967 and 1987. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Eileen Amelia Wassell who discusses the Massey Brothers and their property Lalla Rook. The Massey Brothers were the first graziers to take up land on the Stewart River. Eileen also discusses operating Silver Plains Station.

The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Doris Lakeland who discusses the life of Cape York prospector and explorer Billy Lakeland. Doris Lakeland is the widow of Billy Lakeland's son Leo.

The introduction is by Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Marion Herring who discusses growing up in Cooktown. The introduction is by Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Iris Lillian Wallace (nee Wharton) who discusses living on Merluna Station and life on the Cape York Peninsula. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Mary Shephard who discusses living at Yarraden Station. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Myles Gostelow who discusses the cattle industry in Cape York. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Maurice Shephard who discusses the cattle industry in Cape York. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Tom Newman, Margaret Toohey and Iris Wallace who discuss the dramatic shoot-out that occurred in 1964 between two contract musterers, Bill Toohey and John Harris. This includes an abridged version of Tom Newman's recollections. The unabridged version is in OH6/180.

The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Margaret Toohey (nee Redman) who discusses living at Quintal Creek, working with cattle for John Kelly, crossing the Wenlock River and doing the mail run on Iron Range. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Bill Toohey who discusses working on the Cape York Peninsula. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. There is no transcript.

Oral history with Ron Solomon who discusses droving and prospecting in Cape York. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.

Oral history with Billy Kennedy who was the manager of a company that provided pastoral supplies to the Cape York Peninsula. He discusses constructing 67 pre-fabricated homes in Weipa. The interviewer is Duncan Jackson. A transcript is available in Series 2.