Queensland Irish Association has designed a series of posters to illustrate noted Irish Queenslanders as part of QIA’s display at Brisbane 100 celebrations. 

The posters will go on display at Brisbane City Hall on 1 October to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the formation of Brisbane City Council.

The posters, created by QIA Director and Public Relations Officer Mary Allen, tell the story of the Irish in Brisbane from convict times through to the present day. 

One poster lists noted Irish convicts and commandants at Moreton Bay Penal Colony. From escaped convict John Finegan, who guided John Oxley to the Brisbane River, to Derry-born Lieutenant Henry Miller who was the first commandant at the colony, and indeed to the last commandant Owen Gorman from County Offaly, the Irish were integral to the founding of Brisbane. Others featured are former convicts who went on to become community leaders and politicians. Covering Irish convict history was requested by the organisers.

Another poster highlights famous Irish Queenslanders, from the poet Eva of the Nation to architect Richard Gailey, who invented the Queenslander style of architecture with wide verandahs, to Nicholas Fitzgerald, who set up Castlemaine Brewery and developed XXXX beer. Cheers to him! 

There’s a poster with the timeline of the Irish community in Brisbane, from colonial times to the setting up of Queensland Irish Association in 1898, to the work of the Catholic Church establishing schools and hospitals, and the importance of Archbishop James Duhig, to the work of Irish Queenslanders in political life.

A fourth poster features Irish monuments in Brisbane and was made with the assistance of historians Rod and Robin Sullivan. 

Brisbane 100 – One City Together will fill City Hall with activities, displays, and a community focus on how far the city has come. 

Volunteers from Queensland Irish Association will be there to talk to visitors about the Association and the Irish history of Brisbane, and to share aspects of Irish culture, including traditional Irish clothing. We have also arranged an Irish history talk by historians Robin and Rodney Sullivan of University of Queensland at 11.20am.

 Our friends from the Celtic Council of Australia Queensland Inc. will also be there on the day. 

Full details of all Brisbane 100 events are available at greaterbrisbanecentenary.com.au.