31 October 2021
11:00am – 12:30pm
Police Headquarters
200 Roma Street, Brisbane QLD 4000
FREE ENTRY – Bookings Essential via Eventbrite
The bushrangers of the gold rush era were a varied lot: from poor stockmen with convict heritage to well-educated, well-connected citizens. Their crimes, motivations and ‘careers’ were equally diverse. Most of these criminals travelled widely, and some had colourful brushes with the law in Queensland.
In Jane’s presentation, she shares the stories of these notorious criminals in brief, and elaborates on the history of the outrageous Frank Pearson: bushranger, killer, forger, artist, serial impostor and accountant, and the subject of her book Captain Starlight: the strange but true story of a bushranger, impostor and murderer. Pearson (aka Gordon, Dr Lamb, Dr Waller and countless other aliases) narrowly escaped the noose after murdering Senior Constable McCabe in an 1868 shoot-out with NSW and QLD police. His death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, but he was released after 16 years, having conned the priest at Darlinghurst Gaol into believing that he had reformed. His subsequent exploits in Queensland were audacious and bizarre, and resulted in imprisonment at St Helena Island and Toowoomba.
Jane Smith is a librarian, author and editor with a love of history who writes fiction and non-fiction for children and adults. Three of her children’s books have been long- or shortlisted for significant awards. Jane has experience in all aspects of book production, from reading and reviewing to researching, writing and editing.
This one-and-a-half-hour presentation will start at 11am on Sunday, October 31 and will be both informative and educational.
The Museum opens its doors to the public on the last Sunday of each month from 10am to 3pm from February to November in addition to the standard Monday to Thursday 9am to 4pm opening hours. Monthly Sunday openings feature guest speakers from across the historical and crime-solving spectrums.
The Police Museum will open Sunday, October 31 from 10am to 3pm, and is located on the ground floor of Police Headquarters, 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.