In collaboration with the Brisbane History Group
Sunday 13 November 2022
12:30 – 16:30
Conference Room, Queensland Police Headquarters
Bookings via Brisbane History Group Eventbrite
$10 BHG Members & $15 General Public
(Tickets include a small fee)
Queensland Takes the Initiative
“The sentences of punishment by death shall no longer be pronounced or recorded, and the punishment of death shall no longer be inflicted”, so reads Section 2 of the Criminal Code Amendment Act of 1922. When, on August 1st of that year, the assent of the Governor was announced in Parliament, Queensland became the first part of the British Empire to have abolished capital punishment.“
On 13 November at the last BHG seminar for 2022 we will hear from four speakers on this topic:
Dan Morgan was admitted as a barrister in 1998 and practises almost exclusively in succession and trusts. He has a Ph.D. in constitutional law from The University of Queensland, with a particular focus on parliamentary law. He has an interest in the politics behind Abolition and how Queensland became the first place in the Commonwealth to abolish capital punishment.
Chris Dawson is a Brisbane-based professional historian specialising in the history of capital punishment in Queensland. He leads the popular ‘Hangman’s Walk’ history tours at South Brisbane and Toowong cemeteries, founded the Boggo Road Gaol Historical Society, and has written several publications and articles about hanging.
Jess Parker is an undergraduate Historian currently completing a Bachelor of History Inquiry and Practice with the University of New England. She has a passion for historic cemeteries and a keen fascination of the stories of their residents. Both through her studies and her volunteer work, Jess seeks to uncover the histories of some of Brisbane and Queensland’s most fascinating people. She is a member of Brisbane History Group, The Royal Historical Society of Queensland, and Friends of South Brisbane Cemetery.
Lisa Jones is Curator of the Queensland Police Museum, a position she has held for 25 years. She enjoys speaking about the history of the Queensland Police and is particularly fascinated with the events that led to the murders of two police officers in 1867 and the subsequent hanging of Gold Commissioner Thomas Griffin.
1230-1300 Registration & Bookshop
1300-1305 Welcome and Introduction
1305-1335 Dan Morgan: ‘Capital punishment and abolition: an overview’
1335-1405 Chris Dawson: ‘The Hangmen of Queensland’
1405-1435 Questions
1435-1505 Afternoon Tea
1505-1535 Jess Parker: ‘Ellen Thomson, the only woman legally hanged in Queensland’
1535-1605 Lisa Jones: ‘Gold and Greed – Thomas Griffin, Gold Commissioner gone bad’
1605-1615 Questions
The Brisbane History Group will be selling their books on the day. If you wish to purchase please bring some cash with you.
Parking around QPS Headquarters is free after 12 on Sundays, but parking spots may be difficult to find.
Public transport is the best option as Roma Street railway station and bus station are directly across the road. Please check the train timetables for track work that might shut down the lines.
This information has been supplied by the Queensland Police Museum on behalf of the Brisbane History Group.
The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane.
“Capital Punishment in Queensland Seminar” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode