New Year 1895
Reprehensible Character
Towards the closing, cloudy hours of the old year 1 the bells of the Queanbeyan Church of England and the Wesleyan Church rang out lustily calling the “devouts” to the exercise of religious services, which were to bring profitable results to the worshipers during the dying of the old 1894 and the birth of the New Year 1895.
Not everyone went to church on New Years Eve in 1894 as The Queanbeyan Observer newspaper observed, “many indulged in hilarious pastimes, some of a highly reprehensible character for which it is likely the chief actors will yet be called to account”.
Repent now
This seems to indicate that teetotaler John Gale may have been the author of the above article and as a magistrate, may have been looking forward to dishing out the punishment through the courts for those who had become inebriated.
But there was still time to repent as St Stephen’s church and St Gregory’s churches held early devotions on New Years day, which were apparently “exceedingly well attended”.
Boxing day attractions had been disappointing with only out of town horse racing at Foxlow and a cricket match at Captain’s Flat, but on New Year’s day Queanbeyan came alive with country visitors attracted by the program of a pageant, a sports competition and a ball at night announced by the committee of the United Friendly Societies Demonstration.
Friendly Procession
The Observer noted that there was plenty of joint energy and forethought from the various friendly societies in the small town of Queanbeyan and people were looking forward to the event and were all of a “quiver” for the pageant - in reality a procession of three groups.
Preparatory to the pageant (procession) the Town Band played a few airs at the meeting place, the Protestant Hall in Crawford Street, just as they had given a performance of suitable and enjoyable music on New Years Eve the night before.
The three societies of men who were the total sum of the Procession took up position in the following order proceeded by the band: (1) The H C Guild of St Gregorys; (2) The I.O.O. Oddfellows, Happy Home Lodge; (3) The G.U. Oddfellows (Perserverence Lodge). Each society followed its banner of which they seemed justly proud.
Beautiful banner
The Observer noticed that the magnificent banner of the ‘Sons of Temperance’ was not in the show, and that none of that order marched as such in the procession and although The Observer had not heard the reason for this The Observer felt this ingredient would have added materially to what was even in its absence a very creditable procession for a country town.
If Queanbeyan – a country town with a population of around 1250 - could attract the surrounding district to its procession of three organizations in 1895, what does it say about our own ineptitude or that of our leaders that the City of Queanbeyan in 2008 can not muster from its own troops of 38,000 enough people (with or without their possessions) to form a parade of sorts?
Surely there must be some people around who can still muster a “quiver” at the sight of real people in a real live procession?
Gratification
The pageant followed the following streets: Up Rutledge Street, along Lowe Street to Monaro Street across the bridge by way of Trinculo Place into Macquoid Street, back across the bridge into Monaro Street to Crawford Street and then down Morrissett (sic) Street to the Town Park, where the procession disbanded.
The Queanbeyan Observer was proud to report that the crowds of spectators who watched the hearty pageant and listened to the music of the band were “much gratified”. 2
END
Footnotes:
1. Connee-Colleen. Queanbeyan Outlook (No 122 ) with Connee-Colleen - Lust of New Year © 2008 (first Version), The Queanbeyan Age, 11th January, 2008, p 20.
2. The Queanbeyan Observer & Mining Record, 4.1.1895.
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