World Expo 88 Through Amazing Photos

World Expo 88, also known as Expo 88, was a specialized Expo held in Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia, during a six-month period between Saturday, 30 April 1988 and Sunday, 30 October 1988, inclusive. The theme of the Expo was “Leisure in the Age of Technology”, and the mascot for the Expo was an Australian platypus named Expo Oz.

The A$625 million fair was the largest event of the 1988 Bicentennial celebrations of the arrival of the First Fleet in Sydney Harbour. Expo 88 attracted more than 15,760,000 visitors who bought tickets worth A$175 million. The event achieved both its economic aims and very good attendances, was successfully used to promote Queensland as a tourist destination and it spurred a major re-development at the South Brisbane site.

The core feature of the site were the international pavilions. Many of the exposition’s sculptures and buildings were retained by various entities around the state and are still in use or on display today.

Here below is a set of amazing photos of the World Expo 88.

Entrance gates at Expo 88, South Brisbane, 1988

Her majesty Queen Elizabeth II opening Expo 88, Brisbane, April 30, 1988

Opening day, Expo 88

Opening day, Expo 88

Opening day, Expo 88

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50 Amazing Photos of Queensland in the Late 19th Century

1891 saw the Great Shearers’ Strike at Barcaldine leads to formation of the Australian Labor Party. The issue in the strike was whether employers were entitled to use non-union labour. There were troops and police called in, some sheds were fired, and there were mass riots. There was a second shearers strike in 1894. Union sponsored candidates won sixteen seats at the Queensland elections in 1893.

The 1893 Brisbane flood caused much destruction including destroying the Victoria Bridge. The land where the Brisbane Cricket Ground now sits was first used as a cricket ground in 1895, with the first cricket match played there in December 1896.

In 1897, Native (Aboriginal) Police force disbanded. In 1899, the world’s first Labor government, with Premier Anderson Dawson as the leader, was elected into power only to last one week. In July 1899 Queensland offered to send a force of 250 mounted infantry to help Britain in the Second Boer War (Second Anglo-Boer War). Also in that year, gold production at Charters Towers peaked. The first natural gas find in Queensland and Australia was at Roma in 1900 as a team was drilling a water well.

The Mahina Cyclone of 1899 strikes Cape York Peninsula, destroying a pearling fleet in Princess Charlotte Bay. The cyclone claimed the lives of around 400 people, making it Queensland’s worst maritime disaster.

These amazing photos from Queensland State Archives show what Queensland looked like in the 1890s.

Hay stacking, Green Hills Farm near Warwick, 1894

300 acre wheatfield, Canning Downs near Warwick, 1894

Fitzroy Bridge, Rockhampton, circa 1894

Interior of wool shed, Jondaryan, 1894

Merino sheep ready for shearing, Jondaryan, 1894

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Found Slides of the Sun Girl Contest in Gold Coast in 1957

Beauty contests became more popular in the 1880s. In 1888, the title of ‘beauty queen’ was awarded to an 18-year-old Creole contestant at a pageant in Spa, Belgium. All participants had to supply a photograph and a short description of themselves to be eligible to enter and a final selection of 21 was judged by a formal panel. Such events were not regarded as respectable. Beauty contests came to be considered more respectable with the first modern “Miss America” contest held in 1921.

The popularity of the Miss America pageant prompted other organizations to establish similar contests in the 1950s and beyond. Some were significant while others were trivial, such as the National Donut Queen contest.

The Miss World contest started in 1951, Miss Universe started in 1952 as did Miss USA. Miss International started in 1960. Miss Asia Pacific International which started in 1968 is the first and oldest beauty pageant in Asia. The Miss Black America contest started in 1968 in response to the exclusion of African American women from the Miss America pageant.

The Miss Universe Organization started the Miss Teen USA in 1983 for the 14-19 age group. Miss Earth started in 2001, which channels the beauty pageant entertainment industry as an effective tool to actively promote the preservation of the environment. These contests continue to this day.

These slides were found by Tommy Napier that shows beauties at the Sun Girl contest in Gold Coast, Queensland on January 27, 1957.

Hazel, Judy, Yolande

Glynn Coppin

Hazel Gant

Jan Cridland

Judith Widdoson

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40 Illustrated Photos of The Queenslander Front Covers in the Late 1920s

The Queenslander was the weekly summary and literary edition of the Brisbane Courier, the leading journal in the colony—and later, federal state—of Queensland since the 1850s. It was launched by the Brisbane Newspaper Company in 1866, and discontinued in 1939.

In a country the size of Australia, a daily newspaper of some prominence could only reach the bush and outlying districts if it also published a weekly edition. Yet The Queenslander, under the managing editorship of Gresley Lukin—managing editor from November 1873 until December 1880—also came to find additional use as a literary magazine.

The Queenslander was first published on 3 February 1866 in Brisbane by Thomas Blacket Stephens. The last edition was printed on 22 February 1939.

Here below is a set of illustrated photos from State Library of Queensland that shows The Queenslander front covers in the late 1920s.

Illustrated front cover from The Queenslander, 27 October 1927

Illustrated front cover from The Queenslander, August 11, 1927

Illustrated front cover from The Queenslander, December 1, 1927

Illustrated front cover from The Queenslander, December 15, 1927

Illustrated front cover from The Queenslander, December 22, 1927

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Thirties Queensland: The Decade Consumed by the Great Depression and the Lead Up to WWII

Queensland is a state situated in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous Australian state. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and the Pacific Ocean. To its north is the Torres Strait, separating the Australian mainland from Papua New Guinea.

With an area of 1,852,642 square kilometres (715,309 sq mi), Queensland is the world’s sixth-largest sub-national entity, and is larger than all but 15 countries. Due to its size, Queensland's geographical features and climates are diverse, including tropical rainforests, rivers, coral reefs, mountain ranges and sandy beaches in its tropical and sub-tropical coastal regions, as well as deserts and savanna in the semi-arid and desert climatic regions of its interior.

The capital and largest city in the state is Brisbane, Australia’s third-largest city. Ten of Australia’s thirty largest cities are located in Queensland, with the largest outside Brisbane being the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Townsville, Cairns and Toowoomba.

Queensland was also first inhabited by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders. It has the third-largest economy among Australian states, with strengths in mining, agriculture, transportation, international education, insurance and banking. Nicknamed the Sunshine State for its tropical and sub-tropical climates, Great Barrier Reef and numerous beaches, tourism is also important to the state's economy.

These amazing photos from Queensland State Archives show what Queensland looked like during the 1930s.

Delivering wheat to dump, Clifton, circa 1930s

Hamilton Road and Brisbane River, November 1930

Queen Street, Brisbane looking south, October 1930

Sailing on the Brisbane River, October 1930

Abbott Street, Cairns, 1931

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35 Fabulous Photos Show Fashion Styles of Queensland in the 1930s

In the 1930s, skirts became longer and waist lines returned up to their normal positions in an attempt to bring back the traditional ‘womanly’ look. Zippers and nylon stockings were commonplace and the introduction of the ‘halter neck’ made swimming costumes all the more attractive.

Attention was given to sleeves and a tone of seriousness was evident in accentuated shoulder pads for both men and women. Cloche hats remained popular.

These vintage photos from State Library of Queensland that show fashion styles of Queensland in the 1930s.

Five women at the races, Brisbane, Queensland

A woman is posed sitting on the boom of a sailing vessel, Queensland

Bathers on the beach at Burleigh, Queensland

Beach girl on the Sunshine Coast, Caloundra, Queensland

Beachgoers at Burleigh Heads, Queensland

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Vintage Photos of Afghan Camel Drivers in Queensland, Australia

European exploration and settlement of inland Australia depended heavily on the expertise of Muslim cameleers from Afghanistan and British India. During the late 19th century their network of transport routes opened up the arid interior, and they were often seen working through the interior parts of Queensland. The women in the Queensland outback looked forward to a visit from the Afghan camelleers and hawkers. They brought news, haberdashery and household items.

Group of Afghani men in national dress

Camel driver and a caravan of camels returning home

Afghan cameleer escorts Mrs Walter Lawrence Silver on the wallaby track, ca. 1904

Afghan Emeute at Richmond, ca. 1907

Afghan Emeute at Richmond, ca. 1907

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Interesting Vintage Photos of Motorcyclists in Queensland, Australia

Motorcycles are a fun way to get around. Motorcycles can help with work on the farm or provide entertainment through stunts or speedway racing. These photographs capture motorcycles from the early 1920s onwards.

Joan Grimes, Australian Women's Emergency Legion, learns to ride a motorcycle, to fit her for the job as a dispatch rider, if needed, 1939.

Three Blackall residents on a motorcycle, ca. 1930

A young man is at the top of a small ladder attached to his motorcycle, ca. 1955.

Officials cutting the starting ribbon at a speedway motorcycle race in Brisbane, 1930.

Motorcyclists lined along Bourbong Street, Bundaberg, ca. 1937.

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