1916 picnic scene

1916 Picnic Scene on Bribie Island

This lovely photo of a group of people having a picnic on Bribie Island in 1916 was featured in a newspaper article in 1990.

Old Photo Unearthed.
Photo from Mr Snow Sefton.
Source: Bribie Weekly, 1990.

Dear Old "Lady" Retired - At Last.
Photo of the Koopa and Mr Snow Sefton.
Source: Bribie Weekly, 1990.

The article in 1990 recorded that "Snow" Sefton had received this photo and several other photos from a chemist friend when Snow moved to Bribie in the 1960s.

"Well-known ex-automotive engineer "Snow" Sefton was given the photo by a chemist friend more than 30 years ago when he moved to Bribie Island to live. Mr Sefton, 79, said that, in the 1930s, Koopa used to leave the Customs House in Brisbane River and picked up passengers en route to Redcliffe and the island. He recalls with a grimace that "nice clean white clothes" worn by those on board the ship sometimes suffered from soot generated by its coal-burning engines."

At the end of the above article is mentioned "Oxley Library in Brisbane is keen to hear from people with old photos, newspapers or any other memorabilia of the early days of the island". 

Here we are, thirty years later, and there is still a keen interest in old photos, newspaper clippings and other memorabilia of the early days of Bribie Island! 

Recently, Lynne Hooper (BIHS Secretary) and Donna Holmes (Coordinator, BIHS Historical Database Project) spent many hours looking through photos held in the Heritage Collection (formerly John Oxley Library) of the State Library of Queensland.

One of the photos in the heritage collection was the picnic scene from 1916.

Bribie Island, ca 1916.
Photo 171084, Acc 86-5-4,
Heritage Collections, State Library of Queensland.

The next photo in the sequence shows a larger group of people with a background of trees. Could this photo also be on Bribie Island? Was the "group of four" part of a larger group?

Social gathering in the bush, 1910-1920.
Photo 171085, Acc 86-5-4
Heritage Collections, State Library of Queensland.

Other photos in the sequence shows staff from the Isis District Hospital visiting various places in southeast Queensland in 1915-1916.

If you recognise any of the people above or if you have any old photos of Bribie Island you would like to share, please contact the Bribie Island Historical Society on bribiehistoricalsociety@gmail.com 

REFERENCES
Dear Old "Lady" Retired - At Last. Photo of the Koopa and Mr Snow Sefton. 
Bribie Weekly, 1990. [Ormond Allan Sefton (1911-1991) RAAF #4747]
BIHS Historical database, Shirley family collection, S10_112_album_p48_to_p56.pdf

Old Photo Unearthed. Photo from Mr Snow Sefton. 
Bribie Weekly, 1990.
BIHS Historical database, Shirley family collection, S10_112_album_p48_to_p56.pdf

Social gathering in the bush, 1910-1920 [photo]
Heritage Collections, State Library of Queensland, 171085, Acc 86-5-4