Becoming A City: Recreation

Although people worked relatively long hours, they still found time and energy for leisure activities.

Some homes had a wind-up gramophone, but in general, if you wanted music you had to make it yourself. Singalongs around the piano were popular, sometimes spontaneous and sometimes a regular organised weekly event. Larger homes such as Garowie and Brynhyfryd had a separate billiard room which was a focus for entertainment; at Garowie, younger and older members of the family had their own nights to play.

Several very active organisations formed around national groupings. The Irish community celebrated St Patrick’s Day with parades, sports and dinners. The St George Society celebrated St George’s Day (April 23rd) and in 1905, held a big parade to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. Scots had their Caledonian Society which started holding annual Highland Games in 1878 and began to hold an annual banquet in 1913. The Welsh community formed the St David’s Society in 1914, involving itself mainly in Welsh culture and music.

A great deal of social activity revolved around the church, and this continued for most of the century. Church welfare committees held fetes, concerts, balls and dances which were important social occasions, and most churches also had sports clubs, youth clubs and musical groups. [1]

The highlight of the year for most churches, organisations and workplaces was the annual picnic. Children's picnics were usually held in a park or a local paddock.

The Combined Congregational Sunday School picnic was sometimes held at Cribb's paddock at Raceview. Children from Ipswich walked there, carrying a large Sunday School banner, but it was harder for children from outlying areas. Mrs. Dorothy Hooper recalled that her grandfather and later her father scrubbed out their coal wagons and lined them with hessian to carry the children from Tivoli to the picnic.

Picnics for adults were more elaborate. Many including the big miners' picnics involved a train excursion to Sandgate or Wynnum.  In 1914, Cribb & Foote arranged an elaborate event which began with a train trip from Ipswich to Brisbane, then a trip to Redcliff eon the steamship Koopa.

Pleasure trips on the river were popular as celebrations of public holidays or as fundraising events. The most popular destinations were the Junction, "Faerie Bower" nearby on the Brisbane River and Chestnut Scrub at Riverview. These excursions were also quite elaborate. Bands were often engaged and the entertainments for riverside picnics included dancing and ladies vs gentlemen cricket matches. The Glide often made trips on moonlight nights as an extra picturesque touch. [2]