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Lady Parachutists and the End of Civilisation in Queensland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2016

Bill Metcalf
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Extract

Brisbane was wiped off the face of the Earth and Queensland ceased to exist as a political entity under the combined military forces of Victoria and New South Wales during violent conflict at the end of the twentieth century. Brisbane was annihilated because of the un-Christian sins of its people, and the moral corruption of its leaders. The Queensland Defence Force was incapable of defending even itself, let alone defeating the invading troops. The pivotal event in this collapse concerned the alluring performances by a group of ‘lady parachutists’ who entertained the Queensland military forces, thereby distracting them and allowing the opposing forces to easily defeat them at the Battle of Fort Lytton.

That, at least, is the key to the plot of Dr Thomas Pennington Lucas's 1894 dystopian novel The Ruins of Brisbane in the Year 2000. The origin of this ‘lady parachutists’ myth, and the connections between this myth and the end of Queensland civilisation, led me to research a fascinating episode in Queensland's cultural history, and in particular Victorian notions of sexual propriety, ‘true manhood’ and the combined — albeit veiled — threats posed by unfettered female sexuality and male masturbation.

Type
Research Article
Information
Queensland Review , Volume 13 , Issue 1 , January 2006 , pp. 33 - 49
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 

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References

Notes

1 Lucas, Thomas P., The Ruins of Brisbane in the Year 2000, published in The Curse and its Cure (Brisbane: J.H. Reynolds, 1894).Google Scholar

2 New York Times, 26 October 1930, p. 24; emails dated 17 and 19 January 2005 from Rick Van Tassel to the author; and http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/vantasselfamilyhistoryhomepage. The Van Tassel acrobatic group had arrived in Sydney on 12 December 1889 on the Mariposa. The surname was spelt as ‘Van Tassell’, ‘Van Tasel’ and ‘Van Tassel’, but the latter seems to be the preferred spelling and is used herein except when citing sources which use other versions.Google Scholar

3 Mines, F., A Draft of Parachuting in Australia up to the Foundation of Sport Parachuting in 1958, undated paper (http://esvc001114.wic013u.server-web.com/news/History-of-Australian-Parachuting-frorn-1958.pdf); Sydney Morning Herald, 26 November 1937, p. 12; and Queensland State Archives (QSA): SRS36, Inquest Files, Con. 5, Item 177, 1890.Google Scholar

4 The Argus, 2 February 1858, p. 5; and Melbourne Age, 2 February 1858, p. 4.Google Scholar

5 Melbourne Age, 15 April 1879, p. 3; and The Argus, 15 April 1879, p. 5.Google Scholar

6 The Bulletin, 15 December 1888, p. 7.Google Scholar

7 Mines, A Draft of Parachuting in Australia; Encyclopedia Britannica; various web sites; and Sydney Morning Herald, 10 December 1888, p. 4.Google Scholar

8 QSA: SRS36, Cons. 5, Item 177, Inquest into Death of Thomas Reid; Brisbane Courier, 4 June 1890, p. 3; Northern Age, 21 June 1890, p. 2.Google Scholar

9 The delegation included Reverend Alexander Gauld, James Delchanty, Thomas Page, Thomas Whaley, Anthony Shanks, James Noble, James Church, E. Glagholm, William Trewin and Peter Nielson. Townsville Evening Star, 21 June 1890, p. 2; Northern Age, 21 June 1890, p. 2.Google Scholar

10 Northern Age, 21 June 1890, p. 2; The Queenslander, 28 June 1890, p. 1205.Google Scholar

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24 According to Australian balloon researcher, David Craddock: ‘The parachute was fixed by an ingenious arrangement to the bottom of the balloon (the open mouth part of the balloon for inflation), and by simply pulling a string (that went up to where the parachute was attached), the parachute could be disengaged. So, picture this: the inflated gas bag at the top, then attached to some simple structure across the bottom of the balloon is the apex of the parachute. Now, the parachute and a light cord (or string) hang down, under the weight of the aeronaut who is holding on to the bar at the bottom of the parachute cords. When she released the parachute, by pulling on the string, the balloon would just float or turn over and eventually land. The balloon would have no cords attached at that time. The parachute drops after release and soon fully inflates and descends to the ground with its passenger holding on to the trapeze bar.’ Email dated 1 June 2005, from David Craddock to author.Google Scholar

25 Brisbane Courier, 2 June 1890, p. 6.Google Scholar

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28 Northern Age and North Queensland Telegraph, 23 June 1890, p. 2.Google Scholar

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31 This quaint term means ‘wowser’ according to the Macquarie Dictionary, and ‘puritanical’ according to Hughes, J. (ed.), Australian Words and their Origins (Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1989).Google Scholar

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42 Brisbane Courier, 14 July 1890, p. 6; Lilley, Reminiscences, pp. 161–63.Google Scholar

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50 See, for example: Allen, J., Rose Scott: Vision and Revision in Feminism (Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1994); and M. Lake, Getting Equal: The History of Australian Feminism (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1999).Google Scholar

51 Laquer, W., Solitary Sex: A Cultural History of Masturbation (New York: Zone Books, 2003), p. 231.Google Scholar

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54 Brisbane Courier, 12 July 1890, p. 5.Google Scholar

55 Lucas, Thomas Pennington, Do Thyself No Harm: A Lecture to Men (Melbourne: Mason, Firth and McCutcheon, 1885).Google Scholar