Queensland, Australia, Queensland Railway Employee Index, 1889-1940

About the Queensland, Australia, Queensland Railway Employee Index, 1889-1940

General collection information

This collection contains an index of employees from the Queensland Railway in Queensland, Australia. The data found in this collection was originally published in the Queensland Government Gazette between 1889 and 1940. It indexes almost 370,000 people employed during this period in the Queensland Government Gazette. Queensland Railway employee data was originally published on the 30th of June every three years, but was published annually from 1897 to 1922 and then biannually until 1940.

Using the collection

Records in the collection may include the following information:

The majority of given names are just initials, so craft your search with this in mind.

This collection contains a wealth of information on the Queensland Railway. Individuals are likely to have multiple records as the information in the collection was published frequently. You may even be able to follow your family member's entire career in this collection.

Collection in context

In 1859, Queensland split from the colony of New South Wales. The newly created colony needed infrastructure and prioritised establishing a rail line as fast as possible. In 1863, engineer Abram Fitzgibbon created a narrow gauge railway system as a means of quickly and cost-effectively building a railway system. The Queensland Railway Main Line began construction the following year and would continue on until the 1920's when the rise of the automobile led to a decrease in railway construction.

Because the colony of Queensland was so vast, a decentralised line that linked to resources, such as mining centers and ports, was used. As the railway grew, industry towns began to pop up along the rail lines. In 1910, construction began on a line that would connect the major coastal towns in Queensland.

With resource mining booming after World War II, the construction of freight routes picked up and Torres Strait Islanders and Australian South Sea Islanders were brought in to work on the railways. The work was grueling and many of the workers were joined by their families who lived in camps that were relocated along with the workers who had to travel alongside the expanding railway.

The Queensland Railway is still operating today.

Bibliography

Queensland Family History Society. "Queensland Railway Employees, 1889-1940." Last Modified November 27, 2012. https://www.qfhs.org.au/shop/shop-catalogue/society-publications/government-gazettes/qfhscd100/.

Queensland Government. "Creation of a State." Last Modified July 20, 2018. https://www.qld.gov.au/about/about-queensland/history/creation-of-state.

Queensland Rail. "The Queensland Rail Journey." Last Modified January 8, 2018. https://www.queenslandrail.com.au/ourhistory/the-queensland-rail-journey.

Queensland Rail. "Our History." Last Modified March 15, 2019. https://www.queenslandrail.com.au/ourhistory.

SBS News. "The Indigenous History of Australia's Railways." Last Modified May 17, 2013. https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/the-indigenous-history-of-australias-railways/pwx1qjfos.