Brisbane c. 1860. The cemetery in the middle of the photo is where Laura was buried - the site of Lang Park today.
Photo taken from somewhere near Musgrave Rd, Red Hill.
Photo taken from somewhere near Musgrave Rd, Red Hill.
Laura Eversden 1859 - 1864
22 Feb 1864 Death of Laura Eversden
Laura’s precarious state of health was finally recognized by the local doctor (Dr Hobbs) and she was conveyed from the Flying Cloud to hospital. (Probably the Green Hills Hospital, located in today's Roma St Parklands.)
It was all a little too late, as Laura succumbed that day. She spent less than a single day in Australia - and was buried at Lang Park Cemetery the very next day.
Lewis Eversden and his one remaining child, Clara, departed Brisbane soon after Laura's death & burial. They travelled by steamer to Ipswich where one imagines they were received by Cambridge friends, such as the Ivetts and Thomas Huntley Brown's family, and perhaps William Dockrill.
The story of the First Sod Ceremony was retold by Clara 60 years later in an interview with the Dalby Herald.
Laura’s precarious state of health was finally recognized by the local doctor (Dr Hobbs) and she was conveyed from the Flying Cloud to hospital. (Probably the Green Hills Hospital, located in today's Roma St Parklands.)
It was all a little too late, as Laura succumbed that day. She spent less than a single day in Australia - and was buried at Lang Park Cemetery the very next day.
Lewis Eversden and his one remaining child, Clara, departed Brisbane soon after Laura's death & burial. They travelled by steamer to Ipswich where one imagines they were received by Cambridge friends, such as the Ivetts and Thomas Huntley Brown's family, and perhaps William Dockrill.
The story of the First Sod Ceremony was retold by Clara 60 years later in an interview with the Dalby Herald.
March 1864 Dr Sandiford, surgeon aboard the Flying Cloud, appears in court
11 Mar 1864 The Courier
Before the Water Police Magistrate, the Police Magistrate, and Mr. Lyons.
BREACH OF THE QUARANTINE ACT.
George T. Sandiford, late surgeon of the ship Flying Cloud, was charged with having given false information to the Health Officer with reference to the health of the passengers on board that ship, by which a contagious disease has been introduced into Brisbane. The prosecution was conducted by Mr. Little, Crown Solicitor. Mr. Garrick appeared for the prisoner, who pleaded not guilty.
Mr. Little opened the case at some length, arguing that from the evidence which he would adduce, a prima facie case, sufficient to warrant the committal of the prisoner for trial, would be proved. He called Dr. Hobbs, who deposed as follows: I am Health Officer for the port of Brisbane; I know the defendant; he was the surgeon-superintendent of the Flying Cloud; I went alongside the ship on the 20th February, when Mr. Sandiford presented himself to me as the doctor; it is my duty as Health Officer to go alongside every ship which arrives in Brisbane from parts beyond the seas; I asked the doctor if he had any sickness on board; he said nothing of any consequence; I asked if he had any infectious or contagious disease on board; he answered "No;" I asked him if he had any measles, scarlatina, small-pox, or fever; he again answered "No;" when I asked him about the fever, there was a slight pause before he answered; I saw Captain Keen advance towards the doctor and speak to him; I did not hear what he said; defendant did not answer the question until after he had been spoken to by the captain; in consequence of my observing that procedure, I hailed the doctor to come to me in a boat and bring his log with him; he did so, and brought the medical log (produced) with him; I had reasons for asking him to bring the log with him; I had previously asked him how many deaths had occurred on the passage; he replied that there had been twenty deaths; I asked him the date of the last death, and the cause; he replied that a person had died from dysentery on the 16th February .....
Cross-examination of Dr Hobbs by the Bench: When I asked defendant to show me the sick persons he only pointed out the three women and boy I have previously mentioned; I went down between docks, and on my first visit I asked to see the hospitals, and saw one child ill; her name was Laura Eversden; I made no examination, but asked the doctor what was the nature of the case; he informed me that she was suffering from dysentery; he said he had no reason to suspect that fever was masked in the case - it was as pure a case of dysentery as he ever saw in his life, that she was exceedingly weak, and he had no arrowroot or sago, and he asked my permission to send her up to the hospital; I granted it ; the child was about seven or eight years old; she was brought up by Captain Keen in the afternoon to the depot, and died in the course of the night.....
11 Mar 1864 The Courier
Before the Water Police Magistrate, the Police Magistrate, and Mr. Lyons.
BREACH OF THE QUARANTINE ACT.
George T. Sandiford, late surgeon of the ship Flying Cloud, was charged with having given false information to the Health Officer with reference to the health of the passengers on board that ship, by which a contagious disease has been introduced into Brisbane. The prosecution was conducted by Mr. Little, Crown Solicitor. Mr. Garrick appeared for the prisoner, who pleaded not guilty.
Mr. Little opened the case at some length, arguing that from the evidence which he would adduce, a prima facie case, sufficient to warrant the committal of the prisoner for trial, would be proved. He called Dr. Hobbs, who deposed as follows: I am Health Officer for the port of Brisbane; I know the defendant; he was the surgeon-superintendent of the Flying Cloud; I went alongside the ship on the 20th February, when Mr. Sandiford presented himself to me as the doctor; it is my duty as Health Officer to go alongside every ship which arrives in Brisbane from parts beyond the seas; I asked the doctor if he had any sickness on board; he said nothing of any consequence; I asked if he had any infectious or contagious disease on board; he answered "No;" I asked him if he had any measles, scarlatina, small-pox, or fever; he again answered "No;" when I asked him about the fever, there was a slight pause before he answered; I saw Captain Keen advance towards the doctor and speak to him; I did not hear what he said; defendant did not answer the question until after he had been spoken to by the captain; in consequence of my observing that procedure, I hailed the doctor to come to me in a boat and bring his log with him; he did so, and brought the medical log (produced) with him; I had reasons for asking him to bring the log with him; I had previously asked him how many deaths had occurred on the passage; he replied that there had been twenty deaths; I asked him the date of the last death, and the cause; he replied that a person had died from dysentery on the 16th February .....
Cross-examination of Dr Hobbs by the Bench: When I asked defendant to show me the sick persons he only pointed out the three women and boy I have previously mentioned; I went down between docks, and on my first visit I asked to see the hospitals, and saw one child ill; her name was Laura Eversden; I made no examination, but asked the doctor what was the nature of the case; he informed me that she was suffering from dysentery; he said he had no reason to suspect that fever was masked in the case - it was as pure a case of dysentery as he ever saw in his life, that she was exceedingly weak, and he had no arrowroot or sago, and he asked my permission to send her up to the hospital; I granted it ; the child was about seven or eight years old; she was brought up by Captain Keen in the afternoon to the depot, and died in the course of the night.....
1864 Laura Eversden's death certificate contains scant details:
- date of death 21 Feb 1864;
- sex - female - but no record of age or parents;
- buried in Church of England section Brisbane Cemetery;
- died of "dysentry" - probably typhoid fever.
Lang Park Cemetery - from Petrie Terrace; Milton Rd top left corner.
Q & A: Questions and (possible) Answers:
Q1. Could Laura's life have been saved?
A1. Dr Sandiford's lying and negligence delayed the hospital assistance Laura desperately needed. This certainly contributed to Laura's death.
Q2. What became of the cemetery where Laura was buried & Laura's grave?
A2. More than 4000 souls were laid to rest in this cemetery between 1843 & 1875. The cemetery lay abandoned until 1914, when local residents petitioned for its official closure. Those with relatives interred there were given the chance to have the remains, and/or the monuments from their graves, moved. About 140 bodies and 505 monuments were moved into the nearby Christ Church churchyard where they rested peacefully until the 1930s when all but 21 monuments were taken to Toowong Cemetery and dumped in a gully.
Laura was probably buried with a wooden marker at best as her (understandably) distraught father and sister departed for the comfort of Cambridge friends in Ipswich. Her remains today may be mixed in the ground below Suncorp Stadium.
Q1. Could Laura's life have been saved?
A1. Dr Sandiford's lying and negligence delayed the hospital assistance Laura desperately needed. This certainly contributed to Laura's death.
Q2. What became of the cemetery where Laura was buried & Laura's grave?
A2. More than 4000 souls were laid to rest in this cemetery between 1843 & 1875. The cemetery lay abandoned until 1914, when local residents petitioned for its official closure. Those with relatives interred there were given the chance to have the remains, and/or the monuments from their graves, moved. About 140 bodies and 505 monuments were moved into the nearby Christ Church churchyard where they rested peacefully until the 1930s when all but 21 monuments were taken to Toowong Cemetery and dumped in a gully.
Laura was probably buried with a wooden marker at best as her (understandably) distraught father and sister departed for the comfort of Cambridge friends in Ipswich. Her remains today may be mixed in the ground below Suncorp Stadium.