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#OnThisDay in 1867, history was made on St Helena Island! 🏝️🔒

Over 150 years ago, the first prisoners arrived at the isolated St Helena Island Penal Establishment, a fortress surrounded by the treacherous waters of Moreton Bay. Despite its remote location and fortified walls, that didn’t stop daring prisoners from attempting bold escapes! 🛶🏃‍♂️

Want to uncover the fascinating stories of this historic island? Dive into its rich past and explore the buildings, plans, and photographs that bring its history to life via the links in our bio! 📖

Discover Queensland State Archive’s “Little Album of Horrors”! 🌿✨

At first glance, they’re stunning works of art - vivid watercolours of delicate flowers and marine life. But look closer, and you’ll uncover a fascinating (and dangerous!) side to Queensland’s natural beauty.

Dive into the story of Estelle Thomson, a talented artist and naturalist whose intricate illustrations of poisonous plants and marine molluscs were once used to educate medical students. Her Register of Drawings of Poisonous Plants of Queensland is a rare gem that blends art, science, and history in a way that’s as captivating as it is educational.

📖 Read the full blog post and explore this unique collection at QSA via the link in our bio! 🥀

Discover Queensland State Archive’s “Little Album of Horrors”! 🌿✨

At first glance, they’re stunning works of art - vivid watercolours of delicate flowers and marine life. But look closer, and you’ll uncover a fascinating (and dangerous!) side to Queensland’s natural beauty.

Dive into the story of Estelle Thomson, a talented artist and naturalist whose intricate illustrations of poisonous plants and marine molluscs were once used to educate medical students. Her Register of Drawings of Poisonous Plants of Queensland is a rare gem that blends art, science, and history in a way that’s as captivating as it is educational.

📖 Read the full blog post and explore this unique collection at QSA via the link in our bio! 🥀

Discover Queensland State Archive’s “Little Album of Horrors”! 🌿✨

At first glance, they’re stunning works of art - vivid watercolours of delicate flowers and marine life. But look closer, and you’ll uncover a fascinating (and dangerous!) side to Queensland’s natural beauty.

Dive into the story of Estelle Thomson, a talented artist and naturalist whose intricate illustrations of poisonous plants and marine molluscs were once used to educate medical students. Her Register of Drawings of Poisonous Plants of Queensland is a rare gem that blends art, science, and history in a way that’s as captivating as it is educational.

📖 Read the full blog post and explore this unique collection at QSA via the link in our bio! 🥀

Discover Queensland State Archive’s “Little Album of Horrors”! 🌿✨

At first glance, they’re stunning works of art - vivid watercolours of delicate flowers and marine life. But look closer, and you’ll uncover a fascinating (and dangerous!) side to Queensland’s natural beauty.

Dive into the story of Estelle Thomson, a talented artist and naturalist whose intricate illustrations of poisonous plants and marine molluscs were once used to educate medical students. Her Register of Drawings of Poisonous Plants of Queensland is a rare gem that blends art, science, and history in a way that’s as captivating as it is educational.

📖 Read the full blog post and explore this unique collection at QSA via the link in our bio! 🥀

Discover Queensland State Archive’s “Little Album of Horrors”! 🌿✨

At first glance, they’re stunning works of art - vivid watercolours of delicate flowers and marine life. But look closer, and you’ll uncover a fascinating (and dangerous!) side to Queensland’s natural beauty.

Dive into the story of Estelle Thomson, a talented artist and naturalist whose intricate illustrations of poisonous plants and marine molluscs were once used to educate medical students. Her Register of Drawings of Poisonous Plants of Queensland is a rare gem that blends art, science, and history in a way that’s as captivating as it is educational.

📖 Read the full blog post and explore this unique collection at QSA via the link in our bio! 🥀

Discover Queensland State Archive’s “Little Album of Horrors”! 🌿✨

At first glance, they’re stunning works of art - vivid watercolours of delicate flowers and marine life. But look closer, and you’ll uncover a fascinating (and dangerous!) side to Queensland’s natural beauty.

Dive into the story of Estelle Thomson, a talented artist and naturalist whose intricate illustrations of poisonous plants and marine molluscs were once used to educate medical students. Her Register of Drawings of Poisonous Plants of Queensland is a rare gem that blends art, science, and history in a way that’s as captivating as it is educational.

📖 Read the full blog post and explore this unique collection at QSA via the link in our bio! 🥀

In honour of National Dinosaur Day and Queensland Dinosaur Week, step back in time with this incredible photo from Queensland Museum’s past! 📸✨

This fascinating archival photo features @Qldmuseum seum when it was located at the Exhibition Building in Bowen Hills. Captured just a year before the museum made its big move to South Bank’s Cultural Centre, this image offers a glimpse into a pivotal moment in Queensland’s cultural history.

If you look closely, you’ll spot the life-size replicas of Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops – shipped all the way from New York in the late 1970s! These iconic dinosaurs have since become beloved fixtures of the museum, standing guard and sparking the imaginations of visitors for decades. 🦖🦕

Attendees at the QSA Water Marbling Workshop last month left with some incredible creations. 💫

Hosted by the talented @RaynbowCrowStudios Studios as part of our Printed & Bound exhibition, this workshop was vibrant, colourful and lots of fun! 🎨

From learning the fascinating history of this mesmerising art form to creating their own stunning masterpieces, our attendees truly let their creativity flow. Just look at those swirls and patterns! 😍🖼️

Want to join us for our next creative workshop? Don’t miss out! Stay in the loop by subscribing to our newsletter via the link in our bio!

📽️ Check out the reel to see the magic in action!

This #FlashbackFriday we are celebrating the sweet fruits of history as the Granite Belt wraps up another harvest season! 🍎🍇

Did you know the region’s first apples and grapes were planted way back in the late 1850s? Talk about a fruitful legacy! ✨

No trip to the region is complete without indulging in local delights at cosy cafés, charming wineries, delis, and top-notch restaurants - it’s the perfect way to savour the region’s produce.

And here’s another juicy fact for you: Stanthorpe is home to all of Queensland’s apple crop! 🍏🍎

This #FlashbackFriday we are celebrating the sweet fruits of history as the Granite Belt wraps up another harvest season! 🍎🍇

Did you know the region’s first apples and grapes were planted way back in the late 1850s? Talk about a fruitful legacy! ✨

No trip to the region is complete without indulging in local delights at cosy cafés, charming wineries, delis, and top-notch restaurants - it’s the perfect way to savour the region’s produce.

And here’s another juicy fact for you: Stanthorpe is home to all of Queensland’s apple crop! 🍏🍎

This #FlashbackFriday we are celebrating the sweet fruits of history as the Granite Belt wraps up another harvest season! 🍎🍇

Did you know the region’s first apples and grapes were planted way back in the late 1850s? Talk about a fruitful legacy! ✨

No trip to the region is complete without indulging in local delights at cosy cafés, charming wineries, delis, and top-notch restaurants - it’s the perfect way to savour the region’s produce.

And here’s another juicy fact for you: Stanthorpe is home to all of Queensland’s apple crop! 🍏🍎

This #FlashbackFriday we are celebrating the sweet fruits of history as the Granite Belt wraps up another harvest season! 🍎🍇

Did you know the region’s first apples and grapes were planted way back in the late 1850s? Talk about a fruitful legacy! ✨

No trip to the region is complete without indulging in local delights at cosy cafés, charming wineries, delis, and top-notch restaurants - it’s the perfect way to savour the region’s produce.

And here’s another juicy fact for you: Stanthorpe is home to all of Queensland’s apple crop! 🍏🍎

Lest we forget.

Anzac Day is held annually on 25 April to honour the service and sacrifice of all who have served, past and present.

Pictured here is Anzac War Memorial Park in Townsville from 1994.

We will remember them.

#ANZACDay

Have you discovered one of Brisbane’s best kept secrets yet? ✨🕵️‍♀️

📌Welcome to QSA’s Reading Room at Runcorn!

Whether you’re a history buff, researching pro, or want to discover more about your family history, our doors are wide open for you.

Here’s what you can do when you visit:
📜Explore original records
📸Make your own copies, using your phone or camera
🗣️Chat with our friendly archivists
🤝Get access to Ancestry.com for free
🖥️Use our computers to dig deeper into your research

We are open Monday to Friday 9am-4.30pm, and the second Saturday of each month. We would love to see you here! 📆

Have you discovered one of Brisbane’s best kept secrets yet? ✨🕵️‍♀️

📌Welcome to QSA’s Reading Room at Runcorn!

Whether you’re a history buff, researching pro, or want to discover more about your family history, our doors are wide open for you.

Here’s what you can do when you visit:
📜Explore original records
📸Make your own copies, using your phone or camera
🗣️Chat with our friendly archivists
🤝Get access to Ancestry.com for free
🖥️Use our computers to dig deeper into your research

We are open Monday to Friday 9am-4.30pm, and the second Saturday of each month. We would love to see you here! 📆

Can you read this handwriting? 🔍📖

Don’t let the allure of the beautiful archival volumes in our Printed & Bound exhibition fool you! Cursive handwriting can be very difficult to read.

Join Senior Reference Archivist Saadia Thomson Dwyer to learn the tips and tricks to reading and transcribing old cursive handwriting. 🕵️‍♀️📜

Using examples of original records, Saadia will help you recognise the different styles of writing and will take you through a range of transcription activities to help develop your skills.

📅 Thursday 7 May 2026
⏰ 10am–11am
📍 QSA, Runcorn

Reserve your spot now via the link in our bio!

📣Our online catalogue ArchivesSearch will be undergoing scheduled maintenance. The site will be unavailable from 5pm today, Friday 17 April until 9am Monday 20 April.

As always, you can get your Queensland history hit via our socials, check out pictures of Queensland's past with our Flickr galleries https://bit.ly/QSAFlickr, read stories from the Archives https://bit.ly/QSAblog and watch great archival videos on YouTube https://bit.ly/QSAYouTube.

Thank you for your patience.

Check out these dapper gents – can you guess what they’re posing for? Believe it or not, they were attendees of a Pig Conference held in Brisbane nearly a century ago! 🐷✨

According to a Daily Mercury article from 5 November 1928, the Queensland Pig Industry Committee met monthly at the Department of Agriculture and Stock to tackle some seriously porky business. On the agenda? Breeding and feeding experiments, setting standards for pig weights and payments, and even promoting pork consumption (hello, bacon lovers!).

The article reassured readers that “…Queensland pig producers can rest assured their interests are being carefully reviewed by the committee…” – and judging by these confident faces, we’d have to agree! 📸

Fast forward to today, and these discussions would be in the hands of the Queensland Department of Primary Industries. But here’s the big question: do you recognise anyone in this historic photo?

🖼️ Judy Watson’s ‘skeletons’ exhibition opens in Mackay this weekend!

See it in person at @artspacemackay:
📌Civic Centre Precinct, Gordon Street, Mackay, QLD 4740
🗓️ From Saturday 11 April – Sunday 21 June 2026

How does your Easter camping set-up compare to Southport in 1934?

There’s not a Jimny, portable speaker or roof-top tent in sight, but we are sure the time spent with friends and family was just as fun as it is now.

Enjoy your Easter long weekend and don’t eat too much chocolate ... or do! 🐰 🍫