procession

The funeral cortege left the home of the deceased at Highgate Hill and concluded at the Mount Thompson Crematorium. trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/117632845

Lewis McDonald (1881-1936), printer and Labor Party administrator, was born on 22 December 1881 at Auchterhead, Lanark, Scotland. Educated at the Brisbane Central School and at university extension classes, McDonald became an apprentice printer but fell ill and in 1905 moved to Mourilyan, North Queensland, where he helped to organize the Amalgamated Sugar Workers' Union. He became assistant secretary to the central political executive of the Queensland Labor Party on 30 August 1909. Secretary of the Queensland anti-conscription campaign committees in 1916-17, McDonald used his considerable administrative abilities to facilitate a 'No' vote both times. An extrovert, McDonald enjoyed a beer, could tell a good story, and liked old-time musical comedies. While he used his secretarial skills in the interests of the A.W.U. faction, he was never personally self-seeking, but he certainly facilitated the growth of an 'official' machine which, with its complaisant politicians, ultimately controlled the movement at the expense of the grassroots and the militant unions. John Curtin called him 'an admirable officer with sound judgment and resolute decision [whose] capacity for makeshift endeared him to all. Others, excluded from office and influence, were less charitable about this gentle, persistent, rule-mongering functionary. McDonald's early craft-union radicalism and personal political hopes were submerged by those structures, rules, and manipulations endemic in that Queensland Labor establishment which he had done so much to construct, refine, and facilitate. McDonald died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage at Highgate Hill, Brisbane, on 18 September 1936. Although cremated with Anglican rites, McDonald had long maintained no formal creed. Source: adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mcdonald-lewis-7339

In North Queensland in the early 1900s, the Eight Hour Day procession, or “demonstration” as it was called, was a precursor to later Labour Day parades and was designed to celebrate the attainment of the eight-hour working day in Queensland in 1856. Early processions involved elaborately decorated floats showcasing union banners and working trade displays, which made their way through main streets, and were followed by a competitive sports carnival that was open to all. The day was just as much about unionists displaying pride in their trade or occupation as it was about a show of industrial solidarity. In most towns throughout the north, Eight Hour Day processions were celebrated with gusto, and in 1914, the Charters Towers newspaper The Evening Telegraph, reported on the largest Eight Hour Day Parade the town had seen so far. The Engine Drivers’ Association had their fine banner erected on a four-horse lorry, with about 50 members in attendance, and the Typographical Union had a number of printers at work on a two-horse lorry, issuing copies of the “Eight Hour Day Times” as they proceeded. Source: northqueenslandhistory.blogspot.com/2019/05/labour-day-ei...

“Monday morning broke fine and clear for the celebration of Eight Hour Day on Charters Towers. The day was observed as a general holiday, and at an early hour, people flocked to the main street to view the procession. Larger crowds turned out than for any previous May Day, and both sides of the streets along the route of the procession were densely crowded with spectators. The long procession started from the Union Hall shortly before 10 am, with the Fire Brigade Band marching at the head of the procession.” Following behind were a variety of trade unions, including the Bakers float, which had a representation of a brick oven and a number of bakers on the lorry who were engaged in the operations of their trade. At places along the route they handed out buns to the people lining the streets. Source: northqueenslandhistory.blogspot.com/2019/05/labour-day-ei...

In 1948 Bundaberg honored soldiers lost in a wartime plane crash with a funeral procession and burial, attracting letters of appreciation from the Australian and United States air forces. Letters to Bundaberg Mayor of the day Alderman F.H. Buss recently rediscovered in Council’s historic archives reveal the gratitude for the service following the tragic discovery made five years after the plane was lost on 21 November 1943. According to the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives, the soldiers were traveling on a Douglas C-47 Skytrain, christened ‘Star Duster’, and were on their way to Brisbane after collecting mail in Rockhampton. “On the last leg to Brisbane, while cruising west of Monto, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and lost control of the aircraft that crashed in a canyon,” the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives report reads. “As the aircraft was declared missing, SAR operations were conducted but eventually suspended a few days later as no trace of the aircraft nor the crew was found.” The State Library of Queensland said the twin-engine United States Douglas Dakota transport plane had disappeared without a trace until a discovery was made in June 1948. “… a farmer found the wreckage in a gully on Magpie Station at Yarrol, in the Monto district of Queensland,” the State Library said. “The plane was carrying 4 American crewmen, 2 American military passengers, and 7 Australian military passengers.” Other parts of the wreckage would remain undiscovered for decades including the right wing which was found in 1961, about one km from the main wreckage, and other debris such as a door and stabilizer which were found in 1991. Australia @ War has published a military document relating to the crash found in NARA records, dated 29 June 1948. “The starboard motor was located 300 to 400 yards from the main wreckage, as no damage to trees was evident it appears that this motor came adrift in mid-air,” the report said. While the crash victims were unable to be identified, a moving historical image of the funeral procession held in July 1948 shows the reverence and respect with which they were treated by the Bundaberg community. The procession moved through the town area before the soldiers were laid to rest in the Bundaberg War Cemetery. The grave sites are maintained within the Bundaberg Cemetery on Takalvan Street by War Graves Australia. Source: www.bundabergnow.com/2022/05/07/wartime-plane-crash-victi...