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Enjoying the view from Victoria Park on the hill.

‘Finney Isles & Co’ holds a huge place in Brisbane history. Founded by Thomas Finney & James Isles, ‘Finney’s’ was well known in our Ann St location in the mid to late 1800’s as Brisbane’s ‘go to’ drapery for fashion textiles, before later expanding to build the iconic Queen St Mall building we now know as the ‘David Jones Building’. Source: www.finneyisles.com.au/our-story

Thomas Finney (1837-1903), merchant and politician arrived at Brisbane in the Flying Cloud. Two years later in partnership Finney Isles & Co. bought a drapery business in Ann Street, Fortitude Valley, and with a staff of five traded as Finney Isles & Co. at the Valley Exchange. By 1869 the business had branches in Rockhampton and Gympie; next year they opened a second Brisbane store, the City Exchange in Edward Street. The firm bought these premises in 1873 and with the acquisition of further property expanded into such lines as tailoring, furniture, furnishing and hardware, an early development of the modern department store. The trading was not consolidated until 1909 when new premises were built extending over a whole frontage between Queen and Adelaide Streets. Finney was always interested in the welfare of his employees and in 1879 pioneered 6 p.m. closing in Brisbane stores. In 1885, with other firms, he instituted 1 p.m. closing on Saturdays and continued it despite the reversion of other firms to the old Saturday hours of 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Source: adb.anu.edu.au/biography/finney-thomas-3518

Dressing Up in Brisbane, 1900s Style By JOL Admin | 14 August 2012 The Brisbane Poster Ball was held on 20th September 1900 to raise funds for the Lady Lamington Hospital for Women. Many attendees created costumes advertising a particular company, with the daughter of the Chairman of Queensland Brewery Limited dressing up as a bottle of Bulimba Gold Top Ale. Excitement about the ball was intense. The Queenslander reported on 29th September 1900 that by 7 o'clock the entrance to the Centennial Hall in Adelaide Street was crowded with visitors holding tickets of admission and directly the doors were thrown open there was a mad rush for the hall. Source: www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/dressing-brisbane-1900s-style#:~:....

A rocker box (also known as a cradle) is a gold mining implement for separating alluvial placer gold from sand and gravel which was used in placer mining in the 19th century. It consists of a high-sided box, which is open on one end and on top,[1] and was placed on rockers. Rockers are usually homemade and display a variety of designs. A favorite design consists essentially of a combination washing box and screen, a canvas or carpet apron under the screen, a short sluice with two or more riffles, and rockers under the sluice. The bottom of the washing box consists of sheet metal with holes about 1/2 inch in diameter punched in it, or a l/2-inch-mesh screen can be used. Dimensions shown are satisfactory but variations are possible. The bottom of the rocker should be made of a single wide, smooth board, which will greatly facilitate cleanups. The materials for building a rocker cost only a few dollars, depending mainly on the source of lumber. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocker_box