The early settlers of Brisbane included Alfred Slaughter and his brother Thomas Slaughter.
Their story is included purely for historical research, and to avoid confusion as there were two Alfred Slaughters.. However, once again the Slaughter family had links to Dr John Lang
Alfred was born in Kent, c 1802 and was the son of Alfred Slaughter and Elizabeth Hyder
He married in 1829 Caroline Darling, in the St George Hanover Square parish in London, and was a successful draper. The family lived in Central London.
Alfred was selected by Dr John Lang to settle in Queensland, and he and his family travelled to Sydney then onto Brisbane. Dr Lang wrote a report to the newspapers defending his colonists, but giving an insight into the lives of Alfred Slaughter and his family.
BRITISH AND FOREIGN EXTRACTS.
AUSTRALIAN COLONIZATION.
To the Editor of the British Banner.
Sir,—I beg to make a few observations, in addition to what has already appeared in your columns, in regard to the
results of the expedition of the ship Fortitude to Cooksland or Moreton Bay.
With respect, therefore, to the subject of land, a certain extent of which was guaranteed to the emigrants in proportion to
their respective payments for passage, some difficulty has unexpectedly been
thrown in the way by the Local Government, although I was expressly informed by
Mr. Hawes, the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, months before the
Fortitude sailed, that there would be no difficulty at all in the matter, as
the Local Government had it entirely in their own hands, and would certainly
carry out the arrangement I had submitted for his consideration and approval.
Had this arrangement been carried out, there would have been a sufficient extent of land avail-able on account of the
emigration per the ship Fortitude for the whole of the emigrants who were
entitled to land in virtue of their agreement with myself, both by the
Fortitude and the Chaseley. It seems, however, that some difficulty has arisen
in the matter, and the question was under the consideration of the Local
Government at the date of the last accounts.
This disappointment, however,
will only be temporary ; for what-ever may have been the decision of the Local
Government in the matter, the emigrants will receive the full extent of land
guaranteed them on my return to the colony, if not before. The arrangement I
made was the only one practicable at the time in originating a great
undertaking, which is likely to lead to magnificent results, and any
disappointment that may be experienced in a few individual instances at the
outset, will only be of a very trivial character compared with what the first
emigrants have almost uniformly experienced in almost every other instance in
the history of colonization. There can be no want, in any instance, of the
necessaries of life, and the climate is one of the finest under the sun, in
which the facilities for the construction of temporary dwellings are
everywhere available at the lowest cost.
Besides, the expedition did not experience that co-operation
and assistance in a particular quarter on which I was led to depend with some
degree of confidence. The services I had solicited were such as required no
outlay, and involved no risk whatever ; but there was some uncertainty on this
point when the Fortitude was ordered—as it proved,
without necessity—into quarantine ; and, ; in such circumstances, men
of weak minds and little hearts are apt to shrink back from the very shadow of
responsibility. But, although there was necessarily some temporary
inconvenience from this cause, it involved nothing serious in any way.
The real fact is, that the immediate possession of land was
of no consequence whatever to the great majority of the emigrants per the
Fortitude, there being only a very limited number who could possibly be
affected by that circumstance in any way. It is absurd to talk of going upon
land when people have no means of bringing that land into cultivation ; and this was certainly the case with most
of the emigrants per the Fortitude.
There was about £1100 of the whole amount
of passage money left unpaid when the ship sailed, which remained as a burden
upon my shoulders exclusively. The emigrants of this class got employment
variously, and at good wages, on their arrival, and could, therefore, have
nothing to complain of ; and I have yet to learn whether their not obtaining
immediate possession of the land guaranteed them was a serious evil in any one,
instance whatever. For even when emigrants are in possession of the means of
entering upon the cultivation of land on their arrival in a new country, it is
not always expedient for them to do so.
They must lay their account with serving an
apprenticeship, so to speak, for a limited time, till they acquire that
invaluable prerequisite, colonial experience ; and when such experience can be
acquired in the employment and at the expense of others, it is certainly much
better to acquire it in that way than in any other. In short, although certain
evil disposed persons, both in the colony and at home, have been endeavouring
to magnify the difficulties and inconveniences that presented themselves to the emigrants per the Fortitude, on their
arrival at their destination, these inconveniences and difficulties have been
of a very light description after all, and not to be mentioned in the same day
with those that have been experienced by emigrants at the outset of a
settlement almost everywhere else.
I have heard of several young men who went out as
adventurers per the Fortitude, who obtained eligible employment immediately on
their arrival, and who have written home to their friends in England in the
highest terms respecting their situation and prospects. I cannot yet know how it has fared with most of the other individuals and families who constituted the corps of emigrants by that
vessel ; but three cases, of which I have heard particulars, may serve as a
specimen of ; what may be done in the country by men of general
intelligence, activity, and perseverance.
Mr. Alfred Slaughter, a draper in the neighbourhood of
Covent-garden, London, emigrated with his large family of nine or ten children
per the ship Fortitude. His wife died on the passage out, after the birth of a still-born child ; but Mr.
Slaughter had taken out his aged mother, on whom would devolve the care of the
younger children. He had consulted me, before leaving this country, as to the disposal of his stock in trade, which he
was desirous of getting rid of entirely.
I recommended him by no means to sell
it at an under-value, but rather to take out with him such part of it as would
not bring a reasonable price here. He did so accordingly, and found on his
arrival at Brisbane that he had brought his goods to an excellent market. The only
place he could obtain for a store or warehouse in Brisbane was a loft, to
which, the only access was by a ladder ; and in this situation Mr. Slaughter
sold off his stock, at a good profit I believe, in eight or nine days
after his arrival. The ladder was no objection to intending customers, and
there was no shop-front wanted.
On disposing of his stock, Mr Slaughter formed one of a deputation to spy out the land, with which he has expressed himself highly
delighted. On ascertaining that there would be about 50,000 head of sheep and
cattle boiled down for their tallow alone in the district during the current
year, and finding that there was no person to look after the hides, Mr. Slaughter
commenced a small business in the way of fell-mongering and tanning, and wrote
home for his brother, who it seems, is a proficient in these branches, to make the best of his way out to him with all convenient speed ;
and a party of ten or twelve persons, including the personal friends of Mr. Slaughter's brother, have accordingly been endeavouring to
arrange for their passage out to Sydney by the ship Clifton.
Mr. Slaughter had in the
meantime gone to Sydney, where, through letters he had carried out with him, he had been able to establish a credit with the colonial banks for his
own business at Brisbane, and he obtained an agency at the same time for the
disposal of flour in the district for a mill at Sydney, and for a factory at
Parramatta. He was, therefore, on the highway to independence.
A Mr. Taylor, who had also been in business in London, and
who emigrated per the Fortitude, has also written home to his friends that he
has established himself in business in the colony with the best
prospects. His wife had been the fore-woman in a factory for the manufacture of
a patent article of general use in London, and an agency has been established
in favour of Mr. Taylor for the disposal of that article, which it seems is in
demand in the colony.
Mr. Deacon, another emigrant per the Fortitude, has given an
account of his own situation and prospects at Brisbane in a letter recently
published in the Banner, having established himself in business there as a
saddler, while his wife carries on a business also in millinery and
dressmaking. Mr. Deacon was about to enter a Baptist college at Bristol, as a
candidate for the ministry in this ; country ; but his
health failed him, and the medical men told, him that if he remained another
winter in this country, he would in all likelihood die. He is now in vigorous
health in the genial climate of Moreton Bay. Let these instances suffice for
the present for the family of Croakers. The undertaking, of which the
expedition of the Fortitude was the commencement, has not proved a failure by
any means.—I am, Sir, your most
obedient servant.
JOHN DUNMORE LANG.
The arrival of the Fortitude
THE
MORETON
BAY COURIER
SATURDAY,
FEBRUARY 3, 1849.
THE
'FORTITUDE'S' IMMIGRANTS.
The Susan,
which schooner, as we stated in our
last, was chartered for the Government
service, has made two trips between the Bay
and Brisbane during the past week. The
immigrants were all landed
from the
Fortitude, upon Moreton Island, near the
Ship Patch, and, as was anticipated,
the fresh air and provisions had a most
beneficial effect upon them. Capt. Wickham
and Dr. Ballow visited the
island on
Wednesday last ; and being satisfied
that the majority of the passengers were
in a healthy state, the Police Magistrate
gave directions for commencing their
removal to Brisbane forthwith. The
Susan
requiring some trifling improvement to
fit her for bringing up passengers,
will not be ready to return from Moreton
Island before Monday, when she will
bring up the first draft of the
immigrants. By this arrangement those
persons who are at all sickly will be left,
to the last, and thus have the full
benefit
of the sea air. It will probably be three
weeks before the whole of the people
are brought to Brisbane, with their luggage
and goods.; for some of the newcomers
have brought out merchandise on
speculation,
in one instance, we believe, to the
extent of twenty tons.
Taking
into consideration the very peculiar
circumstances under which these immigrants
have come out to the colony, a very
excellent resolution, has been adopted
by the Police Magistrate, at present on
his own responsibility. It would be a
cruel thing, and an everlasting disgrace to
the colony, if these confiding strangers,
who have come here in the full belief
that they would have opportunities
of
bettering their condition, should be forced by
the apathy of the Government into
modes of life incompatible with their habits,
and foreign to their reasonable expectations.
Pending, therefore, the instructions
of his Excellency the Governor upon this
subject, the immigrants will be permitted
to form a temporary village on some of
the slopes running parallel to the
chains of water-holes in the neighbourhood
of York's Hollow. They may there
erect dwellings for themselves sufficient for
all present purposes, and will have opportunities
of making themselves, to a certain
extent, acquainted with the customs and
peculiarities of the colony, before they are
called upon to elect their future course.
It is to be hoped that no obstacle will be
thrown in the way of this arrangement, and
that the Executive Government at Sydney
will be less disposed to enforce strictly
the letter of each regulation with regard to
Crown lands, than to remember that a
respectable and valuable class of
persons
have been brought to the colony without
any present charge upon its revenue.
Such of the immigrants as may avail
themselves of the temporary convenience
offered to them, will not be permitted, under
present circumstances, to produce
vegetables for sale, on the ground
occupied
by them, should they remain there
long enough for such a purpose; as it would
not be fair to suffer them to compete
with the purchasers of land around
the settlement, until the circumstances
of their case are determined upon.
If it shall be decided that the demands of the light
of purchasers of crown lands to the
extent of the passage money paid. The
aggregate amount paid by the Fortitude's
passengers to Dr. Lang was over
£2,000 ;
and, as that sum only amounted to
two-thirds of the expense of forwarding the
immigrants to this port, it must be admitted
that a most important saving of immediate
expense to the Government has been
effected.
If
amongst the passengers there be any who are
not in a position to maintain themselves
until they obtain employment, they will
be kept on the government rations,
and provided with accommodation
in the
old barrack, until they engage, at I
which they must do at the current rate of wages.
We are
informed that amongst these people
there are at least thirty or forty young
men, who are ready and anxious to engage
at once as bush servants. In all
probability there may be more than that
number and the settlers should not allow a
day's delay to occur in transmitting
their instructions to their agents in Brisbane.
The good consequences of the quick
engagement of all -the Artemisia's passengers
will be rendered nugatory, if there
should be the least delay in the engagement
of those who have now arrived.
According
to Dr. Lang's letters, the second
shipment may be hourly expected, as it was
to be despatched in a month or six weeks
after the Fortitude.
It must surely be
unnecessary to point out the vital
importance of a good reception of these
immigrants, to the general interests of the
district. As we gather from Dr.Lang's
letters that the next vessel, and each
succeeding one, is to be forwarded under the
auspices of the Colonial Land
and
Emigration Commissioners, there will be
less difficulty in making arrangements for
the temporary accommodation of the
passengers on their arrival, than has been
experienced in the present
instance.
In the meantime, the proprietors of land
in Brisbane and Ipswich would do well to
build, if they regard their own interests;
and it would be exceedingly advisable
that Mr. Merewether should be
violently
shaken by the shoulder, or some other
means adopted in order, if possible, to awaken
him to a sense of the absolute necessity
for the erection of an Immigrant Depot
without further delay. The local Immigration
Agent has received notice to vacate
the Hospital, and, if active steps are not
immediately taken by the Executive
Government to provide for the persons
expected, some of them will certainly be
dependant upon chance for a place of
shelter on their arrival.
The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW :
1842 - 1954) Friday
19 January 1849 p 3 Article
Abstract:
(From Bell's Weekly Messenger, September 16.) WE copy from a contemporary the
following deeply interesting account of the departure of this vessel
He was owed a sum from someone who went bankrupt
The Maitland Mercury and Hunter
River General Advertiser (NSW : 1843 - 1893) Saturday 22 December 1849 p 2 Article
... : Commercial B ink, £183 144. 3.1. ; Alfred
Slaughter, £34
The Moreton Bay Courier
(Brisbane, Qld. : 1846 - 1861) Saturday 7 July 1849 p 3 Advertising
... Purchaser of SHEEPSKINS and
HIDES; also, all descriptions of Station TALLOW. ALFRED SLAUGHTER.
The Moreton Bay Courier
(Brisbane, Qld. : 1846 - 1861) Saturday 14 July 1849 p 3 Article
... colony lies for signature at
the office of Mr. Alfred Slaughter, Queen-street, North Brisbane.
OCCUPATION
The Moreton Bay Courier
(Brisbane, Qld. : 1846 - 1861) Saturday 9 March 1850 p 1 Advertising
... Papers taken in. ALFRED
SLAUGHTER presents his thanks to the Inhabitants of Moreton Bay for the
shar
His business then appears to have failed, and he became insolvent, but was granted discharge in 1851.
The Maitland Mercury and Hunter
River General Advertiser (NSW : 1843 - 1893) Wednesday 24 July 1850 p 2 Article
... INSOLVENCY PROCEEDINGS. NEW
INSOLVENT. JULY 19.-Alfred Slaughter, of Kangaroo Point, Moreton
Bay ... 48 words
The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW :
1842 - 1954) Thursday
15 May 1851 p 2 Article
... THERKY. CERTIFICATES. The certificates of
discharge granted by the Chief Commissioner to Alfred Slaughte
He then commenced business as an Auctioneer and Commission Agent and advertised as such.
Classified Advertising
The Moreton Bay Courier
(Brisbane, Qld. : 1846 - 1861) Saturday 21 January 1854 p 3 Advertising
... . AUCTIONEER AND COMMISSION
AGENT. ALFRED SLAUGHTER, ¿"UNR., BEGS to inform the
inhabitants of Brisbane and ¡ts .
The Moreton Bay Courier
(Brisbane, Qld. : 1846 - 1861) Tuesday 20 December 1859 p 1 Advertising
... the Business lately carried
on by Mr, ALFRED SLAUGHTER. The premises are situated at the
corner of ... of that patronage which he was favored with during his
continuance, in Inisines«. ALFRED SLAUGHTER
He then began a long career with the Queensland Building Society as its Secretary
He sought election to the board of the Hospital
The Courier (Brisbane, Qld. :
1861 - 1864) Saturday
5 April 1862 p 2 Article
... tuoy are now making to remedy
the present unfortunate state of affairs. ALFRED SLAUGHTER,
The Courier (Brisbane, Qld. :
1861 - 1864) Thursday
15 May 1862 p 2 Article
... Air. Gardner seconded,.the
appointment of Mr. Alfred Slaughter, sen., as Secretary. Mr.
Oliver ... 12
The Courier (Brisbane, Qld. :
1861 - 1864) Wednesday
28 May 1862 p 1 Advertising
... , SEVERAL ALLOTMENTS of LAND
in one of the best and pleasantest situations ia town. Apply to ALFRED
... SLAUGHTER, Sen., Office of Building Society No 4.
The Courier (Brisbane, Qld. :
1861 - 1864) Saturday
18 April 1863 p 4 Family Notices
... Rev. J. H. Fletcher, Wesleyan
Minister, Alfred Slaughter, senior, to Emma, eldest daughter to
He remarried in 1863
His mother in law died in
·
The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933) Saturday 13 January 1866 p
4 Family Notices
·
... . Ann
Wacey, in her 88th year, mother-in-law to Alfred Slaughter,
Senior, Esq., of this city. .
.
·
The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933) Monday 2 September 1867 p
2 Family Notices
... of the bride, Edward Slaughter, of Kyanawan,
Tingalpa, to Sarah Eliza, eldest daughter of Mr. Alfred ... Slaughter,
jun., of Sandgate
There was a marriage between cousins?
Name:
|
Alfred
Slaughter
|
Spouse:
|
|
Record Type:
|
Marriage
|
Event Date:
|
17 Dec
1829
|
Parish:
|
St
George Hanover Square
|
Borough:
|
Westminster
|
His brother Thomas was living in Brisbane then moved to the country. A Thomas Slaughter married Maria Grant in 1867.
The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864
- 1933) Wednesday
2 November 1864 p 6 Advertising
... received instructions from
Mr Thomas Slaughter, Sen., who is leaving Brisbane, to sell by
public auc ... 5609 words
The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld.
: 1866 - 1939) Saturday
21 September 1867 p 1 Family Notices
... -woomba, by the Rev. J. W.
Brown, Thomas Slaughter, of Brisbane, and formerly of Charing, in
Kent, to ... 240 words
Alfred Slaughter, the post master at Sandgate was the son of Thomas Slaughter.
·
The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933) Monday 8 September 1873 p
1 Advertising
·
...
ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION. In the WILL of ALFRED SLAUGHTER, the
elder, late of Kiendwah, Tingalpa, in the ... that PROBATE of the WILL of the
above named Alfred Slaughter, the elder, deceased, may be grant
Also mentioned was his nephew Alfred Slaughter Junior, the postmaster at Sandgate
The Courier (Brisbane, Qld. : 1861 - 1864) Wednesday 22 January 1862 p 2 Article
... tho farm was, Mr. R. Cribb asked Mr. Alfred Slaughter to go with nie. He did go with me, and I ... : Alfred'; Slaughter, jun., was' next examined, and corroborated tho evidence of de-fendant as to going
Alfred Slaughter Junior and a court appearance.
A letter to the paper regarding just who did bring the first sugar
cane to Queensland
***************************************************************
Name:
|
Alfred Slaughter
|
Birth Date:
|
5 Apr 1822
|
Birth Place:
|
Charing, Kent, England
|
Event Type:
|
Birth
|
Father:
|
Thomas Slaughter
|
Mother:
|
Mary Tye
|
Piece Title:
|
Piece 4664-2: Dr Williams' Library Registry, Birth Certificates, 1820-1824
|
*****************************************************************
There had been another marriage of a Thomas Slaughter to Matilda Bale in 1861. (Nephew?)
That Thomas Slaughter was mentioned for deserting his wife and children.
Ipswich Herald and General
Advertiser (Qld. : 1861) Friday 12 April 1861 p 2 Family Notices
... , by the Rev. B. G. Wilson,
B.M., Mr. Thomas Slaughter, of North Bris-bane, to Miss Matilda
Bale
The Courier (Brisbane, Qld. :
1861 - 1864) Wednesday
21 January 1863 p 2 Article
... , for leaving their horses
and carts unprotected in the street. DESERTING HIS WIFE.—Thomas Slaughter
...
Personal recollections
But one of this Thomas Slaughter's grandsons, became a very important person in the history of Brisbane. His signature was on my very first employment letter in 1963.
He was none other than James Cameron Slaughter. He was the son of Ernest Ebezener Slaughter who died in 1937 Ernest was the son of Thomas Slaughter and Matilda Bale.
21 Jan 1937 - OBITUARY
nla.gov.au/nla.news-article36901303
Jan 31, 2013 - Arthur Slaughter Blackall 1937 Ernest Ebenezer Slaughter Thomas ... The late Mr
James Cameron Slaughter from his Biography
 |
James Slaughter, n.d.
|
Slaughter, James Cameron (1902–1982)
This article was published in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 18, (MUP), 2012
James Cameron Slaughter (1902-1982), town clerk, was born on 16 August 1902 at Thursday Island, youngest of five children of Brisbane-born Ernest Ebenezer Slaughter, plumber, and his Scottish-born wife Jessie, née Cameron. Reared in Brisbane mainly by his mother, a strong-minded, determined woman, Jim attended Petrie Terrace State Boys’ School before starting work at 14 with the Ithaca Town Council, Brisbane. He began accounting and other studies, while absorbing the practical aspects of council administration. Promoted to senior clerk by the age of 21, he had passed the examinations of the Local Clerks Board, receiving his certificate of competency as a local government clerk. In 1923 he was appointed shire clerk of Inglewood Shire, responsible for financial and office management, oversight of the outdoors workforce and advice to council. He completed his accountancy and secretarial studies, becoming an associate-member of the Federal Institute of Accountants and of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries of Joint Stock Companies & Other Public Bodies.
Moving to Gatton as shire clerk in 1926, Slaughter cleared its administrative and financial problems within a year. On 20 August 1927 in Sherwood Methodist Church, Brisbane, he married Ida Muriel Taylor. Appointed town clerk of Coolangatta that year, he found the office in chaos, a large sum of money misappropriated and council operations at a standstill. Ten years there, followed by four years as town clerk of Bundaberg, not only confirmed his trouble-shooting wizardry but also revealed his capacity for forging productive partnerships with mayors and senior councillors. He was able to simultaneously initiate major infrastructure projects while managing day-to-day activities with great skill.
Meanwhile, in 1939, after six years of seriously deficient management under Brisbane’s Labor lord mayor, Alfred Jones, the Forgan Smith government overhauled the Brisbane City council’s standing committees and administrative structure. Next year Brisbane’s newly elected Citizens’ Municipal Organization lord mayor, (Sir) John Chandler, selected Slaughter, aged 38, from an Australia-wide field of twenty-seven candidates to become the city’s new town clerk and city administrator. Slaughter moved swiftly; he identified and resolved crucial problems, boosted professional staff morale and proved his worth despite innumerable complexities and constraints, including the outbreak of World War II with its massive civilian mobilisation.
By 1942 Brisbane’s municipal services were stretched almost to breaking point, with the city hosting tens of thousands of Australian and American servicemen, including General Douglas MacArthur’s headquarters. Chandler’s policy focus on essentials, supported by Slaughter’s implementation skills, enabled the council to manage without further State government intervention. In the early postwar years, the council was hard-pressed to satisfy demand for services deferred during the war and the preceding Depression; returned servicemen were marrying in huge numbers, creating unprecedented demand for new housing and amenities. Despite severe inflation and materials shortages, Chandler and Slaughter adjusted policy settings as needed. Slaughter was outstanding in negotiating favourable infrastructure outcomes with developers of new housing estates.
Defeat of Chandler’s team in 1952 saw Brisbane’s progress virtually halted for nine years. Slaughter consolidated his dominance over senior staff, but lacklustre leadership by two mayors, Frank Roberts and (Sir) Reginald Groom, retarded further development of services. In 1961 the election of the Labor lord mayor Clem Jones led to an era of extraordinary progress. Jones’s dynamic and imaginative leadership, supported by Slaughter’s experience, guidance and restraining influence, provided Brisbane with much needed sealed roads, plentiful water, sewerage, new parks and municipal swimming pools, with minimal rate increases. The Jones-Slaughter partnership was as crucial to Brisbane’s progress in the more prosperous 1960s as that of Chandler and Slaughter in the impecunious 1940s. When Slaughter retired as town clerk in November 1967, Jones kept him on for four years as executive adviser for special development projects. He had been appointed CMG in 1963.
Slaughter was among the first officials to advocate improving public administration in Queensland through the introduction of appropriate university courses. In August 1950 he initiated the creation of the Queensland division of the Institute of Municipal Administration. Its foundation president (1950-57), he understood that institute meetings and conferences provided valuable opportunities for town and shire clerks to discuss problems of municipal administration. He also supported research-oriented bodies such as the Queensland division of the Australian Institute of Urban Studies, and actively promoted the publication of histories of Queensland and Brisbane local government: R. H. Robinson, For My Country (1957) and G. Greenwood and J. Laverty, Brisbane 1859-1959 (1959).
Of average height and well built, somewhat distant and aloof on initial acquaintance, Slaughter projected an aura that commanded respect. As town clerk, ‘JC’ mostly conducted himself with great formality, always addressed lord mayors as ‘my lord mayor’, and was held in awe by all administrative colleagues. Conscious of the town clerk’s traditional role as a leading member of the community, he joined several of Brisbane’s top clubs, and mixed in business and sporting circles. For recreation, he played golf and bowls. An enthusiastic rugby league football player in his younger days, in 1963 he was named a life member of the Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club. He helped to establish Lang Park as Queensland Rugby League’s home ground in 1957 and served (1963-77) as the inaugural chairman of the Lang Park Trust. In 1977 he was made a life member of the QRL.
Widowed in 1980, Slaughter died on 16 October 1982 in South Brisbane and was cremated with Anglican rites. His son and daughter survived him. After Charles Chuter, he was the second most eminent figure in twentieth-century Queensland municipal administration.
Select Bibliography
- G. Greenwood and J. Laverty, Brisbane 1859-1959 (1959)
- J. D. Tucker, Aspects of the Brisbane City Council’s Administrative Organization (1973)
- J. R. Cole, Shaping a City (1984)
- J. Laverty, ‘John Beals Chandler’, and D. Tucker, ‘J. C. Slaughter’, in B. Shaw (ed),Brisbane: Corridors of Power (1997)
- Brisbane City Council, Annual Report, 1940/41-1967/68
- Courier Mail (Brisbane), 11 Oct 1971, p 3
- 18 Oct 1982, p 8
- Daily Sun (Brisbane), 19 Oct 1982, p 7
- private information and personal knowledge.
This
was City Hall when I first started work in 1963. The beautiful concert hall inside was packed
in July 1969 when we all stopped to watch Neil Armstrong walk on the Moon! We never really met with JC, but we did with the Lord Mayor Clem Jones. My first job was a "plucker". Instead of pulling chicken feathers, it was pre-punched cards to create Electricity Accounts.
Brisbane City Council was one of the first businesses to install 40 column punch cards, and an ICL computer.
It was called a "558". Before we had an EMP, (Electronic Multiplying Punch. Way back in the dark ages!
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