Surveying Success: the Hume Family in Colonial Queensland

Colonial Queensland was the stage on which the Hume family achieved success between 1863 and 1901. The scenes were set on the Darling Downs and in Brisbane. After serving in the merchant marine with the P&O Line, Walter Hume migrated to Queensland from England in 1862 to train as a surveyor. Soon he was joined by his widowed mother and four siblings; then in 1866 by his fiancée, Katie Fowler. The varying fortunes of each family member reveal how personality, background and the social, economic and political conditions in the colony determined their success. Walter and Katie Hume coped with isolation from family and the deaths of five infants while working to establish their financial future, secured promotions for Walter and created a place for themselves among the colonial elite. They attained the ideal middle-class family life with Walter's career success providing sufficient income to educate their children overseas, reside in elite homes, and engage in genteel and philanthropic pastimes. In 1901, following almost four decades of service in the Department of Public Lands, Walter retired to England with his family and commenced travelling widely. They visited family and friends from India to Argentina, returning once more to Queensland in 1907 where they noted many changes since federation. This is an exceptional exposé of the social aspiration and elitism of an upwardly mobile family in colonial Queensland. Dr Rod Fisher, Brisbane historian Hilary Davies completed masters and doctoral theses in the field of Queensland colonial history. She has worked as a heritage officer involved in local and state heritage since 2006.