1960s: the winds of change

Australia had been under the prime ministership of Menzies for so long that when he retired in 1966 his deputy, Harold Holt, had been preparing for succession for a long time. Holt’s major challenge in office was dealing with Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War. However, on 17 December 1967 while swimming at Cheviot Beach south of Melbourne, he disappeared and his remains were never found. Holt was a popular politician and many Australians mourned his death. He was succeeded by John Grey Gorton who would lead the country until the end of the decade.

In Queensland, Frank Nicklin had led the Country Party since 1957. He decided to retire in January 1968 and had thoroughly groomed his successor, Jack Pizzey. But by August, Pizzey was dead and the relatively unknown member for Barambah, Johannes Bjelke-Petersen, was elected to the leadership of the Country Party and Queensland. Dr Peter Delamothe, the member for Bowen, retained the office of Attorney-General under the terms of the Coalition agreement, and continued to do so until 1971.

By the start of the decade less than 20 per cent of the state’s workforce was involved in either primary industry or mining. The drift to the cities had claimed many of the young country people and this was reflected in the rise in jobs in the manufacturing, financial and services sector, with more than 60 per cent of the workforce now involved in these industries. There was also a rise in public service employment levels as the state’s population grew to more than 1.5 million. By the end of the decade, Queensland’s population was about 80 per cent urban and 20 per cent rural, a far cry from the 50/50 split of only 50 years before.

Increases in the workload of the courts became all too obvious. Trends since 1896, when records were first kept, had showed an ongoing drop in the crime rate per 100,000 people. In 1896, the rate was 413; in 1916, 372; and in 1939, 352. Yet by 1961, increases across all categories of offences meant the rate rose to 518. The introduction of the Offenders Probation and Parole Act in 1959 meant that juvenile and youthful offenders could be given ‘a second chance’, helping them to make a difference to their lives. Convictions for property offences increased tenfold compared with 1939 while convictions for offences against people rose fourfold by 1961.

In Brisbane, the Magistrates Court Registry and courtrooms could no longer be found in the one place. By the middle of the decade the civil registry and courtrooms were in Millaquin House in Herschel Street, the Coroner’s Office was at 370 George Street (along with the Coroner’s Court and several small courtrooms used for committal proceedings), and the main registry was in the watchhouse lane that ran between George Street and North Quay, where Adelaide Street now runs. The main registry used an old colonial building originally built in the 1880s as an infirmary for the troops of Victoria Barracks. The Industrial Magistrates Court and some other general-purpose courtrooms were in Herschel Street’s Hothlyn House, a building that also housed the fledgling Court Recording Section.

Expansion and replacement of existing facilities continued throughout the 1960s, with additions at Cloncurry and new courthouses at Biloela, Caboolture, Gatton, Hervey Bay, Kingaroy, Mareeba, Murgon, Nambour, Oakey, Pittsworth, Proserpine, Sandgate and Sarina.

On 1 September 1968, the old Supreme Court in George Street was burnt in a fire lit by arsonist David Bertram Brooks. The building had been in use since March 1879, when John Petrie had completed its construction according to the 1875 contract. The fire, while not destroying the building entirely, caused considerable damage, with the water from fire-fighters’ efforts to contain the blaze causing much more damage to books and other materials. The main damage was in the Criminal Court wing near Ann Street. Mr Justice Wanstall, whose chambers were on the ground floor, lost the bulk of his library, valued conservatively at $10,000, when flaming material fell through the floor above his chambers. The other libraries in that wing belonging to Mr Justice Stable, Mr Justice WB Campbell and Mr Justice Hanger were damaged by water, as was the George Street wing. The judges’ ermine robes and full-bottomed wigs had to be stretched on hangers to dry and those books that could be salvaged were taken away to be dried and restored. The State Government Insurance Office had insured the Supreme Court Library’s volumes for about $200,000. Temporary accommodation for the court reporters, bailiffs and sheriff’s staff had to be found in the District Court. Yet a colony of bees, which had also been a feature of the old Supreme Court building’s George Street wing for many years, survived the blaze and the water inundation despite its proximity to the old number two courtroom and the American Library.

As the decade came to a close, it was obvious that the world was changing. These were still the times of plenty, but the attitudes and aspirations of the coming generation set the scene for the momentous political and social upheaval of the next decade.