Curator – Old Government House

It was while wandering along the cobblestone streets of Amsterdam and through the historical landmarks of London that Katie McConnel had her epiphany.

The Toowoomba nurse, then aged in her 20s and travelling the world before settling down for a career in hospitals, discovered an unexpected passion for history.

It changed her life and set her career on a new course.

“I’d always had an interest in history but going to Europe brought it on,” she says.

“For me, it was the social history. Things like knowing the story of Anne Frank and then actually being in her house.

“Same with Hampton Court. I knew the history behind it, but then looking at Henry VIII’s armour was amazing.

“It’s those linkages for me.”

McConnel returned from Europe determined to study ancient history.

When the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba only offered Queensland and Australian history courses, she enrolled anyway.

“I was spellbound,” she says.

“A key moment for me was being 26 years old and learning for the first time that we killed Aboriginal people.

“I know kids these days learn that in schools but I didn’t and, for me, it was an amazing turning point.”

MConnel transferred her studies to the University of Queensland where she went on to complete a Bachelor of Arts with honours and then a PhD in history.

Now aged 43, she’s the curator and historian of Old Government House and is responsible for bringing the heritage building – specifically the people who once worked and lived inside it – back to life.

The restored sandstone house, inside Queensland University of Technology’s Gardens Point campus in the city, is open to the public free of charge.

As part of Queensland Week, recently, the chef of the Old Government House tea room demonstrated how to make lamingtons, and then McConnel delivered a historical narrative on the favourite chocolate-covered cake.

“I argue that the kitchen at Old Government House here in Brisbane is where the lamington cake was first made in Queensland – not first invented,” McConnel says.

“A French chef by the name of Armand Galland was the executive chef for Lord and Lady Lamington when they lived at Old Government House from 1896-1901.

“Lady Lamington was having an ‘at home’, which is an open house afternoon tea, and more people turned up than anticipated so Armand had to create something.

“(Armand) made a butter cake, dropped it in chocolate mixture which was one-third chocolate and two-thirds cream and then used coconut to set it.”

The origins of the lamington have long been a source of controversy amongst historians, but McConnel hopes Queenslanders do more than learn about the iconic cake when they visit the historical building.

“This is the only former vice-regal residence in Australia where you can come in and wander around,” McConnel says.

“The building was completed in 1862 as a vice-regal residence for George Bowen, who was our first governor.

“It was the home and office of the governor and his family until 1910 when the official residence moved to Fernberg Rd.”

QUT was granted custodianship of the building in 2002 and, since then, $15 million in restorative work has been carried out.

“My role was to interpret and research the history of the house in order to create a museum,” McConnel says.

“Three of the ground floor rooms now have interactive, multi-media displays and elements that unfold the history of the building.

“There’s also a virtual house, so you can see what the house would have looked like in 1900 based on descriptions we have about its furnishings and so on.

“Many important decisions in Queensland’s history were made in this house.

“It was the centre of social activity – the best party house in Brisbane in its day.”

It’s been nearly 20 years since the history of Europe lured McConnel into a new career, but she’s just as inspired today as she was back then.

“Even though this is little Brisbane, there’s a full gamut of history here,” she says.

“In 1901, Prince George came out to open our first Federal Parliament and he stayed in this house.

“He made the remark in a letter that he was given the same room as the previous time he visited in 1881 – some 20 years earlier.

“This is the man who became king and who spent a lot of time in Europe and yet he remembered this house and the room he stayed in here in Brisbane.

“It’s these kinds of things that make my mind just go off.”

How to become a historian:

UQ Bachelor of Arts, major in history. Three-year course full time.

QUT Bachelor of Creative Industries, major in history. Three-year course full time.

USQ Bachelor of Arts, major in history. Three-year course full time.