Nehemiah Bartley

At that time there were discoveries of gold in California, and soon after his arrival in Tasmania he made a trading voyage to San Francisco, touching at Tahiti, Caroline Island, and Honolulu en route, and entering the Golden Horn in May 1850.

[1] In 1854, Bartley was attracted to "the outdoor life of a commercial traveller and agent in the new land of Moreton Bay [as Queensland was then known], doing the rounds of the Darling Downs and Burnett districts overy six weeks or so."

In February 1854 on the steamer City of Melbourne, he arrived in Brisbane, which was described as the "prettiest country town in New South Wales" (this was prior to the Separation of Queensland in 1859) .

In 1879, Bartley objected to the continued use of the nickname, as he felt the "folly" implied a financial misjudgement on his part, whereas, taking all costs into account, he had actually made a profit of £400 on the house.

[3] In 1892 in Brisbane, he published the book "Opals and Agates" which was based on his diaries and provided chatty sketches of people and events.

[1] On 10 March 1894 Bartley, who had previously resided with his son for two-and-a-half years, left Brisbane for Sydney to secure subscribers to a second book to be entitled "Pioneers of Queensland," which he intended publishing shortly.