Mackay history: Cook family’s contribution to The History of Queensland

Vicky Bowden details how the Cook family contributed to the ‘longest history’ of Queensland ever written.

When I was a child growing up in the early ‘70s, I remember the door-to-door salesmen who used to come around trying to sell encyclopedias – in particular, the Encyclopedia Britannica. Often this was offered on a subscription basis – taking one volume a month over a period of time – often a couple of years.

That particular publication has been around in various forms since 1768; now in its 15th edition as an online only version.

Despite many visits by a whole stream of salesmen over the years my parents never succumbed to a purchase.

In fact, Britannica published worldwide including an Australian version but in 1924-1925 Angus and Robertson published its first edition of the rather unimaginatively named Australian Encyclopedia, a two-volume work that had taken a long 12 years to write, partly due to the outbreak of World War I interrupting progress.

In Queensland, in 1921, the Cooks also had a visitor who wanted to sell them books, however his angle was slightly different; he was travelling around collecting information so that he could compile it into a history of the state, which would then be sold.

Sometimes called cyclopedias, these works were common in Australia at the beginning of the 20th century, with similar publications produced for most states during that time.

Matthew Joseph Fox was the lead compiler of the weighty three-volume work The History of Queensland, its People and Industries.

It included a large section on the major towns, regions, and properties throughout Queensland, as well as biographies on both influential and ordinary citizens.

A set of the final published work is part of the Greenmount collection.

Mr Fox was born in County Meath, Ireland, and like many other Europeans he made his way to Australia at the turn of the 20th century where he made his living as a writer, journalist and publisher.

In 1921 he was visiting the Mackay district to canvas local families to provide content for his books.

The Daily Mercury describes Mr Fox as “a well-known member of the fourth estate” and reports that his work on Queensland was “most complete”.

Mr Fox was particularly interested in the stories of local pioneering families and so not surprisingly he ended up at Greenmount where the Cooks, ever hospitable, generously invited him into their home.

The Cooks were proud of their heritage.

Tom Cook in his later years was keen to record for posterity his own family’s experiences and knowledge of the local district, as a historic record for generations to come.

Sadly Tom died before he had chance to do this.

Albert Cook records the publisher Mr Fox’s visit in his diary on June 17, 1921.

“Mr Matt J Fox Esq. called. He is writing a history of Queensland. Took six pages at 25 Guineas for him to write up for Cook family. He also took two panoramic pictures of house and garden and one of view for inclusion in the work. He had lunch with us and went back to town at 4 o’clock,” the diary excerpt read.

The following day more photos were taken.

“Mr Fox came back and took photos. He had lunch and went back to town. He will send me the films and I am to choose one to go into the book.”

On the Sunday Albert had obviously been pondering the cost of his investment and wrote:

“Wrote Flo and Ethel (Albert’s sisters) re the History of Queensland and asking if they would like a set of volumes (3) at 20 Guineas and would help towards cost of including Cook particulars.”

Many other local families – including the Athertons – found their place in these volumes.

The visit to Mackay was clearly successful for Mr Fox.

As seems to be so often the case with Albert, his interaction with Mr Fox had a lasting impression.

Nestled in the front of one of the hefty volumes is a letter written by Mr Fox to Albert Cook in 1926 – on notepaper for the Fox Advertising Service in Martin Place, Sydney.

In this letter Mr Fox offers Mr Cook the opportunity to invest in the purchase of shares in the Forestal Timber Company Limited — a company that he claims to have good insider knowledge with regards to its flotation.

This offer, he states, is to repay Mr Cook for his kind hospitality and business advice given when he was there in 1921.

Mr Cook helpfully included his response, behind the original letter.

He is very grateful for the offer, he writes, but due to the poor state of the cattle-farming industry, did not feel that he had the financial capacity to invest money for the long term at that time.

More stories:

Historic Mackay robberies: violent, clever, laughable

MACKAY HISTORY: Holidaying from home in the 1920s, 30s

Fox’s work is said to be the longest History of Queensland written, but later historians have claimed that it contains many errors.

The Cooks clearly referred to it however — in the Greenmount set, Albert Cook has made numerous comments on the pages describing the Cooks’ own history of which he was doubtless very proud.

References: Trove, Betty Clark – A House Well Filled, photos from Greenmount collection, and An Encyclopedic View of the World.

Originally published as Mackay history: Cook family’s contribution to The History of Queensland