'Not every person who waits is loitering': public space, public order, and the 'move on' laws in colonial Brisbane, 1889–1895.

In the nineteenth century, municipal bylaws became important tools of negotiating public order in Australian cities. While many were introduced in the interest of public safety, some were seen to overstep acceptable governmental management and instead came to be perceived as forms of interference with individual rights and liberties in urban spaces. This article examines the anti-loitering bylaw, the 'move on law' introduced in Brisbane in 1889, and the public opposition surrounding the law's enforcement. It demonstrates how municipal bylaws were used to reinforce abstract concepts of acceptable public behaviour and promote desirable forms of urban citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]