On January 19 1902, a buyer at the remote NSW mining town of White Cliffs received an order to supply several hundred pounds worth of opal to a jeweller in Melbourne. Being Sunday, the buyer was unable to insure or register the precious parcel. A risky decision
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Mary Stewart (nee FitzRoy) was the only daughter of Governor Charles FitzRoy. She was living in England with her husband Keith Stewart when her mother, Lady FitzRoy, was killed in a tragic carriage accident at Government House, Parramatta in December 1847. At this point the Stewarts had
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Maatsuyker Island lighthouse opened in 1891, back in the days of whaling. This is Australia’s southernmost light, 10km from the Tasmanian coast. It is surrounded by reefs and is in the direct path of gale force winds dubbed The Roaring Forties. Elias Dollery was in charge of
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In 1878, Old Government House at Parramatta opened as a genteel boarding house. When the local bowling club was looking for a green in 1882, they approached the proprietor, Mrs Abrahams, about leasing a piece of land behind the house. To sweeten the deal they suggested her
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In March 1866 a 100lb shipment of a new material, nitro-glycerine, arrived in Sydney and was stored in the Bridge Street warehouse of Messrs Molison and Black. The substance, also known as Nobel’s Blast Oil, was to be tested by the importer as a means of blasting
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Marianne Macquarie was born on the Isle of Mull in 1820. She was the niece of Lachlan Macquarie, Governor of New South Wales between 1810 and 1821. Her father was Charles Macquarie, the governor’s only surviving brother. Marianne’s mother and only sister had both died when she
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Governor Charles FitzRoy’s ‘First Lady’ following the death of his wife in 1847 was his daughter Mary, Mrs Keith Stewart. Lady FitzRoy had died in a carriage accident, and Mary almost met the same fate. The incident occurred while she was being driven through the streets of
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In 1928 the Australian government decided to present a Christmas cake to the Duke and Duchess of York. The main objective was to promote the nation’s agricultural products, the culmination of a year long initiative. All the ingredients used in the cake were produced in this country.
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Parramatta Gaol has a history dating back to 1798, when the first building was described as, ‘a strong, logged gaol of 100 feet in length, with separate cells for the prisoners…and paled around with very high fences.’ By the early twentieth century it looked very different. James
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