DOMED, BUT DOOMED; SYDNEY’S GARDEN PALACE DISASTER

DOMED, BUT DOOMED; SYDNEY'S GARDEN PALACE DISASTER

One historical event I really wish I could have attended is London’s  Great Exhibition of 1851.  Those  inventive, enthusiastic Victorians  put on a display that dazzled the world. It was housed  in a building so innovative it scarcely seemed real; the remarkable Crystal Palace. Of course eventually

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EMPIRE DAY – LOLLIES AND CRACKERS!

EMPIRE DAY - LOLLIES AND CRACKERS!

I am an  Aussie who voted for a republic, but despite this  I have a nostalgic  affection for  Empire Day. It was  celebrated during my  1950’s Tasmanian  childhood on May 24th, Queen Victoria’s birthday. A bag of boiled lollies  was distributed to each of us after we

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REFLECTIONS ON A VISIT TO NICE

REFLECTIONS ON  A VISIT TO NICE

THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE TRAVEL SECTION OF THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN My partner and I are driving through Nice when  a group of local youths begin jeering at a cavalcade of stereo blasting Ferraris. With complete disregard for following  traffic, all three drivers  screech

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WALTZING MATILDA DOWN THE RIVER THAMES

WALTZING MATILDA DOWN THE RIVER THAMES

AUSSIE  HISTORY ALONG THE  THAMES For Australians exploring the River Thames there are  places of particular interest.  When my partner Rob and I walked the Path we found lots of Aussie associations. On the upper reaches of the  river  is the village of Buscot, and the National Trust owned  Buscot

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OLD SYDNEY TOWN…WITH EDITOR DES

OLD SYDNEY TOWN...WITH EDITOR DES

Hello, I’m Editor Des. I spend most my life buried away in the boring old Blue Mountains…and I don’t even eat gum leaves!  However,  Pauline Conolly, (she’s my guardian and employer) took me on a little tour of Sydney recently.  We only went for a couple of

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Queen Victoria – statues, strife and scandals!

Queen Victoria - statues, strife and scandals!

  A  ROYAL REPLICA Early last century John Norton, firebrand editor of Sydney’s Truth newspaper, described Queen Victoria rather unkindly as; ‘..the podgy figured, sulky faced little German woman whose ugly statue at the top of King Street sagaciously keeps one eye on the Mint while with

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A QUANDRY FOR QUEEN VICTORIA

A QUANDRY FOR  QUEEN VICTORIA

In my non-fiction  book, The Water Doctor’s Daughters,  Queen Victoria is an important figure. BY ROYAL APPOINTMENT- QUEEN VICTORIA AND HER FRENCH DRESSER Early in  1842,  Victoria employed a well educated young Frenchwoman as one of her wardrobe mistresses.  Célestine Doudet  was  born in Rouen  on June 

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