Blue Mountains – latest article

  • Collage of Blue Mountains Birds.
    ‘THE STUDIO’ AT ACER CORNER
    The Studio was home for my partner Rob and I while we built our new house at Blackheath, in the beautiful Blue Mountains. Now that we have moved out we have decided to let the detached property to birdwatchers, bushwalkers and nature lovers on a short stay...
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History – latest article

  • SYDNEY TOWN HALL & THE EPIDEMIC
    SYDNEY TOWN HALL & THE EPIDEMIC
    Sydney Town Hall; just imagine all the protests, political rallies, meetings and celebrations associated with this  historic building. One thing  I wasn’t aware of was its role during the 1913 smallpox epidemic, especially as the main vaccination centre. The disease had been introduced to the city  by ...
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Humour – latest article

  • VITA-WEAT - NOW WITHOUT 'WORMS'
    VITA-WEAT – NOW WITHOUT ‘WORMS’
    Vita-Weat biscuits were introduced  in Australia in 1932, by the UK company Peek Frean’s.  For many years the factory was located in the Sydney suburb of Ashfield. The factory moved into its striking, art-deco building in 1937.  A clock tower (shown in the above photo) was a...
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Travel – latest article

  • Collage of Blue Mountains Birds.
    ‘THE STUDIO’ AT ACER CORNER
    The Studio was home for my partner Rob and I while we built our new house at Blackheath, in the beautiful Blue Mountains. Now that we have moved out we have decided to let the detached property to birdwatchers, bushwalkers and nature lovers on a short stay...
    Read more →

Latest Blog Posts

  • RAILTON'S YOUNG POLIO VICTIMS
    RAILTON’S YOUNG POLIO VICTIMS
    Rebecca Lucas , from outside the small Tasmanian  town of Railton, was just seven years old when she suddenly fell ill in 1937. She was diagnosed with infantile paralysis (polio), as was her older  sister Winifred. The girls were admitted to the Devon Hospital at Latrobe for...
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  • QUEEN VICTORIA MUSEUM'S GREATEST DEAL?
    QUEEN VICTORIA MUSEUM’S GREATEST DEAL?
    The Queen Victoria Museum in Launceston  is  a highly regarded institution, and the largest outside an Australian Capital City. A WINDFALL In 1904 Lady Clara Dry, wealthy widow of  Sir Richard Dry, the first Tasmanian born premier of the State, made a significant bequest of antiques. The...
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  • PROFESSOR McCOY & A CASE OF FRAUD
    PROFESSOR McCOY & A CASE OF FRAUD
    Professor  Frederick McCoy was a highly respected academic at Melbourne University. He resided in the suburb of Brighton.   In 1883 he received a  letter  from a friend, Colonel Mair. The Colonel  asked if it was true that McCoy’s adult son Frederick, who had been  living and...
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  • SMALLPOX; SAWBONES, SATAN & SUNLIT SUBURBS
    SMALLPOX; SAWBONES, SATAN & SUNLIT SUBURBS
    FOR THE FIRST PART OF THIS STORY, CLICK HERE The worst scams during the 1913 smallpox epidemic in Sydney were due to money grabbing quacks and even disreputable, registered doctors. NSW health authorities were to blame in large measure, because the State had failed to supply enough...
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