Pauline Conolly

EVERGLADES HOUSE – AN ART DECO GEM
On a recent (very rare) sunny day here in the Blue Mountains, my partner Rob and I visited the recently restored Everglades House at Leura. I had read a feature about it in the January 2024 National Trust magazine. Even though we live nearby at Blackheath, it...
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HUON PINE- a coffin, a ketch and a classical grand piano.
Like most people born and bred in Tasmania, I have a number of treasured Huon pine items in my home (now in the NSW Blue Mountains). I have just finished reading a book by Brenden Ward about a fabulous grand piano made a few years ago from...
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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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WOOLLOOMOOLOO…..FULL CIRCLE
First up, a silly riddle about Woolloomooloo by C.J. Dennis; Yes, that’s eight o’s. 😛 It’s a small jump to the puzzle of which Aussie icon rhymes with Woolloomooloo. WOOLLOOMOOLOO – affectionately dubbed ‘the Loo’. It once had a reputation as a rough and ready sort of...
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MONSIEUR ROC RAGE & A SYDNEY HAT HEIST 👒
In 1954 a French milliner by the name of Monsieur Roc Rage breezed into Sydney with his marvelous collection of hats. It was reported that among Monsieur Rage’s famous clients were Hollwood stars such as Rita Hayworth, Dorothy Lamour and Lana Turner. Here are some newspaper shots...
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JUMBO – HOBART’S VICTIM OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION
In July 1925 a young elephant calf called Jumbo arrived in Melbourne from London aboard the liner Port Curtis. If he was a little ‘swelled in the head’ it was because the previous year he had been a star exhibit at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley....
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THE SIRIUS COVE SOVEREIGNS- PART ONE
Sirius Cove is a delightful spot on Sydney’s Lower North Shore at Mosman, directly below Taronga Park Zoo. In 1929 a scout group from the inner-city suburb of Leichardt was taken on an outing to Mosman. While the boys were attending some entertainment at a radio...
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AN ANT LARVAE ‘AFTERNOON TEA’
Ant larvae for afternoon tea doesn’t sound particularly appealing, well unless you have feathers or fur. 😎 Over the last few years I have been cutting up an old stump to dry out and make winter tinder. I live in chilly Blackheath in the NSW Blue Mountains,...
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The Water Doctor’s Daughters