Irish born Mr William Sheridan Wall served as Curator of the Australian Museum in Sydney during the 1840s and 50s. He personally collected and preserved many native birds, but his greatest legacy to the institution was a creature from the deep. On December 5 1849 the schooner Thistle
Read more →
Towards the end of 1912 a new Bank of New South Wales branch was nearing completion in Sydney’s Surry Hills. About six weeks before opening day the strong room was constructed and the heavy iron door fitted. It had been designed with excellent security features. Two keys
Read more →
MORE THAN JUST A CHOCOLATE CAKE, MATE! Ever heard of a lamington cocktail? Sounds good to me. If there is one culinary icon in Australia that ‘out-icons’ the pavlova it is surely the lamington. We all know that
Read more →
EUREKA—GOLD GOLD GOLD! In 1883, James McGinty and his two prospecting partners found what is still the largest gold nugget ever found in Tasmania. It was discovered at Rocky River, near Corinna on the wild west coast. It weighed 243ozs and was valued at £6,000. Below is an image of the
Read more →FOLLOWING ON FROM GUY MENZIES; A LIFE LIVED AT FAST FORWARD. Guy Menzies, the dashing young airman who made the first solo crossing from Australia to New Zealand in 1931 had plans for even greater feats; perhaps a flight from England to Australia, which he estimated could
Read more →
The wombat has a reputation for being a bit, well…..not that bright. The wonderful Australian author Ruth Park wrote a series of very popular children’s stories under the title. The Muddle-headed Wombat, Waddling this way! And what does he know? Well, how to dig, for one thing.
Read more →
A SMALL PIECE OF WOOD Apparently wooden ‘dolly pegs’ were originally hand made by Gypsies in the UK, who sold them door to door. Sometimes they were carved from hedgerow wood, sometimes they were just a couple of sticks bound together with strips of tin. In Tasmania
Read more →
HUNG OUT TO DRY! Baby boomers like me may have memories of old ‘prop’ clothes lines. They had been around for generations, although there was an attempt to improve on them as early as 1889. An Australian invented a device for carrying a double line, which could be elevated
Read more →
Hello, this is Editor Des from the Blue Mountains. Well I went to the Winter Magic Festival in Katoomba. Pauline didn’t want to take me because it gets a bit crowded, but I had a special assignment with the Blue Mountains Council, so she had to. Haha.
Read more →My partner Rob and I are the most unlikely ‘activists’ imaginable, but suddenly we have become Wentworth Street Warriors. We may not live in the street, but as local residents we appreciate its beauty all year long. UPDATE – we have just been alerted by a local consulting arborist
Read more →