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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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A story about birds by me, Editor Des WOT’S MORE SCARY….A COCKATOO OR A KOOKABURRA? Do you know what? A kookaburra called Toffee visits our garden every day. At first I was a bit scared of him, I thought he might start pecking my fur off for
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WHO GIVES A FIG? I DO! I love Sydney; for the harbour, the museums and theatres, but particularly for it’s amazing old fig trees. Could there be a more iconic image of the city than in the photo below? Sydney sandstone and fig roots inextricably entwined. That
Read more →DEMENTIA; THE SILENT THIEF A few months ago my mother-in-law Jean moved into a Sydney nursing home. She had previously been in residential care for eighteen months after dementia and failing physical health meant she could no longer remain in her own home. My husband and I live
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