I must admit that Australia’s pied currawongs do not have a great reputation. They are opportunists, preying on unwary small birds and robbing the nests of others. I’ve never forgiven a local gang of them for harassing our nesting tawny frogmouth and stealing the eggs. However, apart
Read more →
KEEP SOME COPHA IN THE CUPBOARD There is an Australian urban myth that Kellogs invented Copha for the express purpose of making chocolate crackles. Well let’s explode that for a start. The advertisement below appeared in the Women’s Weekly in December 1937. It is the first known mention
Read more →
We Australians love gum leaves. Expat Aussies can be reduced to tears by a whiff of their aroma. Campers in the bush put them into billy tea……for the flavor, but even more for nostalgia. Our property in the Blue Mountains was named The Gums by a
Read more →
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. He
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 →