From 1905 until 1916, George Harris was identified as Prisoner 57 in Parramatta gaol. He would die in France in 1918 as Private 634. Between the two numbers is an extraordinary story, some of which has been told elsewhere on this site. By the time George was
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The Lodge in Canberra was originally built as a temporary residence for Australian Prime Ministers. It was not huge, but comfortable enough, with five reception rooms, a billiard room, and three bathrooms. The house was set in attractive gardens, with a tennis court and pavilion. ‘Silvertail’, Toorak
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St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne was founded in 1893 by The Sisters of Charity’s Mother Mary Berchmans Daly. She is referred to in this piece as the Mother Rectress. In 1905 the Mother Rectress decided to hold an art union, to raise funds for furnishing wards at
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Mahkoolma, near Barren Jack (now known as Burrinjack Dam) is in New South Wales. You won’t find it on maps though, as the name is no longer used. However, it could have found fame if the heavens hadn’t opened one August day. It was one of numerous
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Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was an easy target from the outset, in part due to his pentecostel Christian faith. In what has become a very secular society, many Australians feel uncomfortable with arm waving, charismatic forms of worship. This was countered to some extent by Morrison’s
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It’s hard to imagine Sydney having an epidemic of bubonic plague, but that’s what happened in 1900. The infection arrived on a visiting ship in January, and spread in overcrowded, unsanitary slums. THE PLAGUE – PARRAMATTA’S PRECAUTIONS I hadn’t realized there was a vaccine against plague, but
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Miss Mary Latham Clulow, of Sydney’s exclusive Bellevue Hill, had made a lot of money, mainly through property investments. She was an astute business woman, as this 1903 court action demonstrates; Miss Clulow died on October 26 1944 at a private hospital in Rose Bay. Subsequently there
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The building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge filled the hearts and minds of residents for years. The first person to walk across the Harbour Bridge arches was chief building supervisor Mr Lawrence Ennis. Three planks of wood had been laid across the final, small gap. Now there
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In the spring of 1932, well known Toowoomba dentist Mr T. A. Margetts returned from a day at the surgery to find his pet parrot in a distressed state. The bird had been in the house while a burglary was taking place and its squawks of alarm
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