Someone asked me recently why people often speak of artist and author Norman Lindsay (1879 – 1969) as having lived at Springwood in the Blue Mountains, when the property is actually in the neighbouring village of Faulconbridge. One reason is that Norman himself always wrote his address
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Swansea is a small town on the east coast of Tasmania. This story begins in triumph, but ends in heartbreak. My thanks to friend and fellow history buff Margaret Schmidt for bringing it to my attention. In December 1933, 17 year old Swansea resident Mabel Cotton completed
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Goulburn, in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, is hardly the type of place one associates with anarchy. However, on Friday, July 13 (yes, Black Friday) 1962, the Catholic Church flexed its muscles against the State Government. Bishop John Cullinane ordered the closing of six Catholic
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My favourite spot during this Covid lockdown winter has been our ‘sun trap’ wood stack at Blackheath in the Blue Mountains. Here I happily saw and split logs and enjoy the company of birds. Friends tell me I should get my husband Rob to do the work,
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The poor old wallaby was considered a huge pest in the old days. Any call to protect native animals was immediately cried down by farmers; The following image is from Town and Country Journal in 1906. Even youngsters went out with guns, a bit like my bother
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Stella and Reginald Harrison were married at Hawthorn, Victoria in May 1934. However, married life for the couple began in Sydney, where Reginald had been appointed Manager of the Mansion House Private Hotel in Elizabeth Street. The only shadow on their happiness was that in July Stella,
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If you visit the Mildura Arts Centre you will see this striking painting by Irish born artist William Orpen. The inspiration behind the c.1913 painting is fascinating. At that time in Ireland, government grants for art and education came from Whitehall under the direction of the Irish
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I love my woodheap. Perhaps it’s because I grew up in chilly Tasmania and now live in the Blue Mountains village of Blackheath (aka BLEAKHEATH). Oh that promise of cheerfulness and warmth. It is also a perfect sun trap on our property in autumn and winter. Despite
Read more →When I was growing up in Ulverstone in the 1950s & 60s there was a house at the bottom of South Road with the large vertebra of a whale sitting on its verandah. It was one of those childhood curiosities I longed to know more about, but
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In the late 19th and early 20th century, Blue Mountains towns such as Leura and Katoomba were just as popular with tourists as they are today. Several coaching companies were kept busy ferrying visitors to guesthouses from the railway station and around the area’s beauty spots. One
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