During World War One, seventy seven men from the small Blue Mountains community of Blackheath, NSW volunteered to serve. Their names are engraved on the local war memorial. Six were killed in action; H. CULLEN, R. MURRAY, J. SKEEN, D. SPRAGUE, J. STEENSON, & R. THOMPSON.
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The spectacular waratah (Telopea) is the state emblem of New South Wales, and so much a part of the beautiful Blue Mountains, where I live. The plants flower both in our gardens and in the local bush. They are part of our identity. In 1912, an article
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DISASTER! At three o’clock one afternoon this week my husband Rob called me outside. He looked very upset, and was holding a crimson rosella in an old towel. It had flown into one of the windows. We live in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, and
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In 1918 an article in The Sydney Morning Herald reported on brooms being hand-made in the Blue Mountains village of Blackheath; The brooms are manufactured under the most primitive conditions, the machine for binding them together being home-made, and it is contended by the maker that with
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Fire created havoc in the Blue Mountains and Lithgow during the summer of 2019/20. The heat was extraordinary. I am a firm believer in climate change, even though our beautiful Mountains have suffered very badly in years gone by. THE FURY OF FIRE The summer of 1952
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On the afternoon of August 18 1937, Mrs Dorothy Bunyan of Lithgow attended a funeral. It was a particularly sad occasion; the child of Mr Brown, of one of the local school teachers, had died. She hurried home because her nine year old son Donald was due home from primary school.
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Shortly before midnight on Tuesday, April 8 1930, what has been described as the most daring robbery in the history of Australia took place. The heist was conceived by Roy Wilkinson, a 24 year old railway porter. Wilkinson had been serving as escort on the mail train from Sydney to Mudgee, which
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CROSSING THE MOUNTAINS BY COACH AND HORSES In the 1850’s the journey across the Blue Mountains of New South Wales was truly daunting. On Sunday, November 27 1853, Thomas Simons was driving the Bathurst mail coach from Sydney when he came to the top of Mount Victoria. Ahead was
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A little paradise in the Mountains. FEATHERING MY NEST Living in what very much resembles a bird hide would not be to everyone’s taste, but it suits me. My mini home is surrounded by trees and shrubs…predominantly Australian natives, but certainly not exclusively. Is is actually a studio apartment,
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On February 4 1908, Australian military officials approved a site at the coal mining town of Lithgow in New South Wales for a small arms factory. The fact that coal could be delivered to the site very cheaply was an important factor in the choice. With the
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