ULVERSTONE’S LA DONNA & LORNA DOONE

ULVERSTONE'S LA DONNA & LORNA DOONE

‘La Donna’ was a journalist for many years at The Advocate, a Tasmanian newspaper known affectionally as ‘The Spud Digger’.  In 1935   she wrote a fascinating, lengthy article on Mary Shadbolt, widow of my relative Linden Shadbolt. I always wondered about La Donna’s real identity, and have

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SYDNEY TOWN HALL & THE EPIDEMIC

SYDNEY TOWN HALL & THE EPIDEMIC

Sydney Town Hall; just imagine all the protests, political rallies, meetings and celebrations associated with this  historic building. One thing  I wasn’t aware of was its role during the 1913 smallpox epidemic, especially as the main vaccination centre. The disease had been introduced to the city  by 

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THE LAUNCESTON EPIDEMIC – MISSTEPS & MISINFORMATION

THE LAUNCESTON EPIDEMIC - MISSTEPS & MISINFORMATION

  When the Launceston epidemic of 1903 began, so too did  rumours of who had introduced the dread disease of smallpox to the city. Human nature being what it is,  an ‘ outsider’ was suspected.  Just as with the conspiracy theories we are familiar with today (including

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DAME ENID LYONS & HER REJECTED PORTRAIT

DAME ENID LYONS  & HER REJECTED PORTRAIT

Tasmania’s Dame Enid Lyons and  Western Australia’s Dorothy Tangney were the first two women to be elected to Australia’s federal parliament. In 1943 Tangney won a seat in the Senate and  that same year Dame Enid was elected to the House of Representatives. It was decided by

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