The first part of this story involved the strange case of Ronald Charles Powles, who kidnapped his own toddler, Philip, in 1938. His plan was to extort money from his wife Joyce’s family. He was never charged owing to lack of proof and no doubt concern for
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The arrival of Jackson Pollock’s 1952 painting Blue Poles represented a significant shift in Australian society. The Whitlam Government had come to power in 1972 with a big agenda for change after 23 years in opposition. Its bold decision to buy a giant, abstract artwork for an
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Sir Henry Parkes’ political opponents often found him a pain in the neck, but as you will discover, this article refers to something quite different. Sir Henry had a most difficult childhood. He was born in Coventry, Warwickshire, in 1815, the youngest of seven children. His father
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Regular visitors to this website will know that I have a fascination for imposters. 😎 I’m not sure why this is, except that they have a sense of daring and self confidence that I certainly don’t have myself. I’m not condoning the behaviour, especially when it causes
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NOTE – THIS IS NOT A RE-EXAMINATION OF THE TRAGIC CHRISSIE VENN MURDER. IT IS ABOUT THE STRANGE CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH DRS. RATTEN AND FERRIS FOUND THEMSELVES GIVING EVIDENCE AT THE TRIAL. In August 1914, the rural Tasmanian community of Sheffield lost both its young doctors; one
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When Sydney tutor Raymond Miller discovered his female student Ngaire Payne was ill-prepared to sit entrance exams for medicine, he came up with a plan. He would dress as a woman and sit the exams at New England University in her place. It sounds crazy and well…it
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Raymond Campbell Miller first came to public notice in 1942, when his wife Alice applied for a divorce on the grounds of his adultery. The case was aired in all its sordid detail, particularly by Truth newspaper. Miller denied being intimate with the young nurse he was
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Kiwi polish was first produced in 1908 by Melbourne business partners Hamilton McKellan and William Ramsay. The name Kiwi was a tribute to Ramsay’s New Zealand born wife. For two reasons the product was a major improvement on the old boot blacking (remember Charles Dickens working in
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In 1933, two trained Alsatians, Tess and Harada, joined the New South Wales Police Force. Almost immediately they were earning their keep, apprehending criminals and tracking people lost in the bush. Tess in particular would go on to perform amazing feats of detection. She was adored by
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The saying goes that life is a lottery, and in nineteenth century Sydney two men promised everyone a chance to win big. In the early 189os Australia experienced a severe economic depression. Many banks and other financial institutions went bust. One casualty was the Mercantile Building Land
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