Marianne Macquarie was born on the Isle of Mull in 1820. She was the niece of Lachlan Macquarie, Governor of New South Wales between 1810 and 1821. Her father was Charles Macquarie, the governor’s only surviving brother. Marianne’s mother and only sister had both died when she
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Governor Charles FitzRoy’s ‘First Lady’ following the death of his wife in 1847 was his daughter Mary, Mrs Keith Stewart. Lady FitzRoy had died in a carriage accident, and Mary almost met the same fate. The incident occurred while she was being driven through the streets of
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In 1928 the Australian government decided to present a Christmas cake to the Duke and Duchess of York. The main objective was to promote the nation’s agricultural products, the culmination of a year long initiative. All the ingredients used in the cake were produced in this country.
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Parramatta Gaol has a history dating back to 1798, when the first building was described as, ‘a strong, logged gaol of 100 feet in length, with separate cells for the prisoners…and paled around with very high fences.’ By the early twentieth century it looked very different. James
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My original story of Sydney born Mary Drummond (nee Gallagher) was a sad one (*there is a link to it at the end of this piece). The doctor she married in May 1887 turned out to be a complete charlatan. He had stolen another man’s medical diplomas
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Dr Edward Drummond had undertaken his medical training in Edinburgh, and spent time in England and Italy. His entry in the 1886 Australian Medical Directory read ‘Formerly Physician Scots. Coll, Rome, Sidmouth Dispensary etc. ‘ He had recently arrived in Sydney from South Africa and was initially
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On November 8 1916 a fund-raising day was held at tiny Wakool, in the Riverina region of New South Wales. The day’s events were of particular significance to Frank and Annie White, who ran the Wakool Hotel. A few days earlier word had arrived of their son,
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The text accompanying this picture was as follows; A public reserve which the Ulverstone Council apparently did not know was private property. Ratepayers’ money was expended in improving this area. The reserve proved to be privately owned. (Weekly Courier 1919) Yes, a half acre block within a
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New Zealand born Cyril Ballard enlisted in the A.I.F in Sydney in 1916, aged 28. He was a records clerk, living quietly in the Northern Beaches suburb of Narrabeen with his wife Harriet and two children. Lance Corporal Ballard served in France as a machine gunner. His
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