In the early 20th century the main timber mill at Taranna, on Tasmania’s Tasman Peninsular, was owned by Messrs. Jones and Hay Pty. Ltd. Like most businesses, it was going through hard times during the Great Depression. The workforce had been severely reduced, and the remaining
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Susan Stephens from Lapstone in the Blue Mountains treasures a hand knitted jumper brought home from WWI by her grandfather, Hedley Stephens. Fighting in France in May 1916, Corporal Stephens went ‘over the top’ with a senior officer to check on their men. The pair were severely
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Sydney’s Mitchell Library recently doubled the size of its exhibition gallery space. In a new initiative, 300 works of art were selected for permanent display. Some have rarely been seen by the general public. As a member of the Library Circle I feel privileged to be sponsoring one
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HAVE YOU EVER BEEN CONVICTED BY THE CIVIL POWER? Australian residents enlisting in World War I were required to answer a series of personal questions. At the time, military authorities had no idea what lay behind recruit Robert Coombes’ answer to No. 6, regarding apprenticeships; ‘Mr Pike,
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The Ottery arsenic mine, near Emmaville in northern New South Wales, closed as a commercial venture in the 1930s. Arsenic was once used heavily in rural Australia as sheep and cattle dip, weed killer and for curing animal skins. It was said that stock drinking from
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The following story is about my great-uncle Arthur, who I never met and barely knew existed during my childhood. This was despite the fact that my father had been named in his honour. Arthur died when I was fifteen. He was buried in our local cemetery at
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SILENT WEAPONS OF WAR My research for this story began amid the startling news of the chemical attack on the Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, and of chemical weapons being used in Syria. I knew about mustard gas in WWI, because my
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MILES FRANKLIN AND HER BRILLIANT IDEA Many literary figures of the day visited Miles Franklin (1879-1954) at her home in the Sydney suburb of Carlton. The author of the beloved book My Brilliant Career, referred to the house as, ‘My old humpy.’ A delightful custom developed of
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In February 1938, 15 countries from what was then known as The British Empire, assembled in Sydney for what would be the last Empire Games until well after the Second World War. It was a huge occasion, especially as the event coincided with Sydney’s 150th anniversary. After
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There is an old saying….‘Life is a lottery‘ 😎 A WINDFALL FOLLOWING ON FROM WHEN THE BANK OF AUSTRALIA WENT BUST In 1848 Angus McDonald from Bolwarra (near Maitland) bought a ticket in New South Wales’ first official lottery. It was held as a means of dispersing
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