My great grandfather William Larcombe arrived in Launceston, Tasmania in December 1856 aboard the ship Alice Walton. William was then aged 25. He was accompanied by his 20 year old wife Sarah (nee Parker) and their two small children; Leah and Thomas. The family were from Devon,
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FOR PART ONE OF THIS STORY, CLICK HERE. When the Methodist minister’s young wife died unexpectedly at Omeo on January 3rd 1928, shock was quickly followed by disquiet. Locals reflected on (and gossiped about) the Rev. Griggs’ ‘friendship’ with Lotti Condon, the pretty young daughter of a wealthy grazier.
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In the early 1900s, life for Albert and Annie White of rural Railton in northern Tasmania revolved around their local Methodist church. Their children regularly sang and recited at church functions. The eldest daughter, Ethel, became a teacher, posted to various small country schools in the area. She was much
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The summer of 1957 in north west Tasmania was unusually dry. My father was forced to harness up our draught horses Bell and Nugget and use a sled to transport water to our farmhouse from a back paddock dam. He used 44 gallon drums covered with wet chaff bags for
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In 1883, James McGinty and his two prospecting partners found what is still the largest gold nugget ever found in Tasmania. It was discovered at Rocky River, near Corinna on the wild west coast. It weighed 243ozs and was valued at £6,000. Below is an image of the nugget on
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As a young woman, Joyce Cocks became an attendant (and later a buyer) at Sydney’s historic Mitchell Library. The Mitchell now forms part of the vast Library of New South Wales complex. AN ARMED ROBBER INTRUDES In 1923 an armed man entered the building on Macquarie
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BOY RACER Guy Menzies was born in the Sydney suburb of Drummoyne in 1909, the son of a well known doctor. He was a handful for his parents from the word go. Sometimes he would pinch stationery from his father’s surgery and write sick notes to get out of
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ONE BLIGH OF THE BOUNTY, TWO OF BLACKHEATH In 1910, Governor Bligh’s grandson, William Russell Wilson Bligh (1827-1914), bought a house called Whiteleaf Cross, in Tourmaline Street, Blackheath (now Park Avenue). By then William was an elderly man. He had arrived in Sydney in 1837 aged ten, under the
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CONTINUING THE STORY OF SYDNEY SOCIALITE AIMÉE EDOLS . CLICK HERE FOR PART ONE In 1932, bankrupt Sydney socialite Aimée Edols evaded police for nearly six months. She had turned for help to an old friend, Amy Styles, from nearby Vaucluse. Mrs Styles was a widow, whose husband had drowned
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