Today we romanticize the Australian bush, but a century ago the term had more negative connotations. The pioneers who had cleared the land were often perceived as dim witted yokels by their city slicker cousins. This
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Frederick Claude Vivian Lane was born in Manly on February 2 1880. He nearly drowned in Sydney Harbour when he was four years old, after falling off a punt. His older brother saved him, but Fred thought it might be wise to learn to swim (or perhaps
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On May 12 1915, a 21 year old clerk with the New South Wales shire of Murrumbidgee enlisted in World War I. His name was Eric Richard Conolly. He became a member of the 3rd Battalion A.I.F. Initially, Private Conolly served at Gallipoli, and was on the
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One of the most personal and evocative relics held by the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales is a campaign desk once owned by Governor Lachlan Macquarie. Lachlan Macquarie and his wife Elizabeth disembarked from HMS Dromedary at Sydney Cove on 31 December 1809. They were
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MRS MACQUARIE – FINAL DAYS, FAITHFUL FRIENDS Elizabeth and Lachlan Macquarie returned to Scotland from New South Wales with their young son in 1822 . Unfortunately, Macquarie’s estate of Jarvisfield on the Isle of Mull was financially unviable and it’s residence Gruline House barely habitable. In retrospect
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At the end of PART ONE of this story, we left Miss Elizabeth Campbell fretting over her fiance Lachlan Macquarie’s lack of eagerness to return from army duties in India. Clearly something had to be done. Fortuitously, Henrietta Meredith had a friend and family connection by the
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On January 1st 1810, Lachlan Macquarie was sworn in as Governor of New South Wales, replacing the deposed William Bligh. Macquarie had arrived in Port Jackson aboard The Dromedary several days earlier, accompanied by his wife Elizabeth. Her love and unswerving loyalty would sustain the Governor throughout
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On November 4 1811, Governor Lachlan Macquarie left Sydney aboard the Lady Nelson to carry out an inspection tour of Van Diemen’s Land. He was accompanied by his wife Elizabeth. After several weeks based in Hobart, the official party made its way north. By early December they
Read more →On September 17 1879, the much anticipated Sydney International Exhibition opened in the vast, purpose built Garden Palace. It was located at the south-western end of the Royal Botanic Gardens. On October 27 The Sydney Morning Herald reported; There are two or three more than ordinarily interesting
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As a city grows, local birds lose their habitat. They are remembered in a special way at Sydney’s Angel Place. When the First Fleet arrived in Sydney in 1788 the bird life in the area was incredibly rich and varied. Before long the artist John Lewin was
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