While in England some time ago I was shown an ancient piece of scrimshaw in a private collection. My interest was aroused because the whale’s tooth was carved with an image (artist unknown) of a three-masted sailing ship. On one side was the tantalizing inscription; STORES SHIP
Read more →One of the difficulties I found in writing a book about the river Thames was making those really hard decisions about what should go in! So much history…..so much intrigue and scandal. Naturally I was tempted to include far too much about my beloved Harleyford Estate at
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Florence Campbell was born in Woolloomooloo, Sydney on September 5th 1845, the eldest daughter of Ann and Robert Campbell. Her father had made his fortune as a merchant, and in trading in gold after the big strike at Ophir in the Central West of New South Wales.
Read more →Hello, this is Editor Des back from the West Country of Olde England. I’ve chosen this little piece because I liked the story Pauline told me about the nursery rhyme and the 15th century cathedral clock at Exeter. I’m sure you know you how it goes;
Read more →There is such a strong link between Christmas and bells. Images of them adorn our trees and greeting cards, and the faithful are summoned to church by them on Christmas morning. I wasn’t sure whether to post this article as history or humour, but the humour is
Read more →A DAY WITH DR JOHNSON by EDITOR DES Well I wrote this story a long time ago, but it’s Dr Johnson’s birthday tomorrow, so I’m sharing it with you again, I’m sorry the photos are so crappy, but that’s not my fault! Oh dear… where to start?!
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LINDEN SHADBOLT – the child who stayed behind The following is a continuation of my convict ancestors’ story The Exoneration of Solomon Shadbolt. The first piece was prompted by what I saw as an unfair representation of my three times great-grandfather, in the late Maurice Shadbolts’s memoir
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A STORY ABOUT MY G-G-G-GRANDFATHER When Australian author Kate Grenville was researching her convict ancestor for the novel Secret River, she admitted to feeling slightly anxious about the nature of his crime. Theft was one thing, but what if he had been transported for something really serious;
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A DICTIONARY IS BORN IN ‘STRAYA’ In 1812 the convict James Hardy Vaux (pictured ) produced what is credited as being the first Australian dictionary: A New and Comprehensive Vocabulary of the Flash Language. It was essentially a compilation of slang used by the ‘flash’ criminal element
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This brief article is a tribute to a very special Frenchman; Dr Auguste Ambroise Tardieu, who was born in Paris in 1818. Dr Tardieu headed the team of French doctors who performed a post-mortem on the disinterred body of English schoolgirl Marian Marsden in 1854.
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