SYDNEY A-Z – A LIGHT HEARTED SOCIAL HISTORY

SYDNEY A-Z - A LIGHT HEARTED SOCIAL HISTORY

A LIGHT-HEARTED ‘JOURNEY’ AROUND SYDNEY SUBURBS Currently Sydney is comprised of  658 suburbs.  That’s because the city became  so spread out when most of us lived on quarter acre blocks. Let’s face it, you could fit the residents of leafy Killara  into one inner city high-rise. The

Read more

EDITOR DES ABOARD THE INDIAN PACIFIC

EDITOR DES ABOARD THE INDIAN PACIFIC

TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWING OK, all packed for our trip across the Nullarbor on the Indian Pacific,  It’s a VERY long train. Had to catch the train to Sydney first.  For heavens sake…..why couldn’t it pick us up on the way????   Pretty poor service considering my status.

Read more

The Story Of the Editor Des Rose, by Himself.

The Story Of the Editor Des Rose, by Himself.

SCROLL TO BOTTOM FOR LATEST UPDATE! My guardian Pauline Conolly grew a special rose called Hot Chocolate. ‘Come and smell it Des’ she said. So I did, just to make her happy. I took a deep breath of the perfume and then…wham!! A  *#@!*!*# bee stung me

Read more

THE KATOOMBA POET…….EVERY WORD A PEARL!

THE KATOOMBA POET.......EVERY WORD A PEARL!

In 1928 the  Sydney publishers Angus and Robertson received an enquiry letter and a sample of work from poet  Mr F. C. Meyer of Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. To say they were not impressed is something of an under-statement. Now you might

Read more

URBAN IBIS

URBAN IBIS

According to urban mythology, Sydney’s Sacred Ibis are actually a scary mutation of the seagull. The story goes that over succeeding generations, one strain of gull became larger, more aggressive, and far more athletic, until…..voila!; Instead of lolling about at the Sydney Cricket Ground as seagulls do,

Read more

TASMANIAN FOOTBALL FOLKLORE

TASMANIAN FOOTBALL FOLKLORE

 AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL RULES I grew up in the small Tasmanian town of Ulverstone, where Australian Rules Football was the sport we were passionate about.  Ulverstone’s colours  have always been  black and red, hence their name, The Robins. In the 1960’s football was untainted by the corporate sector and

Read more

TRIBUTE TO THE AUSSIE MATCHBOX

TRIBUTE TO THE AUSSIE MATCHBOX

The familiar Redheads matches were first made in Australia in 1909  by Bryant & May, in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond. However, another brand came to the fore during World War II. There was scarcely an aspect of life in  this country not affected by rationing, and

Read more

CONDENSED MILK -HEAVEN IN A TIN

CONDENSED MILK -HEAVEN IN A TIN

Condensed milk has been around for generations. I do love the following  snippet, published in an Australian newspaper in 1901; When condensed milk was first introduced thirty years ago  the idea was scoffed at. The inventor carried the entire daily  supply for New York in a ten-quart pail, delivering

Read more

Social history and Sydney’s Easter Show.

Social history and Sydney's Easter Show.

 TIMES ARE A’ CHANGING AT THE SHOW As I wandered   around Sydney’s Royal Easter Show on my last visit I was struck by how accurately this iconic event reflects changes in our society.  The cookery section is a classic case in point. Bakery entries  have dwindled  alarmingly

Read more