A look at safe breaking in Australia back in the day. Picking a padlock or manipulating tumblers on a combination lock was generally confined to a few experts with sensitive fingers and acute hearing. It wasn’t easy, and of course the contents could be disappointing to say
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The other day two strange little, big footed birds came tumbling down the steps outside my kitchen window at Blackheath. When I described them to my partner he said, ‘Oh yes, I’m sure I’ve seen them too, down by the duck pond.‘ We live close by the
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Thai Silk, in the Blue Mountains village of Blackheath, is our closest restaurant. It’s housed in what was once a private residence, at 124 Wentworth Street. My partner Rob and I live just a few minutes walk away. OK, so a bit of a negative first. It
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Revenge on ‘Bad Santa’ by Editor Des. Warning, there is a degree of violence depicted in this story. Every Christmas there is a confrontation at our Blue Mountains home between an elderly, battery powered walking Santa and my young associate Editor Des. Santa marches straight up to
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Martin Ryan owned a grazing property at Thalia, a few miles from Wycheproof in the region of Victoria known as the Wimmera. Ryan had originally purchased a modest holding at just 30 shillings per acre. Over the years he increased his property to 3,000 acres. By 1928
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Mining for gold on Tasmania’s rugged west coast in the 1880s presented extreme challenges. However, some of the State’s largest nuggets were found at Rocky River, about 26 miles (over 40 kilometres) from the small town of Corinna, In 1906 an ex- miner calling himself Mugil
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French knitting is sometimes called spool knitting. I wonder whether kids still do this? My sister and I loved it. Tasmanian winters are long and cold and this fireside occupation was perfect. Little boys enjoyed it too. My cousin Frank grew up in Deloraine and told me
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It is said that sandwiches were popularized by John Montagu, 4th earl of Sandwich (1718-1792). Well they were named in his honour, so presumably it’s true. It happened due to the fact that the British peer was addicted to gambling. A French travel book claimed he requested
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Acer Corner, our studio apartment at Blackheath in the NSW Blue Mountains is perfect for guests without a car. I was prompted to write this after a young soldier came to stay, on leave from his base in the Northern Territory. He travelled by train, Most people
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‘La Donna’ was a journalist for many years at The Advocate, a Tasmanian newspaper known affectionally as ‘The Spud Digger’. In 1935 she wrote a fascinating, lengthy article on Mary Shadbolt, widow of my relative Linden Shadbolt. I always wondered about La Donna’s real identity, and have
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