From 1953 until 1968, the Tasmanian government ran the Green Coach Line service to country towns. Now due to the curse of travel sickness I have dreadful childhood memories of being a passenger on those wretched buses. The Tasman Limited train was completely different, quite exciting really.
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Writers need to get out and about sometimes, otherwise our solitary profession would drive us to distraction. Plus, for a gardener like me there are too many distractions at home….such as roses! I have a ten minute walk to my village of Blackheath, and in a place
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It was a delight to see young ‘Blackheathens’ Luke and Fergus back at their lemonade stall in Soldiers’ Memorial Park this year during the Blackheath Rhododendron Festival. Apparently they made a decent profit in 2018, but I’m tipping an even better result this time around because they
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My father was not really a betting man, so I was surprised to come across mention of a racehorse called Rimfire in his farm diary for 1948; Rimfire was a six year chestnut, with unimpressive form ……. and sore legs after a recent (unsuccessful) outing. His usual
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Everyone wants to be at the Rhododendron Festival. It has been our day on display for such a long time. This gorgeous local was trying to escape through a picket fence in Park Avenue. I was looking forward to seeing my friend Larraine Home in the parade
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Hello, Editor Des here. Well Pauline went to a champagne preview of a dedicated children’s section at the New South Wales State Library recently. This week she asked me if I wanted to go and see it. Well of course, woman! I should have been invited to
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On Sunday, October 6 1929, the Commercial Bank of Australia in Enmore Road, Newtown was broken into and the contents of the safe stolen. The manager was away at the time, and the theft was reported by the caretaker, Bruce Bell. Mr Bell was required to sleep
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The name New Ivanhoe Hotel is a delightful contradiction in terms. Little has changed at this Blue Mountains pub in 70 years. It’s located at 231 Great Western Highway, Blackheath. I’ve been working on my new book here recently. The pub has just the right atmosphere for
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In 1860 Alfred Denison, brother of the then Governor-General, was leaving the colony and donated his collection of birds to the government. The only condition was that a suitable home be created for them. The site chosen was in Sydney’s Botanic Gardens, on the eastern boundary of
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Peter Kotz, a fellow social history buff, took the photo below. The rusting, 70 lb golden syrup drum was found on a rough bush track near Alice Springs. Golden syrup was such an integral part of life in the parched Australian outback. It replaced butter on a
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