Gardens are places of wonder, especially one like mine that borders the Australian bush. Here in the NSW Blue Mountains a eucalyptus tree was the source of great fun recently, but also a sad tale of pride coming before a fall.
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Kevin Budden grew up in the Sydney suburb of Randwick. He was fascinated by snakes, which he kept in a pit in his parents’ backyard. He had been bitten many times while catching and handling them, (five times in a single year) but this did not deter
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Mary Ann Harvey, the main subject of this piece, spent her entire adult life in the tiny coastal settlement of Bicheno, on Tasmania’s beautiful east coast. She is mentioned in this brief description of the community published in 1903. BICHENO – Three private homes, a school,
Read more →When WWII began, the Tasmanian government did not consider that air raid shelters and measures such as blackouts would be necessary. However, when Japan bombed Peal Harbour on December 7 1941 and subsequently attacked Darwin, everything changed. ‘Surface shelters in Tasmania should soon be an accomplished fact…….The
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The Australian born artist Hilda Rix (1884-1961) was living and working in France when war broke out in 1914. She abandoned her studio at the Etaples artists’ colony and fled to London with her widowed mother and her older sister Elsie. Many of her pictures were left
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Leonard George Shadbolt (son of Frank and Ethel Shadbolt) grew up in a home called Corra Lynn, in Helen Street, West Ulverstone. He enlisted in WWII on May 12 1941, initially serving in the Middle East, and subsequently in New Guinea. On October 10 1943 Leonard was
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When I was growing up on the North West Coast of Tasmania we would drive through Emu Bay on the way to Burnie. There was also the Emu Bay Railway, but for some reason I never associated these names with the actual presence of the birds. Recently
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Recently I have been struck by the similarities in building style between our local male bowerbird and my partner Rob, aka Bob the Builder. The pair are simultaneously constructing ‘decks’ here in the Blue Mountains at Blackheath. It’s all about precision, and never settling for second best.
Read more →One Tuesday morning early in August 1894, Tasmanian Jack Badger decided to sail his cutter May Queen from Stanley to Hummock Island in Bass Strait. The reason for his trip was never reported, but it almost cost him his life. Three weeks later he told his dramatic
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CONTINUED FROM COLIN WYATT’S BUTTERFLY HEIST English butterfly fancier Colin Wyatt had travelled all over Australia during the WWII, while serving with the R.A.A.F. It had allowed him to increase his already remarkable collection. However, there were gaps that he passionately wanted to fill, especially specimens
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