My Articles

HEART OF HARTLEY

HEART OF HARTLEY

My partner Rob and I headed west to the historic New South Wales village of Hartley in the days before Covid. We wanted to visit the Talisman Gallery, in the hope of finding an iron sculpture for a eucalypt tree stump in our garden. I had in

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THE CONIFER TREE WONGAS

THE CONIFER TREE WONGAS

AUGUST 2020 AND THE WONGAS ARE STILL IN BREEDING OVERDRIVE. I BLAME COVID-19; THEY MUST FEEL THE NEED TO INCREASE THEIR NUMBERS IN CASE OF CROSS-SPECIES INFECTION. After producing two single chicks over a Blue Mountains winter (yes, I did tell them it wasn’t the right season)

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THE MYSTERIOUS PROFESSOR BONNER

THE MYSTERIOUS  PROFESSOR BONNER

Professor Bonner was a self-styled hypnotist, touring the eastern states of Australia in the early part of the 20th century. On January 30 1906, the professor was in Ballarat, performing with Bostock and Wombwell’s Circus. As part of his headline act, a pocket knife was secreted in

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TAWNY FROGMOUTH – A GOOD NEIGHBOUR

TAWNY FROGMOUTH - A GOOD NEIGHBOUR

Did you ever have a tawny frogmouth take up residence in your garden? What a strange but lovely creature. Never steals your fruit and scarcely makes a sound. He is certainly imposing when he wakes up at dusk and prepares to go hunting. Look out lizards and

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JARDINS….LITTLE TREASURES OF THE LOT

JARDINS....LITTLE TREASURES OF THE LOT

It is mid winter here at Blackheath in the Blue Mountains, cold and very wet. I have been watching Monty Don’s TV series on French gardens. Oh dear, the longing it evokes is almost physically painful. How long will it be before we can enjoy that beautiful

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WILLIAM SINGLETON – BONE SETTER AND TEA BREWER

WILLIAM SINGLETON - BONE SETTER AND  TEA BREWER

William Singleton was my great-great grandfather. He was transported to Tasmania for life in 1828, aboard the convict ship Manilus. As with most convicts his crime was theft, in this case cheese, bread and bacon. Oh dear, a seventeen year old brickie’s lad gets very hungry. During

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DIP OUT! EXTRAORDINARY LETTERS FOLLOW THE 1975 DISMISSAL

DIP OUT! EXTRAORDINARY LETTERS FOLLOW  THE 1975 DISMISSAL

Many of us were fascinated to read the recently released, vice-regal correspondence leading up to the dismissal of the Whitlam government in November 1975 . However, as a born and bred Tasmanian I was intrigued by two letters written the following year, but prompted by the same

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OWNER BUILDERS – MR S. BOWERBIRD AND MR B. CONOLLY

OWNER BUILDERS - MR S. BOWERBIRD AND MR B. CONOLLY

For what seems a very long time I have been following two building projects here in the Blue Mountains’ village of Blackheath. I am beginning to wonder whether either of them will ever reach completion. The first of the intrepid owner builders is Mr Satin Bowerbird, of

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PINCHED PEGS; A COCKY AND A BOWERBIRD

PINCHED PEGS; A COCKY AND A BOWERBIRD

Recently, Marney Daniel posted on the Blue Mountains Community FB site that a sulphur crested cockatoo had stolen a bag of pegs from her clothes line. She was from further ‘down the hill’ at Glenbrook. Marney apologized if the pegs were littering someone’s backyard, and asked everyone

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A NEW COURTING SEAT FOR THE INDEFATIGABLE WONGAS

A NEW COURTING SEAT FOR THE INDEFATIGABLE  WONGAS

Warwick and Wendy Wonga from Blackheath have been using a rustic wooden ‘courting seat’ in my garden for quite a few years. These Australian native pigeons are monogamous, and mate for life. Unfortunately, their seat has begun to show signs of wear and tear. Well, they do

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