York Street runs parallel to George Street in the centre of Sydney. Just after World War II it was the scene of a brutal murder. The victim, Jeanette Wicks. In 1935, Jeanette Wicks divorced her husband of seven years on the grounds of desertion. She subsequently supported
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Artist Arthur Streeton went to live at Glenbrook, in the lower Blue Mountains of New South Wales, for several months in 1891. For a pound a week he had rented four roomed Daisy Cottage, located by the station master’s house. His original intention was to paint a
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Recently my partner Rob and I enjoyed a pop-up, French themed meal at the Victory Theatre Café in Blackheath. We were joined by lots of eager locals. Many of us are sad that chef David doesn’t open regularly for dinner and hope he might change his mind!
Read more →KEEP YOUR TRAVEL PLANS TO YOURSELF! When my next door neighbour began to plan a once-in-a-lifetime world trip she asked if I had any advice. ‘Yes,’ I said firmly; ‘Don’t tell a soul you are going. Leave notes for friends and relatives to be posted once your
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In 1984 my darling mother Myra was suffering from the ovarian cancer that took her life. While I was visiting her in Tasmania I noticed a cheeky little frog on her bedside table. ‘He cheers me up’, she said. I could see why; he was adorable. Froggy
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In October 1949, talented young acrobat Alice Broenimann fled her Swiss Stars troupe, who were performing at the Tivoli theatre in Sydney. She had fallen out with the group’s manager, Eugene Lambart. The vivacious 18 year old hired a taxi and travelled to Blackheath, in the Blue
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Following WWII, Swiss trapese artist Eugene Lambart and his wife Fritzi formed an act with a young Norwegian strongman, Arne Selfors. They looked about for an acrobat to complete their new show and came across two young sisters in Berne. The girls’ father, Mr Broenimann was a
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On February 16 1901, the S.S. Talune was moored at the wharf in the New Zealand city of Wellington. It was ready to leave for Sydney. A young woman who had crossed with the vessel from Lyttleton, in the South Island, approached chief steward James Fletcher with
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My inspiration for this story on the Aussie magpie was an amazing piece of free-form machine embroidery by Lynda Worthington. For someone like me who struggles to take up a hem, it was mind-blowing. There is enormous affection for magpies in Australia. They are so engaging and
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Carpets of autumn leaves are truly the Axminsters of the earth. I know there are wonderful carpets of blossom in spring, but autumn is definitely the main period for appreciating Mother Nature’s work. It’s one of the main reasons I moved from Sydney to the Blue Mountains
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