My Articles

EDITOR DES AND THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS

EDITOR DES AND THE  SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS

Hello. It’s nearly Christmas and I have made my very own tree in the garden. I think I have done quite a good job. I pinch…sorry, borrowed the ornaments from Mother Nature. The tree is called Lycopodium, and the dinosaurs used to eat it! Well it has

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BLACKHEATH’S CHRISTMAS MARKET

BLACKHEATH'S CHRISTMAS MARKET

The Growers’ Markets in Backheath are always wonderful, but there was something a bit special about the twilight Christmas market last night. My partner and I arrived early when the stallholders were still setting up around 4.00pm. You simply cannot celebrate the  festive season without cherries. We

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TICK TOCK – SYDNEY’S POST OFFICE CLOCK

TICK TOCK - SYDNEY'S POST OFFICE CLOCK

When the James Barnet designed  Sydney G.P.O clock Tower was constructed in the 1890s there was a drawn-out dispute over the type of bells to be installed. Should the choice be traditional, heavy bells, or would a lighter, tubular variety be safer? Traditional won, but some still

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THE WINE CASK……ELEVATION TO ICON

THE WINE CASK......ELEVATION TO ICON

BOTTLER  OF AN IDEA MATE! The ubiquitous wine cask was invented by Mr Thomas Angrove, and patented in  1965. As you may know, Thomas was an Aussie; a wine maker from Renmark in South Australia. His original version was fairly rudimentary. It was simply a polyethylene bladder 

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TASMANIA’S OWN ROAD RUNNERS

TASMANIA'S OWN ROAD RUNNERS

Tasmanian native hens were part of my 1950s rural childhood, but I must admit I gave them little thought.  This may be because they would  simply shoot across my vision like the  cartoon character  Roadrunner. They  are flightless, but can motor along  at up to 50 kilometres

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CROSSING THE LINE IN BLACKHEATH

CROSSING THE LINE IN BLACKHEATH

HOW TO GIVE A HELPING HAND TO FIRE IMPACTED BLACKHEATH Despite living in Blackheath for nearly twenty years, I’m embarrassed to admit that  I still make new discoveries. Hard to believe I know….it’s not exactly a huge metropolis.  In this instance it was the small business centre

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John Brush, the Sydney Saddler

John Brush, the Sydney Saddler

My interest in John Brush saddles began when Brendan Morris found a rare survivor on his farm in New South Wales. He posted some photos in  The Australian Social History Facebook Group. John Brush established a saddlery and harness store in Sydney in 1840. It was during

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KADOORIE FARM AND GARDENS

KADOORIE FARM AND GARDENS

ORIGINS OF THE FARM Following the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during World War II, many farmers were destitute and unable to produce sufficient food for the enormous influx of refugees. In 1951, Hong Kong businessman Lord Lawrence Kadoorie and his brother Sir Horace Kadoorie, formed an

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Editor Des and the Wild Cherries of Blackheath

Editor Des and the Wild Cherries of Blackheath

Hello, Well my guardian Pauline Conolly and I  have been documenting the life of a satin bowerbird. It lives in Memorial Park, Blackheath, here in the Blue Mountains. I’ve become quite friendly with him. Sometimes I take him a blue treasure, because he collects them to impress

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LAURIE’S COPY BOOK

LAURIE'S COPY BOOK

Sorting through documents while researching our family history I found a section of one of my Uncle Laurie’s school copy books. It had been kept as a treasured memento by his mother after his death in WWII.  Each page was dated; from May 3 1932 through to

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