My Articles

LIFE’S UPS AND DOWNS FOR A LITTLE KING PARROT

LIFE'S UPS AND DOWNS FOR A LITTLE KING PARROT

Driving into our Blue Mountains property after visiting Sydney recently we almost ran over a juvenile king parrot. I had to hop out of the car and shoo him off the driveway. He was too busy with an acorn he’d found to think about the dangers of

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DEATH BY STRYCHNINE & A ‘WILL’ TO FIND JUSTICE

DEATH BY STRYCHNINE & A 'WILL' TO FIND JUSTICE

Mrs Margaret Roche was a hard working, shrewd business woman. She rose from the position of barmaid to become the owner of considerable property. Included were two hotels in Queensland; the Telegraph Hotel at Charleville and the property she lived in, the Claren Hotel, in the small

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A CRIME AT THE YORK STREET CIGARETTE KIOSK

A CRIME AT THE YORK STREET CIGARETTE KIOSK

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

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ARTHUR STREETON & A TRAGEDY AT GLENBROOK

ARTHUR STREETON & A TRAGEDY AT GLENBROOK

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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FRENCH FLAVOUR POPS UP AT THE VICTORY CAFE

FRENCH FLAVOUR  POPS UP  AT THE VICTORY CAFE

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!

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TYRANNY OF THE TRAVEL DIARY

 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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EDITOR DES AND THE HOPLESS FROG

EDITOR DES AND THE HOPLESS FROG

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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ALICE BROENIMANN; BLACKHEATH’S ACROBAT

ALICE BROENIMANN; BLACKHEATH'S  ACROBAT

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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THE ACROBAT WHO TOOK REFUGE IN BLACKHEATH

THE ACROBAT WHO TOOK REFUGE IN BLACKHEATH

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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DEATH AT SEA; ‘I ONLY GAVE HIM PLUMS AND BISCUITS!’

DEATH AT SEA; 'I ONLY GAVE HIM PLUMS AND BISCUITS!'

This case was so bizarre that it was recalled thirty five years later. IN THE BEGINNING… 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

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