My Articles

THE AURORA & THE ANTARCTIC BOTTLE – A MYSTERY

THE AURORA & THE  ANTARCTIC BOTTLE - A MYSTERY

On May  7 1927 a strange story appeared in the Newcastle Sun. It said that  a Mr George Bressington  had been walking along a beach at Tuggerah, on the NSW Central Coast, when he  unearthed a half buried wine bottle.  On one side  there was an etching

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MOLONG & THE EARL OF HARDWICKE – AN UPDATE

MOLONG & THE  EARL OF HARDWICKE - AN UPDATE

STOP PRESS- THE STORY OF  MOLONG AND THE EARL HAS ANOTHER CHAPTER….SEE END OF THIS PIECE! It’s not often a small  outback town can boast of having an Earl open  their garden fete, but that’s what happened at Molong in 1897. The man  responsible for the coup 

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THOMAS FINCH; SUSPECT IN THE HOBART MUSEUM ROBBERY.

THOMAS FINCH;  SUSPECT IN THE HOBART MUSEUM ROBBERY.

Thomas Finch, as he called himself, was caught up in the 1905 Hobart Museum robbery. To read the first part of the story, CLICK HERE.  On March 31 1905, the  White Star liner S.S. Persic arrived in Hobart enroute to London. Two days later , a passenger

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ROBBERY AT THE HOBART MUSEUM

ROBBERY AT THE HOBART MUSEUM

A robbery occurred  at the Hobart Museum (now The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery)  on  the night of April 16 1905. It  was believed to be the work of  mainland criminals , targeting items  which could be melted down and sold as bullion. Security at the institution

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DR BLAND & THE DAGUERREOTYPE

  Visitors to the new photography gallery at the Library of NSW in Sydney’s Macquarie Street will see a tiny portrait of Dr William Bland (1789-1868). Dating from  1844 0r 1845, it is believed to be the earliest existing  photo taken in Australia. Dr Bland was the

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ARSENIC AND BURNT SUGAR

ARSENIC AND BURNT SUGAR

Hospital food still gets a bad rap, but honestly it’s not too bad. However, back in the 1920’s food from home was greatly appreciated  by patients such as  WWI  veteran Francis Wooldridge.. Wooldridge was a married man with six children when he went off to war in

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THE RAJAH QUILT…AN OPPORTUNITY MISSED!

THE RAJAH QUILT...AN OPPORTUNITY MISSED!

  From The Hobart Town Advertiser, July 20 1841.  The Rajah, female convict ship, from England, 5th April, arrived last night. Any important news will be given in our 2nd edition.   Farewell to old England forever. From The Australasian, February 9 1935 E. Winifred Ure, of

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EVERGLADES HOUSE – AN ART DECO GEM

EVERGLADES HOUSE - AN ART DECO GEM

On a recent (very rare) sunny day here in the Blue Mountains, my partner Rob and I visited the recently restored Everglades House at Leura. I had read  a feature about it  in the January 2024 National Trust magazine. Even though we live nearby at Blackheath, it

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FELTEX HOUSE

FELTEX HOUSE

I remember Feltex as a rather dingy, grey floor covering that only poor people had in the 1950s. Mind you, my family only had linoleum and mats! Apparently Feltex did come in other colours. The following advertisement was published  in the Australian Women’s Weekly in 1952. The

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SWAN, SORRY…’SNAKE’ ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE

SWAN, SORRY...'SNAKE'  ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE

As a born and bred Tasmanian I’m ashamed to admit that  I had never heard of  remote Swan Island and its lighthouse. It is located  five miles off the north-east coast of Tasmania. The tower was built in 1845 using convict labour, poor souls. An unusual feature

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