My Articles

MUSEUMS THAT MESS WITH THE MIND!!

MUSEUMS THAT MESS WITH THE MIND!!

Hello, Editor Des here.   Well I like visiting medical museums.  In fact,  I quite fancy myself as a doctor. Last year I  performed  a little operation  on my neighbor  Fred, after he  carelessly lost a second  leg. It was reasonably successful.   These  museums  can be

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DOMED, BUT DOOMED; SYDNEY’S GARDEN PALACE DISASTER

DOMED, BUT DOOMED; SYDNEY'S GARDEN PALACE DISASTER

One historical event I really wish I could have attended is London’s  Great Exhibition of 1851.  Those  inventive, enthusiastic Victorians  put on a display that dazzled the world. It was housed  in a building so innovative it scarcely seemed real; the remarkable Crystal Palace. Of course eventually

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A MISTY WALK IN BLACKHEATH

A MISTY WALK IN BLACKHEATH

I rather like misty days, they remind  me of cool flannels being placed on fevered brows. Our property adjoins the Blue Mountains’  National Park and sometimes bushwalkers  become disoriented, blundering  into my garden. I point them in the direction of Govett’s Leap, with a gentle warning to

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Horatia Nelson; ‘Who Was My Mother?’

Horatia Nelson; 'Who Was My Mother?'

When Horatia Nelson Ward died at Pinner near London in March 1881, a brief notice in the local paper recorded her as ‘Widow of the late Rev. Philip Ward, Vicar of Tenterden, Kent, in her 81st year.’ However, an article in the Times several days later referred

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MR S. BOWERBIRD OF BLACKHEATH

MR S. BOWERBIRD OF BLACKHEATH

Introducing Mr Satin bowerbird outside his Blue Mountains  home. His address is No. 1 Memorial Park. Blackheath 2785. This is a very well located, private property only a two minute walk to the village (twenty seconds in full flight). Swimming pool complex nearby and someone to cut

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ALL ABOARD THE BLUE MOUNTAINS TRAINS! 🚈

ALL ABOARD THE BLUE MOUNTAINS TRAINS! 🚈

Our new trains are coming.  This could mean that generations of problems are over.  🍾🍾🍾🍾 HISTORIC COMMUTER COMPLAINTS The following was taken  from The Daily Telegraph in May 1928; The trains of New South Wales are notoriously dirty and slow, and a great deal of the inefficiency

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BARTON PARK AMBUSH – WHAT MOTIVATED A MURDERER?

BARTON PARK AMBUSH - WHAT MOTIVATED  A MURDERER?

It is likely that the person who shot two people at Barton Park, Wallerawang, (New South Wales) in 1948 is still alive. I have referred to him  here as Bennie Harvey. It’s not his real name, but  one his friends used at the time of the murders.

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Wattlebirds

Wattlebirds

Some people say there’s not much to love about  red wattlebirds. And yes, they are aggressive little blighters, with a rasping call. But the bird is actually  quite striking, with a striated chest  and pale yellow ‘undercarriage’. Then there are  those little  ‘wattles’  below the eyes that

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ALTITUDE CAFE; FULL OF AUSSIE ICONS

ALTITUDE CAFE; FULL OF AUSSIE ICONS

I was a bit disappointed when Blackheath’s Altitude Café moved last year, even if it was only next door. It had lost some of its ambience I thought. However, when I called in some time later everything had changed. One whole wall was devoted to a series

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KINDERGARTEN OF THE AIR

KINDERGARTEN OF THE AIR

In the latter years of  WWII  it was feared that Australia might be bombed, and because of this all  kindergartens were closed.  In their place a wonderful institution was born….Kindergarten of the Air. The programme was  launched on the ABC in  1943  by Lady Zara Gowrie, wife

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