SILENT WEAPONS OF WAR My research for this story began amid the startling news of the chemical attack on the Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, and of chemical weapons being used in Syria. I knew about mustard gas in WWI, because my
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Recently I conducted a little social history survey on how the various towns and villages of the Blue Mountains are perceived. Do they have a distinct character? Well certainly most of them do. Most surprising of all to me was that Glenbrook is considered by many to
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MILES FRANKLIN AND HER BRILLIANT IDEA Many literary figures of the day visited Miles Franklin (1879-1954) at her home in the Sydney suburb of Carlton. The author of the beloved book My Brilliant Career, referred to the house as, ‘My old humpy.’ A delightful custom developed of
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The sculptor Tom Bass (1916-2010) was born in Lithgow, while his father was working at the Small Arms Factory. Richard Neville (1941-2016) spent much of his later life in the Blue Mountains village of Blackheath. Both men
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In February 1938, 15 countries from what was then known as The British Empire, assembled in Sydney for what would be the last Empire Games until well after the Second World War. It was a huge occasion, especially as the event coincided with Sydney’s 150th anniversary. After
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There is an old saying….‘Life is a lottery‘ 😎 A WINDFALL FOLLOWING ON FROM WHEN THE BANK OF AUSTRALIA WENT BUST In 1848 Angus McDonald from Bolwarra (near Maitland) bought a ticket in New South Wales’ first official lottery. It was held as a means of dispersing
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At the beginning of March, 1841 there was a devastating fire at the Albion Mills, in Sydney’s Darling Harbour. The owners, Messrs Hughes and Hosking, were shipping agents and importers. Many Sydney merchants had produce stored at the mill and suffered serious losses. Hughes and Hosking took
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The New Ivanhoe Hotel is located on the Great Western Highway at Blackheath in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. It changed ownership recently after many years and has been renovated The following photo was taken before the update, but fortunately its art-deco interior has been
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A LIGHT-HEARTED ‘JOURNEY’ AROUND SYDNEY SUBURBS Currently Sydney is comprised of 658 suburbs. That’s because the city became so spread out when most of us lived on quarter acre blocks. Let’s face it, you could fit the residents of leafy Killara into one inner city high-rise. The
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The Bowden family was lost when the S.S. Waratah disappeared without trace in 1909. enroute to London from Australia. The full story can be read HERE. Among the 211 passengers and crew on board, six members of the Bowden family were listed, travelling third class.
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