Around Christmas 1950, twin white cats were spotted atop the southern pylon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. There they remained. It seemed the pair had decided it was the best location in the city, with world class views. Well really, who could blame them? The snowy residents
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Max the parrot’s life could have ended before it really got going. We drove into our Blue Mountains property a couple of weeks ago and almost skittled him. He was nibbling on an acorn, completely oblivious to any danger. I had to hop out and shoo him
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The 1932 Melbourne Cup was truly an occasion to remember. It was won in extraordinary circumstances by a three year old stallion called Peter Pan. The horse was drop-dead gorgeous. His light chestnut body contrasted with a blonde mane and tail. He was owned by Mr Rodney
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Editor Des has been bird watching with me for the last few months, and becoming quite the ‘twitcher’. Unfortunately he has a lot to learn, which recently led to a head injury…. and a severe knock to his confidence. It should be remembered that a male satin
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South Australian Victor Richardson was a talented all-round sportsman. He excelled at tennis, golf baseball and Australian Rules Football. He captained Australia in cricket and played in the infamous ‘Bodyline’ cricket series alongside Don Bradman. With this in mind, perhaps we can forgive him for a bit
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My great-uncle James (Jim) Allen was a miner. At 32 he enlisted in WWI, then returned home to work in the rich Brisies tin mine at Derby, in north-eastern Tasmania. I have vague memories of my grandmother talking about relatives at Derby when I was a child,
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SUEPRISE SNOW……It’s weird when you wake up at the crack of dawn and open the front door to find the whole landscape has changed. Trousers might have been a sensible idea, Editor Des. What one earth! While we were sleeping the snow was quietly falling. We don’t
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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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Mrs Margaret Roche was a hard working, shrewd business woman. She rose from the lowly 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
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Where would we gardeners be without our wheelbarrows? I have early memories of being carted out in one by my older siblings. They have always provided fun for kids. I was interested to discover that the development of the wheelbarrow began in China around AD200. Chuko Liang,
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