The summer of 1957 in north west Tasmania was unusually dry. My father was forced to harness up our draught horses Bell and Nugget and use a sled to transport water to our farmhouse from a back paddock dam. He used 44 gallon drums covered with wet chaff bags for
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Condensed milk has been around for generations. I do love the following snippet, published in an Australian newspaper in 1901; When condensed milk was first introduced thirty years ago the idea was scoffed at. The inventor carried the entire daily supply for New York in a ten-quart pail, delivering
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GONE FISHING MATE Hello everyone, Editor Des here. You wouldn’t think that fishing could lead to big trouble would you? But believe me it can! Well I was riding around the garden one day when I thought I spotted a fish in a big water bowl. I
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A little paradise in the Mountains. FEATHERING MY NEST Living in what very much resembles a bird hide would not be to everyone’s taste, but it suits me. My mini home is surrounded by trees and shrubs…predominantly Australian natives, but certainly not exclusively. Is is actually a studio apartment,
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On February 4 1908, Australian military officials approved a site at the coal mining town of Lithgow in New South Wales for a small arms factory. The fact that coal could be delivered to the site very cheaply was an important factor in the choice. With the
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As a young woman, Joyce Cocks became an attendant (and later a buyer) at Sydney’s historic Mitchell Library. AN ARMED ROBBER INTRUDES In 1923 an armed man entered the building on Macquarie Street and removed three valuable paintings from a wall on the library’s third
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BOY RACER Guy Menzies was born in the Sydney suburb of Drummoyne in 1909, the son of a well known doctor. He was a handful for his parents from the word go. Sometimes he would pinch stationery from his father’s surgery and write sick notes to get out of
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A CHANGE OF AIR FOR MRS JOEL On April 15 1918, Mr David Joel and his wife Emily left Sydney by train for the Blue Mountains village of Wentworth Falls, about 95km (60 miles) west of the city. Forty seven year old. Mr Joel was a small
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In 1908, world heavyweight boxing champion Tommy Burns was about to fight the black American giant, Jack Johnson, the son of former slaves. It was to be the Canadian born champion’s 13th defense of his title. The location for the bout was the then open-air Sydney Stadium in
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