My Articles

TWO BRISBANE BEAUTIES, AND A MELBA CONNECTION

TWO BRISBANE BEAUTIES, AND A MELBA CONNECTION

On April 2  1905,   the Brisbane Courier  published an article on two young women. The girls were close  friends, with a lot in common.  They were both  daughters of  Brisbane publicans, both  from Irish Catholic families, and both convent educated. They  also shared a love of

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WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS IS…BUSH WEEK?

WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS IS...BUSH WEEK?

                      Today we romanticize the  Australian bush,  but a century ago the term had  more  negative connotations. The pioneers who had cleared the land  were often perceived as dim witted yokels by their  city slicker cousins.   This

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BLACK TAXIS AND TEA AT HARRODS

BLACK TAXIS AND TEA AT HARRODS

THIS IS THE SECOND INSTALLMENT OF A TWO PART STORY. A rather dramatic first trip overseas led to the writing  of  BAD DAY  IN BARCELONA.    In her original  guest post,  Lorraine Bendall  told  of  how she fell victim to  a pickpocket.  The incident had serious repercussions. 

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BLACK DAY IN BARCELONA!

BLACK DAY IN BARCELONA!

This guest post, was written by Lorraine Bendall, a very special lady from Melbourne.  Her story is so honest, and completely free of self-pity.  I confess  it  made me cry when I first read it.  Nevertheless,  it displays great spirit  and courage. What happened to Lorraine is

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LOST AND FOUND IN OLD SYDNEY TOWN

LOST AND FOUND IN OLD SYDNEY TOWN

Hello, Editor Des here. I have been in Sydney lately  doing some historical research on Queen Victoria and her husband Albert. However, my trip turned into a real life drama So here’s what happened. I went into the city  on the bus with my guardian, Pauline Conolly.

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OBSTACLE COURSE OLYMPIAN

OBSTACLE COURSE OLYMPIAN

Frederick Claude Vivian  Lane was born in Manly on February 2 1880. He nearly drowned in Sydney Harbour when he was four years old, after falling off a punt. His  older brother saved him, but Fred  thought it might be wise to learn to swim (or perhaps

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LOST AT POZIERES

LOST AT POZIERES

On May 12 1915, a 21 year old  clerk with the New South Wales shire of Murrumbidgee enlisted in World War I. His name was Eric Richard Conolly. He became a member of the 3rd Battalion A.I.F. Initially, Private Conolly served at Gallipoli, and was on the

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GOVERNOR MACQUARIE’S CAMPAIGN DESK

GOVERNOR MACQUARIE'S CAMPAIGN DESK

One of the most personal and evocative relics held by the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales is a campaign desk once owned by Governor Lachlan Macquarie. Lachlan Macquarie and his wife Elizabeth disembarked from HMS Dromedary at Sydney Cove on 31 December 1809. They were

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REFLECTIONS ON A VISIT TO NICE

REFLECTIONS ON  A VISIT TO NICE

THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE TRAVEL SECTION OF THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN My partner and I are driving through Nice when  a group of local youths begin jeering at a cavalcade of stereo blasting Ferraris. With complete disregard for following  traffic, all three drivers  screech

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ALL STOPS TO KATOOMBA; AND THE PERFECT PIZZA

ALL STOPS TO KATOOMBA; AND THE PERFECT PIZZA

In  Australia’s bicentennial year of 2000, artist Vernon Treweeke completed a mural of  an imagined  night train journey  through the villages of the magnificent Blue Mountains of New South Wales. The mural decorates the walls of the pedestrian  tunnel beneath  Katoomba station. Three  of the villages were

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