WILLIAM WIMMERA, CHILD OF THE WOTJOBALUK The ruins of Ebenezer Aboriginal Mission are located near the tiny, West Wimmera settlement of Antwerp, 22 kilometres north of Dimboola, in western Victoria. Strangely enough, the history of the mission is entwined with that of a young Aboriginal boy, who
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OLD MEMORIES LINGER! I grew up on a hilltop farm in Tasmania….next stop ANTARCTICA! In winter, biting winds and sleet often prompted my father’s diary entries to begin, “Very rough day!” No wonder we appreciated my mother’s ‘comfort cooking’ ; rabbit pies, rich beef stews, pastries and
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Hello. Here is the first article from my trip to Lille, in northern France. Pauline Conolly helped me, but not very much. Dr Bob Conolly took the photographs. I hope you like our work. Editor Des. xxx IN THE BEGINNING In
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Australians have always been enthusiastic travelers. Sadly, ‘grey nomad’ caravanners and thousands of cruise passengers are now experiencing very difficult times. I was reflecting on this, and the fact that travel is not always pleasant. The word derives from the medieval Latin – trepalium; ‘an instrument of
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Hello, I’m Editor Des. I spend most my life buried away in the boring old Blue Mountains…and I don’t even eat gum leaves! However, Pauline Conolly, (she’s my guardian and employer) took me on a little tour of Sydney recently. We only went for a couple of
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The spectre of climate change and periods of prolonged drought have created an upsurge of interest in the growing of Australian native plants. However, we have been slow to embrace them. I suspect this would surprise and disappoint women pioneers such as Elizabeth Macarthur, who began
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MEMORIES FROM OLD COOKBOOKS We all become a bit nostalgic around Christmas time, especially when it comes to food. One of my favourite photos is of my mother Myra making Kiss Biscuits with her grandchildren back in the 1980s. Katey and Graeme now have children of their
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FLORAL MEMENTOES OF WAR The Gallipoli Rose (Cistus salvifolius) was the Australian War Memorial’s first commemorative plant. It grew on the bloody battlefields of Gallipoli. The sight of the flowers lifted the spirits of the Anzacs (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps), who brought home the seeds.
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ICE BLOCKS, TEN CENTS A POP! On April Fools’ Day 1978 Australian electronics entrepreneur Dick Smith arranged for a giant, fake iceberg to be towed into Sydney Harbour. In a co-ordinated campaign, 300 of his employees then rang various radio and television stations, saying ‘What on earth
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Shopping for clothes. 😨 Oh dear, I may be viewed as a disgrace to womanhood, but I detest it. It’s not that I don’t like to look nice, but it’s so time consuming and irritating. The older I get the more I try to avoid the whole
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