Sir Francis Smith(1809-1909) was Tasmania’s Chief Justice and also its fifth Premier. He lived in a grand home in prestigious Holebrook Place, which formed part of Hobart’s Davey Street. On May 24, 1870 Sir Francis and his wife Sarah hosted a party to celebrate Queen Victoria’s
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Amy Alfreda Vickery inherited two warehouses in Sydney’s Goulburn Street when her wealthy father Ebenezer Vickery died in 1906. Two years later the warehouses would fund a mansion Amy built on The Boulevarde in Strathfield, called Lauriston. Miss Vickery’s other indulgence was philately and she built up
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This interesting piece has been contributed by a long term associate of mine, Robin Walsh. Robin is acknowledged as Australia’s foremost expert on the Macquarie era. For many years he was Librarian at Macquarie University. He edited and compiled the book, In Her Own Words; the Writings
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Like most people born and bred in Tasmania, I have a number of treasured Huon pine items in my home (now in the NSW Blue Mountains). I have just finished reading a book by Brenden Ward about a fabulous grand piano made a few years ago from
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FOR THE FIRST PART OF THE SIRIUS COVE STORY, CLICK HERE. In 1913, above Sirius Cove on Sydney Harbour, a new zoo was under construction….Taronga Park Zoo. One of the many labourers was Herman Thiel. Thiel was German born, but had been in Australia since 1877, when
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In 1941 The Advocate published an artist’s impression of a new Ovaltine factory at Quoiba (near Devonport) in Tasmania. Ovaltine was essentially made from barley, eggs and milk, which Tasmania could produce in the necessary quantities despite wartime restrictions. Most people used it as a comforting hot
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It’s hard to believe that when the Duchess of Cornwall and York visited Tasmania in 1901, debate raged over whether she should be presented with a rug of platypus fur or, alternatively, that of the black brush tail possum. 😨 The level of excitement in Australia over
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Don’t you wish someone still made biscuits such as raspberry filled Huon Hearts ❤️❤️😍and Tassie Creams? The latter featured chocolate filling and were stamped with a little map of Tasmania. I don’t know when the last Huon Heart rolled off the production line, but they were among
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The grave of 37 year old Lachlina Elizabeth Scott Walker in Tasmania’s Longford Pioneer Cemetery raises an interesting question. What was the origin of her unusual first name? Here is the registration of her birth; Now in my opinion Lachlina was named for a colonial
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Vita-Weat biscuits were introduced in Australia in 1932, by the UK company Peek Frean’s. For many years the factory was located in the Sydney suburb of Ashfield. The factory moved into its striking, art-deco building in 1937. A clock tower (shown in the above photo) was a
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