Mrs Eva Hallett arrived in the Blue Mountains town of Katoomba by rail in the autumn of 1916, accompanied by her 16 year old daughter Violet. The pair were from Brunswick in Victoria. For a few days they stayed in a well known boarding house. However, Mrs
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In 1916 The Paragon Café was established at Katoomba in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales by Greek immigrant Theo Simos and his family. It became an enormous success, and far more than a café. The art-deco interior still features a banquet room, and a ballroom
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‘I did but see her passing by…’ Prime Minister of Australia R.M. Menzies. (1963) Early in February 1954, a group of WWI diggers travelled down to Sydney to see the young Queen Elizabeth. She was on her first tour of Australia, following the coronation. Describing the occasion
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WELL HELLO AUNTY JACK! The Blue Mountains town of Katoomba has always been a bit retro, so what better place to open a 1950’s themed restaurant/café? Aunty Jacks in Katoomba Street is sheer bliss for Baby Boomers like me, who grew up playing the juke box
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In 1928 the Sydney publishers Angus and Robertson received an enquiry letter and sample poem from a Mr F. C. Meyers of Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. To say they were not impressed is something of an under-statement. Now you might imagine
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A LONG, HOT SUMMER. It has been such a dry winter here in the Blue Mountains. We have already had one total fire ban day and it’s only September. I notice my husband quietly clearing undergrowth, and testing the petrol fueled water pump. I’m glad he does
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Hello, Editor Des here. Well today I went to my favourite restaurant in the whole of the Blue Mountains. I took along my camera to show you what it’s like; Do you know what? It’s in an old church, so I think it might be specially blessed. I
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Hello, this is Editor Des from the Blue Mountains. Well I went to the Winter Magic Festival in Katoomba. Pauline didn’t want to take me because it gets a bit crowded, but I had a special assignment with the Blue Mountains Council, so she had to. Haha.
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LET’S SPEND A WHILE WITH A WONGA Let me introduce……the Wonga pigeon. The name derives from wonga-wonga, an Aboriginal name inspired by their call. Mind you, I would describe it as a
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JINGLE BELLS….. You could decorate a Christmas tree with the sweet, native bell flowers that flourish in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. In fact, I have done this in my garden at Blackheath. I used correas, cinnamon bells and apple berry blooms to adorn a
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