When the Launceston epidemic of 1903 began, so too did rumours of who had introduced the dread disease of smallpox to the city. Human nature being what it is, an ‘ outsider’ was suspected. Just as with the conspiracy theories we are familiar with today (including
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In 1917 John George ‘Jack’ Nelson established a stylish cafe at 152 Brisbane Street in Launceston. The premises were actually owned by his mother. The Majestic Cafe included a tea room, where Jack’s wife Kate was a charming hostess. The furniture was of Tasmanian oak covered in
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With the arrival of winter here in the Blue Mountains I bought a packet of Golden Crumpets. My partner Rob and I both commented that it was exactly the same red and gold packet we remembered from our 1950s Tasmanian childhoods. It also had that unusually soft
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BEFORE READING THIS ARTICLE IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE READ PART ONE OF ERNEST’S STORY. In 1937 twenty year old Ernest Renault from Launceston became the world champion banana eater. Yes…strange, but true. 😎 After a difficult childhood there was a brief period when the possibilities of
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Earnest Renault did not have the best start in life. He was born illegitimate in 1917. His mother Violet successfully sued his father, Raymond (later named as Ronald) Holmes, for maintenance. Oddly enough Violet married a William Holmes in 1919, when Ernest was two years old. I
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On November 4 1811, Governor Lachlan Macquarie left Sydney aboard the Lady Nelson to carry out an inspection tour of Van Diemen’s Land. He was accompanied by his wife Elizabeth. After several weeks based in Hobart, the official party made its way north. By early December they
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