AIMEE EDOLS PAYS THE PRICE

AIMEE EDOLS PAYS THE PRICE

CONTINUING THE STORY OF SYDNEY SOCIALITE AIMÉE EDOLS . CLICK HERE FOR  PART ONE   In 1932, bankrupt Sydney socialite  Aimée Edols evaded police for nearly  six months.  She had turned for help  to an old  friend, Amy Styles, from nearby Vaucluse. Mrs Styles was a widow, whose husband  had drowned

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MRS EDOLS; SYDNEY’S MISSING SOCIETY MATRON

MRS EDOLS; SYDNEY'S MISSING SOCIETY MATRON

THE GOOD LIFE FOR MRS EDOLS The reception for the couple was held at the prestigious Australia Hotel . In 1930, 47 year old Aimee Edols was living  in  Sydney’s  fashionable  Eastern Suburbs.  Her husband  Ernest was a retired grazier, whose family had once owned  Burrawang, an extensive property at

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BLACKHEATH BOBBY!

BLACKHEATH BOBBY!

DID BLACKHEATH  REALLY NEED A BOBBY? During the summer of 1892 the cash box was stolen from the general store in  the Blue Mountains village of Blackheath. There was an immediate  call to appoint a policeman. Not everyone was in favour of this step, as the  following

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SCANDAL IN BLACKHEATH’S WENTWORTH STREET

SCANDAL IN  BLACKHEATH'S WENTWORTH STREET

Wentworth Street in the Blue Mountains village of Blackheath  is filled  with tourists  during April and May, when  the deciduous trees put on a spectacular display of  autumn colour. I live just around the corner and it’s always a pleasure to walk along the street on my way

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Social history and Sydney’s Easter Show.

Social history and Sydney's Easter Show.

 TIMES ARE A’ CHANGING AT THE SHOW As I wandered   around Sydney’s Royal Easter Show on my last visit I was struck by how accurately this iconic event reflects changes in our society.  The cookery section is a classic case in point. Bakery entries  have dwindled  alarmingly

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THE ‘MARCIA’ BICYCLE SIDECAR

THE 'MARCIA' BICYCLE SIDECAR

INTRODUCTION  –   I have always been impressed by my friend Marcia’s energy and love of the outdoors.  I have known her for quite  a few years, but  it was only recently that she mentioned this delightful aspect  of  her family history. It certainly  shed some light on

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SOCIAL HISTORY AND THE SATIN BOWERBIRD

SOCIAL HISTORY AND THE SATIN BOWERBIRD

Perhaps the most entertaining and interesting  bird in my Blue Mountains  garden is the  Australian Satin Bowerbird. The difference in appearance  between females and juveniles and the adult male is hard to believe.  Initially the birds are olive green, with cream and brown  scalloped chests,  bronze wings

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The Mill & Mr Lowry.

The Mill & Mr Lowry.

  The following story on the Launceston woollen mill  was first published in the Sydney Morning Herald. On January 8 2024 I watched the movie Mrs Lowry and Son. The images of the industrial landscapes and the mill  workers  portrayed by artist L. S. Lowry prompted me

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Antique Pillboxes and Other Miniature Containers

Antique Pillboxes and Other Miniature Containers

I bought this Victorian cabinet to display them in when we move into our new house. AN OBSESSION IS BORN- MANY PILLBOXES FOLLOWED! On holiday in Tasmania some years ago, I purchased a sweet little pillbox in an antique store at Evandale. It was gilt, with  a

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The Strange Story of Commissioner Bigge’s Will

The Strange Story of Commissioner Bigge's Will

JOHN BIGGE; REGIME CHANGER Commissioner John Thomas Bigge (1780-1843) arrived in New South Wales in September 1819. He  had been appointed to conduct a wide ranging inquiry into governor Lachlan Macquarie’s administration. Bigge was highly critical of the Governor’s championship of ex-convicts, and his ‘wastefully expensive’ building

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