Hello Peeps My elderly guardians Pauline, and Dr Bob went on a little ‘rest and recuperation trip’ to Sydney before lock-down, after a lot of building work at home in Blackheath. I believe it’s called a sojourn. I wasn’t allowed to stay home alone due to a
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Remember the old Gowings Department store in Sydney? Originally It was the place to go for rural chaps in town for the Easter Show. The following image is a self -measuring form, dating from 1910. The advertising catch-phrase ‘GONE TO GOWINGS‘ became part of the Aussie vernacular,
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My maternal grandparents James and Nora Larcombe raised a large family on a sheep farm at Reedy Marsh, seven miles from the small town of Deloraine in northern Tasmania. The pair married in the tiny Anglican church at nearby Exton just before WWI. For some reason Archdeacon
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To mangle the words of Oscar Wilde, for an institution to lose a miniature portrait would be unfortunate…. to lose a life-sized, framed oil painting sounds more like carelessness. Catherine Hayes (1818-1861) was a celebrated, Irish born soprana who toured Australia extensively in the mid 1850s. At
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Recently I paused and looked skyward at this wonderful Sydney building. At street level it’s hard to appreciate its full, 300ft glory, sheathed in glazed cream, terra-cotta tiling. Somehow it reminds me of the toy blocks I played with during my 1950s childhood. However, it was built
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Around Christmas 1950, twin white cats were spotted atop the southern pylon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. There they remained. It seemed the pair had decided it was the best location in the city, with world class views. Well really, who could blame them? The snowy residents
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York Street runs parallel to George Street in the centre of Sydney. Just after World War II it was the scene of a brutal murder. The victim, Jeanette Wicks. In 1935, Jeanette Wicks divorced her husband of seven years on the grounds of desertion. She subsequently
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CASUAL DINING OUT IN THE BIG SMOKE! This Italian eatery is located in King Street. It was so good that on a recent visit to Sydney my partner Rob and I dined there two nights running. The style is described as Euro-chic. It’s decorated with pots of
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STEAM POWERED PEOPLE MOVERS FOR SYDNEY We learn that the Works Department is making arrangements for the construction of a temporary tramway from the Redfern terminus to Hunter-Street, to be used by visitors to the International Exhibition. They expect to be able to get the motors from
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My interest in John Brush saddles began when Brendan Morris found a rare survivor on his farm in New South Wales. He posted some photos in The Australian Social History Facebook Group. John Brush established a saddlery and harness store in Sydney in 1840. It was during
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