CONALD PAGETT AND THE BEX POWDER CASE

CONALD PAGETT AND THE BEX POWDER  CASE

THE CONCLUSION OF THE VERA WATT  POISONING CASE. FOR THE FIRST PART, CLICK HERE. When the Coronial Inquest into the death by poisoning of Mrs Vera Watt ended in January 1942. her ex-lover Conald Pagett was committed for trial and remanded in Long Bay Gaol. However, on 

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William Guy Higgs – Spoiled Larrikin or Callous Criminal?

William Guy Higgs -  Spoiled Larrikin or Callous Criminal?

On September 9 1922, twenty one year old  William Guy Higgs married Helena Potter in a society wedding at Hunters Hill. The couple honeymooned in the beautiful Blue mountains. The  groom was the fourth born of seven sons, and chose his older brother Hubert as best man.

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MURDER IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS

MURDER IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS

Forty eight year old Ronald Lachlan Leslie was a wealthy, retired  grazier living in the Sydney suburb of Manly.  He was a happily married family man with two young children. On Wednesday,  October 12 1927  he set out  to drive  to  the central western town of Forbes,

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Miles Franklin’s Waratah Cup

Miles Franklin's Waratah Cup

MILES FRANKLIN AND HER BRILLIANT IDEA Many literary figures of the day visited  Miles Franklin (1879-1954) at her home in the Sydney suburb of Carlton.  The author of the beloved book My Brilliant Career, referred to the house as, ‘My old humpy.’  A delightful custom  developed of 

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Just P. and O. at the Tom Bass Sculpture

Just P. and O. at the Tom Bass Sculpture

                    The sculptor Tom Bass (1916-2010)  was born in Lithgow.  Richard Neville (1941-2016) spent much of his  later life in the Blue Mountains village of  Blackheath. Both men were associated with a work of art regarded as one

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IN THE SHADOW OF WAR – THE EMPIRE GAMES OF 1938

IN THE SHADOW OF WAR - THE EMPIRE GAMES OF 1938

In  February 1938, 15 countries from what was then known as The British Empire, assembled in Sydney for what would be the last Empire Games until well after  the Second World War.  It was a huge occasion, especially as the event coincided with Sydney’s 150th anniversary. After

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HOW WILLIAM WENTWORTH BOILED DOWN A PROBLEM

HOW WILLIAM WENTWORTH BOILED DOWN A PROBLEM

William Charles Wentworth;  Australian politician, explorer, author, barrister, statesman and landowner. At the height (maybe that should be depth ) of the 1840’s economic depression in New South Wales, sheep were selling at just 9d each and cattle for only a few shillings a head. The crisis

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SYDNEY A-Z – A LIGHT HEARTED SOCIAL HISTORY

SYDNEY A-Z - A LIGHT HEARTED SOCIAL HISTORY

A LIGHT-HEARTED ‘JOURNEY’ AROUND SYDNEY SUBURBS Currently Sydney is comprised of  658 suburbs.  That’s because the city became  so spread out when most of us lived on quarter acre blocks. Let’s face it, you could fit the residents of leafy Killara  into one inner city high-rise. The

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Sydney’s WWII Home Front

Sydney's  WWII Home Front

It’s easy to forget just how concerned  ordinary Australians were for their safety during World War II. This was not without reason, given the bombing of Darwin and the arrival of Japanese midget submarines in Sydney Harbour.   A giant metal boom was suspended across the harbour 

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