In 1922, shortly after the following photos were taken, Italy’s first female racing driver, Baroness Maria ‘Antoinette’ Avanzo (1889-1977), arrived in Sydney with her husband, son and daughter. The reason she came is a bit of a mystery, but it appears she was recovering from an accident
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Parramatta Gaol has a history dating back to 1798, when the first building was described as, ‘a strong, logged gaol of 100 feet in length, with separate cells for the prisoners…and paled around with very high fences.’ By the early twentieth century it looked very different. James
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Wealthy Queensland grazier Alfred Hill and his beautiful wife Edith were among the first to purchase a flat in The Astor, Sydney’s first ‘skyscraper’ residential block at 123 Macquarie Street. Built in the 1920s, it offered expansive harbour views, a maid service, staffed lifts and an internal
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In November 1931 Mr A. Laurie was employed as sole officer at the Broadmeadow (Newcastle) branch of the Bank of New South Wales. The bank was located at Belford Street, by the Nine Ways commercial centre. As a sub-branch it was only open between the hours of
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Mrs Margaret Roche was a hard working, shrewd business woman. She rose from the position of barmaid to become the owner of considerable property. Included were two hotels in Queensland; the Telegraph Hotel at Charleville and the property she lived in, the Claren Hotel, in the small
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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 supported
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For the background to this story, CLICK HERE. Poisoning – ‘Of all felonies, murder is the most horrible, of all murders, poisoning the most detestable, and of all poisoning, that causing a lingering death the most cruel.’ Chief Justice Sir Edward Coke, 1615 JANE SMITH –
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It is likely that the person who shot two people at Barton Park, Wallerawang, (New South Wales) in 1948 is still alive. I have referred to him here as Bennie Harvey. It’s not his real name, but one his friends used at the time of the murders.
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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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THE A.P.C. OF MURDER ….… click here for previous episode. The coronial inquest into the death of 36 year old Mrs Vera Doris Watt on December 1 1941 opened on December 29. She had died from strychnine, placed
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