THE ATKINS WWII TRAY

THE ATKINS WWII TRAY

I have been ‘decluttering’ as we move into our new house. One item that nearly went into the skip was an old, glass covered wooden tray. Apart from accumulated dust and dirt it had one seemingly unsolvable problem, The gold braid trim under the glass had broken.

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TICK TOCK – SYDNEY’S POST OFFICE CLOCK

TICK TOCK - SYDNEY'S POST OFFICE CLOCK

When the James Barnet designed  Sydney G.P.O clock Tower was constructed in the 1890s there was a drawn-out dispute over the type of bells to be installed. Should the choice be traditional, heavy bells, or would a lighter, tubular variety be safer? Traditional won, but some still

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LAURIE’S COPY BOOK

LAURIE'S COPY BOOK

Sorting through documents while researching our family history I found a section of one of my Uncle Laurie’s school copy books. It had been kept as a treasured memento by his mother after his death in WWII.  Each page was dated; from May 3 1932 through to

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GLENBROOK TUNNEL; THE AFTERMATH OF A WORLD WAR II SECRET

GLENBROOK TUNNEL;  THE AFTERMATH OF A WORLD WAR II SECRET

Recently I posted the story of the disused Glenbrook rail tunnel during World War II. Located in the lower Blue Mountains of New South Wales, the tunnel was  secretly used as an RAAF  storage depot, for dangerous chemicals such as mustard gas and phosogene.  The decision to

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WARTIME SECRETS IN GLENBROOK AND MARRANGAROO

WARTIME SECRETS IN GLENBROOK AND MARRANGAROO

SILENT WEAPONS OF WAR My research for this story began amid the startling news of the chemical attack on the Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, and of chemical weapons  being used in Syria. I knew about mustard gas in WWI, because my

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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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THE LITHGOW PRAM PUSHERS

THE LITHGOW PRAM PUSHERS

Dave McSorley was a  local barber in Lithgow. He was also a heavy-weight boxer, and consummate showman. He once wagered that he could clean shave  1,000 men without a break. In the end he ran out of  bristling chins, but still managed 420 shaves in 54½ hours,

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