Yearly Archives: 2020

To our dedicated and hard-working volunteers -Bob, Benson, Pam, Andrew, Lois, John, Kay, Sharon, Lorna, Janice, Alan, Patricio and Jeanette (and Roz and Margo who couldn't join us for our…

This special Memorial in Concord West has taken a powerful step forward in its ultimate goal of attaining recognition as a Military Memorial of National Significance.  Federal, State and Local…

“Jingle Bells” was written for Thanksgiving, not Christmas. The song was written in 1857 by James Lord Pierpont and published under the title “One Horse Open Sleigh”. It was supposed to be played…

Bundy Clock from the Australian Gas Light Company In November 1888 Willard le Grande Bundy, a jeweller in Auburn, New York patented a timepiece to track the hours worked by…

Came across this poem on Facebook. It was written by Kathleen O’Mara in 1869, reprinted during 1919 Pandemic. It is Timeless…. And people stayed at homeAnd read booksAnd listenedAnd they…

The Barrier Miner (Broken Hill) published the following article on Wednesday, 7th January, 1953. Sydney-Early on Christmas morning an intruder entered the kitchen of the Dame Eadith Walker Hospital, Concord.…

In 2018 the Australian Maritime Museum received a donation of papers belonging to First Lieutenant William Bradley, who sailed aboard HMS Sirius in the First Fleet. This extraordinarily generous gift…

Perhaps you’ve packed, compiled or received a Christmas hamper full of goodies in the last few days. About this time 99 years ago, the Anzacs who had evacuated from Gallipoli…

In these times, when people are trying to erase or re-write history, we should look back on what others have had to say about the past. History is the version…

The Australian Gas Light Company (AGL) was formed in Sydney in 1837 to produce town gas for street lighting. The original works at Darling Harbour with its outstations at Woolloomooloo…

Can anyone explain to me why we are so obsessed in knowing a person’s age? The media, in particular (and I assume they are influenced by their audience’s fascination with…

An interesting social and community book, An Enduring Flame, covers the history of St Patrick’s Parish, Mortlake from 1885 to 2020. The book has been produced as part of the 125th anniversary of…

The Moustach Cup The moustache cup is an unusual drinking vessel, uniquely gender-specific. that contains a semi-circular edge around its rim. This ledge has a small opening that allows liquids…

Why do we have honour boards? It seems almost too obvious. They are a way to remember those who fought and died for us in past wars. But what do…

I really am getting to be a most experienced nurse in the sleeping line. Jean and I arrived home at 12.20 pm made cocoa and sandwiches and ate them, retired…

The book is now available from the City of Canada Bay Museum, 1 Bent Street, Concord at a cost of $20.00. We are open every Wednesday and Saturday from 10:00…

Almost exactly 100 years ago, another pandemic was causing devastation around the world. At a time where digital banking and contactless payments couldn’t easily substitute the use of cash, Danny…

Cabarita Point was first named in the 1856 Survey Map. At the time there was a property known as “Cabarita House” near Kendall Bay. It is not clear whether the…

Commode A commode is often assumed to be a euphemism for a toilet.  Originally it referred to a chest of drawers or cabinet used for storing personal items. The name…

Jean's story continues about her experiences as a Voluntary Aide at the Walker Hospital in 1919 Brother dear, your expression has several times saved my life already. When the milk…

            BRAHMINISM:   This is the sum of duty.   Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you.  (Mahabharata, 5, 1517)             BUDDHISM:   Hurt not others in…

Frontline of the Pandemic: Australia 1919 The book provides a dark account of the impact of Spanish Flu on Australia, a dramatic and alarming revelation of tragic mortality, but with…

OUR MAGIC LANTERN This projector, together with a box of slides, was donated to our museum by the family of Rev. Harmon Denning, who moved to Sydney in 1929 and…

Two view points. A businessmen, who was also a sailor and being quite aware that ships are addressed as "she", wondered whether computers should be referred to as "he" or…

One of the prettiest islands in Port Jackson has the distinction of having given us our first bushranger, Black Caesar, whose story was in the August newsletter. The principal and…

Jean's story continues abouther experiencs as a Voluntary Aide at the Walker Hospital in 1919 Mummy, if you really ever wanted to see me, you could come for a three-hour…

Why don't we commemorate its victims and heroes? 'Spanish flu', the pandemic that killed between 50-100 million people worldwide, made landfall in Australia by 1919. About a third of all…

Russell Lea Manor, also known as Russell Lea House, was the home of Russell Barton (1830-1916), and was situated north of Lyons Road between Sibbick Street and Lyons Road.  The suburb of…

Under the heading “Occupying “canary” room.  Nerve Cases are Soothed” the following article was published on 24 March 1919. In the new Red Cross convalescent Docks, Sydney, NSW, the colour…

We are missing out on the Olympic Games for 2020, so we thought we’d bring you some trivia to think about while we wait for next year. In 1896 the…

Continuing our article in last month's newsletter: And now we may turn to our first bushranger, and be edified to find that he bore one of the most famous names…

For almost two decades the Mornington Hotel, situated where Emily and Herbert Streets now join Tennyson Road, was a hub of community activity in Mortlake. The hotel was not only…

Jean's story continues about her experiences as a Voluntary Aide at the Walker Hospital in 1919 Came off duty at 9pm but we get up at 5.45.  I have already…

Our COVID-19 Safety plan has been lodged with Council and we are permitted to open to the public. All precautions are being taken to protect our members, volunteers and visitors.…

Before the reform of Australia’s marriage laws in 1975, getting divorced was a difficult and generally humiliating experience.  One party had to prove their spouse was at fault in an…

Monday, July 21, 1969. : The CSIRO Observatory in Parkes, Australia, transmits the first pictures of the Apollo 11 Moon walk to the world. Parkes is a rural town in…

THE story of Australian bushranging divides itself naturally into three periods — that of the runaway convicts whom the terrors of the “System” drove to seek escape from its cruelties…

BURIED IN BUSH AT CABARITA Two Aero Club pilots, F.R. Maguire and J. Pollack, had an amazing escape this afternoon when a Moth plane they were flying crashed on to…

Here we are past halfway through 2020 and what a year we have had so far with the worst bushfire season on record following a drought (still on going in…

Alexander Vindex Vennard (1884-1947), collected yarns, ballads and anecdotes about bush life, which were published for about twenty-five years in a regular column 'On the Track' for the "North Queensland…

Jean's story continues about her experiences as a Volunary Aide at the Walker Hospital in 1919: Much coming and going of masked and bewildering figures, among which a tall, straight,…

I dream of a better tomorrow... where chickens can cross roads and not have their motives questioned. Early to bed and early to rise -- till you get enough money…

Picture this. It’s 1932 and Australia was in the grip of the Great Depression. One in three workers were unemployed Decrepit shanty town hugged the outskirts of the big cities.…

Nu-Dry, your Mechanical Laundress Clothes dryer and Automatic rinser.The turn of a tap and your clothes are rinsed and ready for the line in three minutes.No electricity.  No Gas.  No…

The Legend of the Patrol In 1920 the horse and cart were still a predominant means of transport.  Many roads were not fit for cars, and ferries were often a…

1.   WHY . . . do men’s clothes have buttons on the right side while women’s clothes have buttons on the left?        BECAUSE . . . when buttons…

A short while ago our member, Trish Skehan, was fortunate in being able to access diaries of a young 21-year-old Jean Curlewis, as well as a series of letters which…

Farmer’s Letter Caused the Ute In 1932, during the savage depression years, a letter arrived at Ford headquarters in Geelong. Addressed to the Managing Director, it was from a farmer…

‘The Breville’ manual washing machine was made in Australia by Breville Pty Ltd in the Sydney suburb of Camperdown between 1935 and 1940. Sold as the Breville ‘ 5-minute washer’,…

I'm normally a social girl, I love to meet my mates.  But lately with the virus here, we can't go out the gates. You see, we are the 'oldies' now,…

Following is a comment posted by Ann B to an article of the Thomas Walker Convalescent Hospital. We felt it was too good not to share. What a wonderful description! …

Australian slang is an important part of our every day vernacular – it’s what makes this nation a “bonza” place. To the outsider, it must seem like a second language, but just…

The image above is a beautiful glimpse into a day out and about on the water. Sydney has many beautiful river and creek systems that feed into the spectacular Sydney…

A documentary, which follows the unknown and untold story of 58 Canadian patriots from Lower Canada, sent into exile in the penal colony of Australia from 1840-48, was to have…

The Longbottom Stockade was situated at the corner of Loftus Street (formerly Stockade Street) and Parramatta Road, in what was to become the Village of Longbottom (later Concord). “Longbottom” is…

Why are so many people trying to re-write the nursery rhymes of our childhood to rid them of sexism, violence and social insensitivity?  They should be left alone because they…

The armistice of 11 November 1918 was celebrated in Concord with fervour.  Citizens immediately formed tin-can bands and took to the street and within twelve hours of the news of…

Alison Gardener Brooks Remembers At age 18, in 1976, I started training as a registered nurse at Concord and graduated as a Registered Nurse by age 21. I think our…

Also known as All Fools’ Day, it is celebrated annually on the first day of April. It is a time for the traditional playing of pranks upon unsuspecting people .…

The Sydney Icebeg (April Fools' Day – 1978) On the morning of April 1, 1978, a barge appeared in Sydney Harbor towing a giant iceberg. Sydneysiders were expecting it. Dick…

Times were hard, but we survived, just as we will survive the current crisis. By 1931 30% of NSW unionists were unemployed.  By 1933 one in three Australian breadwinners was…

Strangers in a strange land is a good title for a sci-fi novel. It also accurately reflects how Australia's founding fathers, our First Fleet convicts, would have felt on being…

Cabarita Road has been variously referred to as Cabarita Park Road or Cabarita Point Road. It has had several spellings including “Cabareta” as well as  “Cabaritta”. By whatever name it…

Murgatroyd!  Do you remember that word?  Would you believe the spell-checker did not recognise the word Murgatroyd?  Heavens to Murgatroyd!  Snagglepuss has gone as well! The other day a not…

With all the news about the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) health alert it doesn’t take much imagination to compare it with the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918. The following article by…

Valentine’s Day occurs every February 14. Across Australia and in other places around the world, candy, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St.…

On Valentine’s Day 1966 Australians woke to a brand-new currency. The decision to change from the Australian pound (with its awkward shillings and pence) to a decimal currency — the…

At the time of European settlement the Canada Bay area was part of the traditional lands of the Wangal clan of Aboriginal people. The Wangal were a clan of the…

About the Pavilion As many who come to the Parklands may know, the Federation Pavilion sits on one of the most important historical locations in Australia - the birthplace of…

The Enfield system was a separate group of lines based around a depot in Enfield, in Sydney's inner south-west. The system began as a steam tramway opening in 1891 between Ashfield station and…

Gertrude Moberly was born in Rockhampton, Queensland on New Year’s Day 1880 and grew up in Walcha, NSW, where her father was rector. She moved to Sydney in 1894 where…

This following book review was published in The Labor Daily (Sydney) on 24 June 1933. War Letters “Experiences of a ‘Dinki-Di’ R.R.C. Nurse” by Gertrude Moberly, R.R.C., is an instructive…

The image above is a stunning snapshot of a piece of Sydney history that many are not familiar with. Today, we are all familiar with the Harbour Bridge, and take…

An ornate pavilion was erected in Centennial Park for the swearing in of the first Governor General of Australia, Lord Hopetoun, the first Prime Minister, Edmund Barton, and the first…

This debate was a famous dispute in The Bulletin magazine from 1892–93 between two of Australia’s most iconic writers and poets: Henry Lawson and Andrew Barton “Banjo” Paterson. At the time, The Bulletin was a popular and influential publication,…

By 1891, with the six colonies at loggerheads and the Victorian and New South Wales economies in freefall, Australia’s great federation movement ground to a halt.  The cause took another…