If you’ve ever wondered who first decided to bring trees inside to celebrate Christmas, or where advent calendars come from, we’ve tracked some popular festive traditions – as well as some lesser-known ones – back to their country of origin. German Tradition: hanging Advent calendars Advent, which means “to come,” is the period beginning four Sundays before…
Just a reminder that our October speaker, Kerry Easton, will be talking about ‘Needlework Tools Through the Ages”. You are invited to join us at our museum at 1 Bent Street, Concord on Saturday, 1st October 2022 at 1:30 for a 2:00 pm prompt start, to find out more about this subject. Following the talk,…
Alas, they’ve come for Dr. SEUSS, they wish to hang him with a noose.They claim his tales were racist bent, they judged him fast, missed what he meant.But if we look inside his tales, we’ll find the balance of the scales.Remember when Horton heard a Who, and we heard the wisdom of the Lorax too.The…
At the height of the Great Depression in 1932, Australia had an unemployment rate of 29% and thousands of desperate people around the country queued for the dole. Enterprising jobless devised novel ways of earning money. Determined to make the best of a bad situation and putting their creativity to good use, they made, designed,…
In the wake of the devastating Lismore floods earlier this year, the members of Canada Bay Heritage Society decided to support an initiative to collect new and pre-read books in very good condition, to replace those damaged or destroyed by the rising waters. An appeal was made to the Canada Bay community and the response…
When news reached Australia in August 1914 that Britain and Germany were at war, more than 50,000 men enlisted within a week, while Prime Minister Andrew Fisher promised that Australia would defend the mother country, “to the last man and the last shilling”. The immediate priority was to remove the threat posed by the German…
Often when we talk about early colonial history of Australia we mention great governors such as Major General Lachlan Macquarie (1810-1821), or the 1808 Rum Rebellion agitator Mr. John Macarthur. However, what if we explored the lives of each of their wives, Elizabeth and Elizabeth? On Saturday 3rd September, City of Canada Bay Heritage Museum…
For those who love the philosophy of ambiguity (as well as the idiosyncrasies of English).One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor!Atheism is a non-prophet organisation.If man evolved from monkeys and apes, why do we still have monkeys and apes?I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, “Where’s the self-help section?” She said if she…
The story of Tom Reid, a Little Dish and Neil Armstrong’s First Step For more than 60 years, Australia has played a vital role in space tracking owing to its geographic location and its technical know-how. A high point was reached at 12.56 pm (AEST) on 21 July 1969 when the Apollo tracking station at…
On the first day of January 1901, the colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania joined together in a new Commonwealth of Australia. Both before and after Federation, there was much public bickering about what and where a federal territory and Seat of Government should be. The Constitution said…
Ceramic Cheese Dish In the 19th century, before the days of plastic containers and refrigerators, these dishes (also known as cheese-keepers) kept cheese from drying out. These covered dishes also kept the odour of the cheese from spreading through the room. They always had a small hole in the top to discourage mould. Several different…
Ken Beames – Optical Engineer and Astronomer In 2014 Canada Bay Council sponsored the “More Than Just a Name” project to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. The project memorialised the names of more than 1600 men and women who answered their country’s call to arms. Working with students from…