Singer Miniature Toy Sewing Machine – Model 20-1 When the Singer 20 Toy Sewing Machine, manufactured in the U.S.A., was introduced in 1910 it was in a league of its own. Although the Singer 20 was of a simple chain stitch design requiring just 40 components, it was very well engineered with a cast iron…
November 1 Makybe Diva won a record 3rd successive Melbourne Cup – 2005.November 2 Ken (Muscles) Rosewall, Australian tennis champion was born in Sydney in 1934. He was only 5ft 7ins and was called “Muscles” by his fellow players because of his lack of them.November 3 Bill Clinton was elected 42nd president of the United…
Selling Real Estate is about creating an image in the buyer’s mind. Realtors have always called on prospective buyers to imagine an ideal situation, in a perfect location with the promise of increased value in the future. The positives are emphasised, opportunities abound and the dream is sold. Advertisements such as the one in the…
Educational requirements of Concord were commenced in a private school conducted by Mrs. Love, near Bray Grove. On Mrs. Love’s demise, her daughter continued the school, with the address on her letters: “Miss Love, ‘Love Dale,’ Concord, opposite Kissing Point.” (Note: At that time Ryde was known as Kissing Point.) Some few years prior to…
Blue Bag Before we had modern laundry detergents with optical brighteners, there was a mysterious little blue bag that was stirred around in the final rinse water on washday. This was laundry blueing or blue. A factory-produced block was the “modern” (mid-19th century onwards), commercial version of older recipes for whitening clothes, with names like…
I remember when the loo was a dunny,And the pan man came at night;It wasn’t the least bit funnyGoing out the back with no light. The interesting items we perusedFrom the newspapers cut into squaresAnd hung from a peg in the outhouse –It took little then to keep us amused. The clothes were boiled in…
Arnott’s was founded by William Arnott, who opened up the first factory in Newcastle in 1865. The macaw parrot has been the face of Arnott’s biscuits since the 1800s. While many people today would say the parrot is based on the native Australian bird, legend has it that the model used was actually a Mexican…
October 1, 1993: The TELEGRAM delivery service ceased in Australia.October 2, 1984: Sony’s DISCMAN was launched.October 3, 1984: TIM MCCARTNEY-SNAPE and GREG MORTIMER became the first Australians to climb Mt Everest.October 7, 1954: Computer giant IBM demonstrated the first calculator.October 9, 1973: The $50 BANK NOTE was introduced in Australia.October 11, 1852: The UNIVERSITY OF…
Edward George Day The Drummoyne War Service Record lists the names of hundreds of men and women from the district who enlisted in the armed forces during the 1914-1918 War. Typically, memorials show only the surname and initials of those commemorated. As such, it is often difficult to discern much about the person associated with…
MAYOR DEFIED – A WOMAN INTRUDES A stormy scene developed at Concord Council last night in sharp contrast to the usually peaceful meetings of the municipality. The Mayor (Alderman Lee) left the chair and broke up the council meeting after having been defied by an alderman, and the police were called in to eject the offender….
The History of the Kookaburra Coins Australia entered a modern age post World War I and for many Australians, it was a time for breaking out, questioning and changing old values and behaviour and enjoying the good life. It was a time of great change. People forgot the old and embraced the new in an…
The discovery of gold in Australia in the 1850s led to the opening up of the country as settlement expanded beyond the original 19 counties proclaimed in 1829. A succession of gold rushes in New South Wales and Victoria transformed the political and economic landscape from its convict origins to a largely unregulated market. Freed…