ENDEAVOUR DISPLAY The Builder This model of HMS Endeavour was built and assembled by Francisco Antonio Coelho a very proud Australian citizen who passed away on 7th September 2023 at the age of 99. Francisco was a master carpenter who learned his basic carpentry skills at Sao Pedro de Solis, a small village in the…
Henley Marine Drive This street is renowned as one of the most picturesque in Canada Bay, as it skirts the waters of Iron Cove Creek and Iron Cove, from Five Dock to Drummoyne. Henley Marine Drive was named after Sir Thomas Henley, born on the 4th of February 1860 at Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire, England….
In ancient times, fireplace tools were crucial for maintaining the fire’s size and heat. They were used to arrange the logs, stir the embers, and control the flames. People relied on these tools for warmth, cooking and light, making them essential in households. Fire tools used to maintain a fire have changed little since the…
Boat Hits Fish, 90 m.p.h. Mr. Ernie Nunn of Guildford hit a big fish at 90 m.p.h. while trying to break an Australian speed boat record on the Parramatta River at Cabarita on Saturday, 29th September. He prevented the boat from capsizing – but lost the record. When the boat returned to its base a…
THE SQUATTERS GRAB: where it all went wrongBy Wal WalkerSelf-published by William Wallace Walker, 2023. Wal Walker was born in Sydney. He is an economist and has lived ten years in Queensland and several years in the Northern Territory. Wal has written a detailed book on the dispossession of land and subsequent loss of culture…
We know that there was a Cabarita Power Boat Club that raced on the Parramatta River because of a couple of photographs we have been able to source, but we have nothing of the club’s history. Is there anyone out there who can help fill this gap in our records we would like to hear…
Several rock historians have claimed that rock and roll was one of the first music genres to define an age group. It gave teenagers a sense of belonging, even when they were alone. Rock and roll is often identified with the emergence of teen culture among the first baby boomer generation, who had greater relative…
I LOVE A SUNBURNT COUNTRY: The Diaries of Dorothea MackellarEdited by Jyoti BrunsdonNt. Ryde, Angus & Robertson, 1990 The wonderful poem, “My Country” by Dorothea Mackellar, written in 1904, is known and loved by many Australians. The quandary is, why does almost everyone only know the 2nd verse of a 6-stanza poem, the starting line…
By the time I was 21, I was learning ballroom dancing, doing medal exams and training for competition dancing. My partner got hit with a hockey stick in the leg and ended up losing half of his leg. I was too distressed to continue and also gave ballroom dancing away. However, I was playing tennis…
The Begging Boy This is a garden statue of a boy wearing clothes reminiscent of Oliver Twist who appears to be begging for something. There is no inscription on the object, but it was probably mounted on a plinth that could have contained some information. This object only came to light when we finally moved…
My grandmother and mother spoke about Bee Miles, a name known to everybody in that era, with many people remembering seeing her on the streets in the inner city. For almost half a century, beginning in the 1920’s, Bee was celebrated and known as the best-known Sydney character. Ellis describes Bee as “Australia’s famous bohemian…
Our friend Deke Richards, who made the documentary on the Canadian Patriotes, the French and English-speaking rebels who were sent in exile to Australia aboard the Buffalo in 1840—the 91 English-speaking Canadians were sent to Tasmania while 58 French-speaking Canadians came to Concord, NSW—recently contacted us regarding a special event held in Quebec. The Patriot…