More Industries of the West Berger Paints (continued) During the 1960s the Rhodes site changed markedly in appearance. First, a modern paint factory arose on the site of the old corroding shed. Its single span construction was the largest in the southern hemisphere, and it had a two-storey mezzanine above the main floor which carried…
One of Australia’s greatest Antarctic explorers, Douglas Mawson was responsible for one of the most extreme survival stories of all time. A scientist before all else, he sought information and knowledge rather than fame, fortune or ‘firsts’. Born in England on 5 May 1882, Mawson migrated to Australia at the age of two. An outstanding…
Doing their bit for the boys who did theirs. Within days of the declaration of war in August 1914 a vast civilian “army” of voluntary workers began to mobilise to support the war effort. The Australian Red Cross was first off the mark. Soon hundreds of local groups were established across Australia to support particular…
Thanks to the prowess of the New South Wales scullers, the Parramatta River course is celebrated all over the world; and is justly entitled to be called the champion course from the number of races not only for the championship of the colony, but of the world, which have been contested over this run of…
Twenty-seven people were all there were when Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition went awry. Luckily for us (they were lucky enough, all surviving after months and months), one of those was a photographer, Frank Hurley, whose amazing photographs documented the 22 months spent stranded on the world’s most remote continent. Ernest Shackleton set out in 1914 for…
Post WWI were boom years for building suburban houses that were detached and provided a yard for relaxation and family pursuits. The popular style was the Californian bungalow, a style readily adopted into Australia from the USA from 1913 onwards. They provided an excellent standard of accommodation within a single storey and incorporated a verandah…
More Industries of the West. Tulloch’s Phoenix Ironworks Opposite CSR Chemicals, between the railway and Concord Road, Tulloch’s Phoenix Ironworks was a local landmark from its foundation in 1915 until its closure in 1974. The founder of the company, Robert Tulloch (1851 – 1928) was born in the Orkney Islands north of Scotland. After working…
Teacher: How old is your father? Kid: He is 6 years.Teacher: What? How is this possible. Kid: He became father only when I was born. Teacher: Maria, go to the map and find North America. Maria: Here it is.Teacher: Correct. Now, class, who discovered America? Class: Maria. Teacher: Glenn, how do you spell ‘crocodile’? Glenn: …
What you never knew about top-secret facility. From employing hundreds of Aussies to playing a key role in the US defence missile shield. Pine Gap’s secrets are slowly starting to emerge. It is considered one of the country’s most secretive and strategically important sites. But unless you work at Pine Gap, or have spent decades…
The news that Gundagai’s Dog on the Tuckerbox had been damaged recently made national headlines and prompted an outpouring of love for the beloved pooch. But why does the dog sit five, and not nine, miles from Gundagai? And what does the side-altar at London’s Westminster Cathedral have to do with it? Somewhat surprisingly, this…
When this book was originally published in 1979, mental illness was a closed book to the general public. It is not surprising that in the climate of widespread ignorance, mental illness was a taboo subject. It was rarely mentioned in the media, useful information and professional help was hard to find and so it was…
“Whatever happened to the spare paddock?” asked William Olson in his nostalgic essay in the Sydney Morning Herald 1st August 1970. “It has gone, suddenly. Buried under Progress. . . . The spare paddock was wholly Australian. A wonderful place where a generation of young Australians grew up”: In the outer suburbs the spare paddock…
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