Prior to the Reformation in the sixteenth century, when Scotland was a Catholic country rather than a Protestant one, trial marriages were very common. At annual fairs the unmarried of both sexes would choose a companion with whom to live a year and a day. This custom was known as hand-fasting, or hand-in-fist. If the…
Here’s an idyllic, family scene, isn’t it? A little boy or a little girl crawling into his or her’s grandparents laps, cuddling them while the old folks whisper sweet things into their ears and tickle them and give them cuddles……eventually, that little boy or little girl asks: “Nanna…Papa…what was things like when you were my…
Australia cannot lay claim to any great empires or epic conquests, but we do have one distinction that no other nation on Earth can boast: we are the only country in history to lose a war to birds. In 1932 the farmers of Western Australia, fed up with the 20,000 emus that kept dropping in…
These decorative brass tins were sent by Princess Mary to members of the British, Colonial and Indian Armed Forces for Christmas 1914. Over 426,000 of them were distributed to those serving on Christmas Day 1914. The tins were filled with various items including tobacco, confectionary, spices, pencils, a Christmas card and a picture of the…
Get ready for Christmas now – it’s closer than you think. (Read instructions carefully) 1 cup butter 1 cup sugar 4 large eggs 1 cup dried fruit 1 bottle whisky 1 teasp. baking soda 1 cup brown sugar 1 tabs lemon…
The struggle for a station at North Strathfield was very much a people’s struggle. In the early 1900s there had been a general acknowledgment of the need for a station between Strathfield and Concord West by the NSW Railway Commissioners, but an alleged shortage of money – the cost was reckoned to be about £4000…
You hear this argument all the time these days. Everything is made of plastic. It’s never built to last. It breaks when you sneeze on it or drop it once. We all like to think back to the days when things were tougher, better-built, longer-lasting and looked nicer. But while some products were made from…
Memorial gates erected by parishioners and friends commemorate philanthropist Dame Eadith Walker. Dame Eadith Campbell Walker (1861-1937), philanthropist, was born on 18 September 1861 at The Rocks, Sydney, only child of Scottish parents Thomas Walker, merchant, and his wife Jane. After inheriting her father’s estate, she was to perpetuate her father’s philanthropies and generously supported…
The passing of Dame Eadith Walker has left a great blank in the life of the community. From the earliest days of the colony her father was connected with its history and progress, and as he was a benefactor in his day, so she was a benefactress and supporter of every movement which made for…
In November 1827 Governor Darling received a letter from Lord Bathurst, Secretary of state for the Colonies, authorising the expenditure £200 a year on founding and maintaining a museum for “the many rare and curious specimens of Natural history” that were to be obtained in Australia. It was known as The Colonial Museum. At a…
We recently received a donation of this set of framed photographs of several boats which carried the inscription: Presented to P. Edwards, Esq., by the boys of the Concord Dinghi Club. We have been unable to find any information of this club or of the gentleman named. Can you help, please?
Sydney is made up of many fascinating suburbs and areas, many of which are such a normal part of Sydneysiders lives that they spare little thought for the history of these areas, let alone for the names they go by. Today most are simply residential suburbs, home to countless families. Mortlake is just one such…
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