I remember when I was elected vice-captain of one of the sporting houses in senior school. I was so excited by the honour. It’s the principle of the thing. You’re recognised as having some leadership qualities and a bit of ability, no matter if you’re adept at egg and spoon racing or high diving. The [...]
It's 1969 and a remote coastal town in Western Australia is poised to play a pivotal part in the moon landing. Exciting stuff, particularly for a galah – yes of the feathered variety, called Lucky. On the outskirts of town sits a giant dish, a piece of vital hardware that becomes a major line of [...]
The question of chivalry or more correctly the demise of it got me thinking on my last trip to Sydney. I wonder what King Arthur would make of our world where he alive today. Looking down from the lofty parapets of Camelot, would he weep or take note of those who continue to uphold the [...]
“Such a man, could scarcely fail to be a hero to his men” - The grazier who became a Major General. Bull Ryrie was tough, an outgoing man of the Monaro who could ride like the wind as well as being a crack shot. Born into a grazing family, after attending the King’s School at Parramatta [...]
In the mid north rangelands of Western Australia, at the headwater of the Gascoyne River is a station that dates back to 1884. Australian pastoralist Frederick Wittenoom was among the first Europeans to explore the pastoral opportunities in and around the Gascoyne River area, acquiring Three Rivers with B.J Carlyon. He stocked the holding with [...]
My Brother Jack. If ever there was a portrait of the changing and fragile relationships in family and particularly between brother’s then this work stands out as one of the best. Set in the suburbs of Melbourne between the two wars George Johnston’s 1964 novel shines a light on the interwar years, introducing us to [...]
The National Pioneer Women’s Hall of Fame is dedicated to preserving the place of women in history. It’s fitting that it’s located in Alice Springs in Central Australia, an area that was home to very few women over one hundred years ago. Those that did forge a home out of the bush on isolated properties [...]
Coffee-break Quick Pick: You have to give it to the Nazi's. Not content with stealing every piece of art they could find - think the Monuments Men movie, they turned their attention to the libraries and bookshops of Europe, not burning as many books as we once thought. The Book Thieves: The Nazi Looting of [...]
‘There was movement at the station, for the word had passed around That the colt from [...]
Today marks the anniversary of the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia – the Bombing of Darwin. On 19 February 1942, 242 Japanese aircraft, in two separate raids, attacked the town, the ships in Darwin's harbour and the town's two airfields. The Japanese hoped to prevent the Allies from stopping their invasion of Timor and [...]
