Archives
The poem Close Your Eyes…. by Pat Yoeman first appeared in a publication called District Diggings, from the Snake Valley & District Historical Society. It was reprinted in the MDHS Journal in March 2002. So many of the games and activities celebrated in this poem resonate with me. It could be a description of my early childhood in Lismore, NSW in the 1950s and then in Brisbane, Qld in the early 1960s. Australia… Read More
Every year at this time in Australia, we suffer (or enjoy) a terrible mismatch between the traditions of our European heritage and the heat of an Australian summer. Our traditional Christmas dinner, celebrated in Australia since the first settlement, features food created for appetites that were shaped by the depths of a European winter. These foods include hot roasts and warm puddings meant to be eaten in a room with an open… Read More
After the guns went silent on Armistice Day, 11 November 1918, and after the men had trickled home to their towns and their suburbs, to their wives, girlfriends, children and parents, Australia set about building the memorials to the dead and lost. As a nation we actually began sculpting our landscape in remembrance after the second Boer war in 1902. That’s when the words of Rudyard Kipling’s Recessional – “Lest We Forget” –… Read More
What do you think of the tranquil Araluen Valley in 2013? When you drive down the sleepy Araluen valley these days it’s almost impossible to believe there was once a five kilometre stretch of businesses along the valley floor. But thanks to the gold-rush, Araluen in 1870 was a thriving town. In this post I have provided two snapshots of Araluen. The first is a series of facts from the 1860-1870s period… Read More
Nerrigundah is usually associated with gold rushes, bushrangers and more recently farming – not with poetry. Therefore it was extemely surprising to see a almost hidden memorial to Australia’s first ‘bush poet’ on the Eurobodalla road near Tyrone Bridge, the old wooden bridge crossing the Tuross River. The memorial was built in the bicentenary year – 1988 – to commemorate Charles Harpur, (born Jan. 23, 1813, Windsor, N.S.W., Australia—died June 10, 1868,… Read More
Reposted from our blog – 3 September, 2013 The first known use of wattle as a meaningful emblem in the Australian colonies dates back to the early days of Tasmania 1838), when the wearing of silver wattle sprigs was encouraged on the occasion of an anniversary celebration of the seventeenth century European discovery of the island. It was resolved that a National emblem be adonted to be worn by the company upon the occasion of the anniversary, to consist of a sprig of silver… Read More
To complete Book Week we have a short recount of some of the classic children’s literature that been created – some of it well before federation in 1901. Titles such as The Magic Pudding , Seven Little Australians and and the Gum Nut Babies will be instantly familiar to most while Colin Thiele’s Storm Boy is still studied today as a text in some schools. Australia has a strong tradition of children’s… Read More
Part of the brief of any historical or geneological society is to make the broader community aware of the wealth of resources that are now available to individuals and organisations. Digitisation and the internet have made these reources much more accessible to all. We hope to feature great sites and useful apps in regular posts on this blog. Today’s site is the rich archival material available from the State Library‘s photographic collection…. Read More
Thomas Sutcliffe Mort Today marks the beginning of National Science Week. The theme for schools in 2013 is A Century of Australian Science. After a quick glance at the Moruya and District Historical Society’s museum you realise that to a large extent everyone in the early days was a scientist. Indigenous artefacts, home-made recipes for medicines and improvised farming equipment are only a few of the examples of the truth of the… Read More
The First World War began when Britain and Germany went to war in August 1914, and Prime Minister Andrew Fisher’s government pledged full support for Britain. The outbreak of war was greeted in Australia, as in many other places, with great enthusiasm Australian War Memorial Dates at the beginning of August hold special significance for people world-wide as they mark events that occurred at the very beginning of World War 1… Read More
