In the 1880’s shearers wielded a lot of influence on our country. Despite us not yet being a single united nation, in the various states where wool growing was the major industry militant unionism arose with great co-operation between the various state organisations.
In those days, shearers and general farm workers were numerous. Wool was the biggest export commodity of most of the states but the working conditions of those who produced this golden fleece were poor. Are we any richer today?
Read more: Shearing in Australia - the Collection
Nearly 30 years has flowed under the bridge since I last owned a dog.
That doesn’t mean that I’ve had nothing to do with dogs.
It means that I’ve had relationships with other people’s dogs as a by-product of the relationship with their owners - some of an intimate nature and some not. But that’s what this series of posts is all about - the behaviour of people and dogs.
At the beginning of March, 2023, I join Monty in celebrating Irish month.
There are many men and women who hail from Ireland and have made lives in other countries over the decades.
Today, I celebrate one woman of Irish heritage and the men who made her life notorious.The woman who was Ned Kelly's mother. I can think of no more fitting person to start our journey.
Read more: Ned Kelly's Mother - a story of a tough life and a tough woman
The Adelaide River Stakes is the name given to the mass exodus of people prior to and following the Japanese air-raid in Darwin on 19th February, 1942. Thanks mainly to an ill-informed statement by a former Governor General, Paul Hasluck, that it is a story full of shame for our national persona, but it is a myth.
The truth is that with much closer examination it was anything but a shameful episode in our most serious year of peril.
General Sir John Monash is one of the truly great Australians. He was an Australian military and civilian leader as well as a great contributor to Australian life. His achievements are outstanding. In my opinion, Monash was not just our most outstanding military leader but our most outstanding citizen of all time.
The achievements of John Monash are so extensive and comprehensive that I cannot condense them into a single post.
We will explore the life of this man, John Monash; from his early years that started with the Gold Rush; how he met Ned Kelly the infamous bushranger; how he turned from a boy to a young man and how he turned from the son of migrants to one of our finest Australians. It is truly a tale worth telling and a story that should be taught in every school across our great country that we call Australia.
One of the most famous and best known characters in Australian folk lore, Ned Kelly was a murderer, bank robber, horse thief and a Robin Hood of the Australian bush. No story is better known amongst Australians than the gunfight at Glenrowan where he and his gang met their “Waterloo”. Up in “Kelly country”, north east Victoria, one still needs to take care of what one says if the topic of the Kellys comes up over a few beers or three. He still has many supporters. If my comments appear to be biased it is because I am.
So how did this legendary bushranger become part of our folklore? This is about a man who is regarded as a larrikin and murderer by some and a hero to others.
These are episides from Against the Wind , a 1978 Australian television miniseries. It is a historical drama portraying both the British rule of Ireland, and the development of New South Wales and Australia. Jon English won the Logie Award in 1979 for "Best New Talent" for his role in the miniseries as "Jonathan Garrett". It was the first major Australian TV production to be broadcast in the United States.
Set during Australia's colonial era over the period 1798–1812, the series follows the life of Mary Mulvane, a daughter of an Irish school master. At 18, she is transported to New South Wales for a term of seven years after attempting to take back her family's milk cow which had been seized by the British "in lieu of tithes" to the local proctor. She endures the trial of a convict sea journey to New South Wales and years of service as a convict before her emancipation and life as a free citizen. During the journey out she makes a lifelong friend of fellow Irish convict, Polly, and in the course of the series we see their friendship continue, Polly's relationship and life with taverner Will Price develop, and Mary's relationship with Jonathan Garrett grows, leading to eventual marriage when both have served their term. Together they face the difficulties of establishing a farm and a young family in the new country, and must deal with the tyranny of the corrupt military running the colony. It is based on factual events of the Garrett Family (as stated in every episode) and the last episode recites what became of the Garretts: they had 5 children and now have many descendants.
There is no climate crisis Chris Bowen. There is a crisis in stupidity and lack…
154 hits
They say Australia rode in on the sheep’s back. But if you’d been standing in…
288 hits
Before the Cloud, before memory sticks and streaming services, we passed stories the old-fashioned way.…
338 hits
Long before the Cloud swallowed everything, our old mate Flysa was out there with a…
348 hits
“A Long Time Ago...” Still Echoes Now On May 25, 1977, a strange little film…
311 hits
Parishioners of St. Linguine’s Basilica (well, it felt Italian enough) were left choking on incense…
372 hits
While we're distracted, they are cleaning us up. Time to stop playing defence and bat…
293 hits
Memorial Day, observed on the last Monday of May, is a time for Americans to…
309 hits
In early 1982, two troubled nations collided on a cluster of windswept islands in the…
371 hits
By Roderick Whiskers McNibble, Ratty News’ Premier Scurrier-at-Large Listen up, Shed Shakers! Your old…
334 hits
Tucked away in the remote heart of the Indian Ocean lies a tiny archipelago that…
120 hits
Today we’ve got a curious tale to share... part sport, part history, and part heart.…
360 hits
From the Eureka Stockade to today’s silent struggle, Australians are waking up - not to…
448 hits
Today would have been my late sister-in-law’s birthday. This is my tribute to a woman I…
342 hits
They say wisdom often arrives wearing old boots, sipping strong coffee, and wielding a spanner.…
351 hits
I wonder how many people realise that Australia’s concept of a minimum wage began with…
371 hits
If you grew up in Australia, chances are you’ve heard the name Henry Lawson. Maybe…
338 hits
As the sun sets on tired so called Conservative parties like the Liberals and Nationals,…
384 hits
On the moonlit night of May 16, 1943, a squadron of young RAF pilots flew…
352 hits
Not all wartime heroes wore uniforms. In the heart of WWII, in 1942, my great uncle,…
413 hits
In a top-secret cross-galactic reassignment leaked by sources wearing sunglasses indoors, Agents J and K…
370 hits
How a fearless squadron of female pilots turned plywood planes into weapons of war -…
348 hits
In a rare confluence, Canada, Britain, and Australia held elections within a week of one…
128 hits
This Mother’s Day, I’m thinking of one woman in particular. She’s 92 now. We call…
361 hits
Mother’s Day, as we know it in Australia, traces its roots to the heartbreak and…
369 hits
By Roderick "Whiskers" McNibble, Hangar Correspondent at Large In a tin shed somewhere beyond the…
422 hits
If AI is the child of our time, then humanity is both parent and partner....responsible…
341 hits
While Britain danced in the streets and Europe breathed a collective sigh of relief, Australians,…
388 hits
It began quietly. No headlines. No protests. Just a story... odd, intriguing, almost heartwarming. I…
424 hits
In May 1942, as Japanese forces surged southward across the Pacific, Australia stood on the…
423 hits
When a nation loses its voice, it turns to memory. In these strange days, when…
479 hits