Too much tragedy for one family
To lose one member of the family in an horrific accident is more than most people can bear.
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Tales from the Grave
Uncovering family history from down under
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Samantha Elley
Nov 182 min read
He didn't mean to kill her
Sylvia Holmes' body was found in the front bedroom of her tiny cottage, Cremorne Street, Fitzroy, a suburb of Melbourne on the evening of...
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Samantha Elley
Nov 92 min read
95-year-old author publishes first historical fiction novel
When Graham Smith started writing ‘Red Earth Red Blood’, he was only a youngster in his 70s. Now at 95 years young, the Tuckurimba...
397 views0 comments
Samantha Elley
Nov 43 min read
Military cross award revealed through lonely headstone
Hugh Russel received a Military Cross for his bravery in the Great War
165 views0 comments
Samantha Elley
Oct 142 min read
Celebrating 100th birthday with a smoke and a drink
Living past 100 years was a rare feat in days gone by and even rarer for men.
77 views0 comments
Samantha Elley
Oct 72 min read
First Australian woman killed in Vietnam
She was blonde and beautiful and at 19 years old, Cathy Wayne had the entertainment world at her feet. Her life, however, would be cut...
346 views0 comments
Samantha Elley
Oct 12 min read
Parents die while Bill is on the world stage
Imagine you are at the peak of your career as one of Australia's elite cricketers. So much so, you have been chosen as part of the...
198 views0 comments
Samantha Elley
Sep 172 min read
He fed the starving while his son butchered the car
It was the kindness of butcher, Daniel Walsh that stopped some from starving through the Depression.
277 views0 comments
Samantha Elley
Sep 102 min read
Female law student undeterred by prejudiced professor
In the era that Ada Emily Evans was born, it was rare for women to be in the legal profession.
95 views0 comments
Samantha Elley
Sep 32 min read
He ran the 700km postal trip in a fortnight
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this story contains the name and image of a person who has died.
230 views0 comments
Samantha Elley
Aug 273 min read
Plain headstone for complex man
For the amount of acclaim and controversy that Norman Lindsay's life created, his headstone is very simple by comparison. All it says is:...
324 views0 comments
Samantha Elley
Aug 202 min read
He saw the light at the end of the tunnel
When William Bassett died, he was the last pioneer of Tunnel in Tasmania and the second oldest resident of the Lilydale district. At 87...
475 views0 comments
Samantha Elley
Aug 62 min read
'Nothing left in this world to mother'
When Emily Mary Elizabeth Delo wrote a letter, giving her permission for her 18-year-old son John 'Jack' Alfred Alston Delo to join the...
480 views0 comments
Samantha Elley
Jul 232 min read
Night of hell for one young family
It was an oppressively hot day on the 5th April, 1887 in the small Northern Queensland gulf town of Burketown situated on the banks of...
910 views0 comments
Samantha Elley
Jul 162 min read
A hardy pioneer life for one woman
When Jane Power West died at the age of 90 years old in 1913, she took with her a lifetime of experiences only a pioneer woman in early...
628 views0 comments
Samantha Elley
Jul 93 min read
'A cup of tea for the priest?'
He was a familiar face in pioneering Australia as he set about to spread God's word.
380 views0 comments
Samantha Elley
Jun 252 min read
Gentleman bushranger became a hat-maker
You would think the words 'gentleman' and 'bushranger' were complete opposites
167 views0 comments
Samantha Elley
Jun 112 min read
From shipping office to outback squatter
When you have been a big part of the establishment of the cattle industry in a burgeoning outback economy, it seems a cruel fate to be...
298 views0 comments
Samantha Elley
Jun 42 min read
Messy artist had cheeky signature
"Oh Mr Hart! What a mess!" has become part of the Aussie lingo.
192 views0 comments
Samantha Elley
May 142 min read
A hidden cemetery under a school
For years children have been playing over the remains of early settlers.
434 views0 comments
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