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Tales from the Grave
Uncovering family history from down under
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Horses and children didn't always mix
Sending a child to run errands while controlling a large horse wouldn't have been an issue in earlier days in regional areas. Many...

Samantha Elley
Apr 22, 20251 min read


45-year-old cold case still hoping to be solved
Maria James was a mum of two boys and owned a second hand book store on High Street, Thornbury in Victoria. It was also her residence...

Samantha Elley
Apr 8, 20253 min read


Jane Doe gains identity after 60 years
Fifty eight years ago a woman's body was found in Tiburon, California by a hunter. For the next six decades she would be known as the...

Samantha Elley
Mar 27, 20252 min read


River crossing was his last action
There is nothing sadder than coming across a headstone that denotes the last burial place of a young person. This was the case for...

Samantha Elley
Mar 13, 20252 min read


Little orphan engulfed in flames
At 11 years of age, Annie Murphy had already been dealt a cruel blow in life, finding herself living at St Aidan's Orphanage in the...

Samantha Elley
Feb 27, 20252 min read


Baking business brings in the dough
He left tens of thousands of pounds, after years of baking.

Samantha Elley
Feb 11, 20252 min read


Convict's wife runs inn on Bathurst road
It wasn't just convicts that were sent to the NSW penal colony.

Samantha Elley
Jan 28, 20252 min read


First gardener buried in oldest grave
If you wanted to find one of the oldest European graves in Australia, it would surely belong to Henry Edward Dodd.

Samantha Elley
Jan 14, 20252 min read


What ladder did they walk under?
Many of us have issues we have to deal with in life, but next time you are struggling, spare a thought for George Henry Tunsted and his fami

Samantha Elley
Dec 31, 20243 min read


POW son released a month after Denis dies
When Denis Ahern breathed his last and passed to the other side, he left not knowing where his son, William Vincent Ahern was. His last...

Samantha Elley
Dec 17, 20242 min read


Too much tragedy for one family
To lose one member of the family in an horrific accident is more than most people can bear.

Samantha Elley
Nov 26, 20242 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...

Samantha Elley
Nov 19, 20242 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...

Samantha Elley
Nov 9, 20242 min read


Military cross award revealed through lonely headstone
Hugh Russel received a Military Cross for his bravery in the Great War

Samantha Elley
Nov 5, 20243 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.

Samantha Elley
Oct 15, 20242 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...

Samantha Elley
Oct 8, 20242 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...

Samantha Elley
Oct 1, 20242 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.

Samantha Elley
Sep 17, 20242 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.

Samantha Elley
Sep 10, 20242 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.

Samantha Elley
Sep 3, 20242 min read
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