We had been winding our way along the McPherson Range, the road rising and falling through pockets of rainforest and open ridgelines, when we crossed from New South Wales into Queensland almost unnoticed. There was no gate, delay, or uniformed inspector asking questions, just a sign by the roadside and a subtle shift in the feel of the country.
Where a border became a barrier Read More »
When most Australians crack open a macadamia and taste that creamy, sweet kernel inside a shell hard enough to blunt a hammer, few stop to think about how old this nut really is. Long before farmers worked the Wide Bay or northern New South Wales, and well before Europeans set foot in the southern hemisphere, the macadamia’s ancestors were already thriving.
From Gondwana rainforest to global industry – the macadamia story Read More »
My interest in the slouch hat originally stemmed from my research into the Australian Light Horse and their use of the emu feather in their headgear. However, I quickly realised that the slouch hat itself was more than just a backdrop to that famous plume – it told a story worth sharing in its own right.
The story of the slouch hat Read More »
By the time Australians learned the names Sparrow Force and Lark Force, their fate had already been sealed.
In early 1942, three small Australian units — Sparrow Force in Timor, Lark Force in New Britain, and Gull Force on Ambon — formed a fragile arc north of the mainland.
Gull Force: sacrifice on the Spice Island Read More »
Two years ago, I wrote about Lark Force at Rabaul and how a small Australian garrison, sent forward on a strategic idea that no longer made sense, was quickly overwhelmed when the Japanese attacked. That story didn’t end on the battlefield but at sea, with the sinking of the Montevideo Maru and the loss of over a thousand Australian prisoners of war and civilians, whose fates went almost unnoticed at the time.
Sacrificed in silence: Sparrow Force on Timor Read More »
When surveyor John Charlton Thompson first mapped out Bundaberg in the early 1870s, few could have imagined that the small settlement on the Burnett River would eventually become the beating heart of one of Queensland’s most renowned agricultural industries.
Sweet ambition: the story of Bundaberg sugar Read More »
For many Australians of a certain age, the magic of Christmas wasn’t just about the excitement of presents under the tree or the smell of a roast wafting through the kitchen. It also meant the annual arrival of Christmas beetles.
Their abundance meant they quickly became ingrained in our cultural psyche.
When Beetles Lit the Night Read More »
Another Spring Carnival in Melbourne has come and gone. I wasn’t born a racing man. While I went to school with guys steeped in the Sydney scene at Royal Randwick Racecourse, I was never hooked. I have a couple of mates in Hervey Bay, Dave from “the Shire” in Sydney and Macca from Alice Springs.
The Valley’s last turn Read More »
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Streets with trees come to hold a cherished place in the hearts and minds of those living with them … recollections of growth from seedling to maturity, of gracious light and shade, brilliant young green of spring-time, dignified shade in the heat of the day.
Every spring, as October fades and the heat of the coming summer begins to crackle in the air, something magical unfurls across parts of Australia.
A purple reign in an Australian spring Read More »
Some say Australia runs on prawns, and during our travels around Australia, I saw a hint of truth to that statement.
The prawn has come a long way from humble beginnings in the shallow waters of Sydney Cove to vast aquaculture farms in Shark Bay and bustling trawler fleets off Karumba.
A crustacean chronicle Read More »
