Britain

Satinay and the Suez Canal – how an engineering history became a timber myth

27 February 2026 / 4 Comments

Introduction: why this story needed to be written

I have previously written about satinay. In an earlier essay, ‘The aristocratic satinay,’ I explored the history of this remarkable Fraser Island timber, from its initial neglect to its eventual recognition as one of Australia’s finest hardwoods. That story emerged from years spent in and around Fraser Island’s forests and from a fascination with how a timber once considered unworkable came to be highly valued for flooring, furniture and demanding marine applications.

Sacrificed in silence: Sparrow Force on Timor

13 February 2026 / 1 Comment

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.

The Cricket bat – a journey from the backyard to Test matches

31 January 2025 / 4 Comments

Nostalgic beginnings

Growing up in Australia in the 1970s, I spent countless hours playing backyard cricket during those balmy summer evenings. Despite my love for the game, I never excelled, oscillating between dreams of being a superb bowler or a top-order batsman, yet failing to master either. My lack of skills was evident as I was always the 11th-picked player on our school cricket team, batting last and rarely bowling.

The debt of burden was the skeleton in all their closets – the failure of the Beerburrum Soldiers Settlement Scheme

20 September 2024 / 5 Comments

A Grand Vision

The Queensland government funded Beerburrum Soldier Settlement Scheme was a disaster. The aim was to provide repatriated servicemen from World War I with farms where “swords could be transformed into ploughshares” for a tranquil existence in a rural climate.

The high enlistment numbers and enormous physical and mental casualties from the war, forced Australian authorities to develop a repatriation policy.

A sleepy coastal town comes alive during wartime

14 June 2024 / 3 Comments

Gold fossickers were the first settlers to the Evans Head area on the far north coast of New South Wales. Not finding gold, they turned to oyster farming and prawning, with Evans Head becoming Australia’s first commercial prawn port.

In 1919, an Italian immigrant, John Rosolen, built the first General Store.

Special ANZAC stories

25 April 2024 / 8 Comments

I have decided to write this blog to commemorate and remember the men from settlements in and around Surrey Hills who fought in wars.

In Chapter 10 of my book, “Fires, Farms and Forests”, I outlined some of the war service by men from Guildford Junction. This blog goes into more detail and includes stories about men from Parrawe and Bulgobac.

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The humble clothes peg

29 March 2024 / 6 Comments

Ever since humans have worn garments, they have had to wash them. Where to put the garments to dry has a fascinating history. We always think that pegs hung them. However, clothes pegs only have a relatively recent past. Before the nineteenth century, laundry was hung on bushes, limbs or lines without fasteners to hold the clothes in place. … Read more

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The Waler – a remarkable horse and an Aussie legend

10 November 2023 / 7 Comments

“By members of the Desert Mounted Corps and friends, to the gallant horses who carried them over the Sinai Desert into Palestine, 1915-19. They suffered wounds, thirst, hunger and weariness almost beyond endurance, but they never failed. They did not come home”.

Inscription on a monument erected by returned soldiers in Sydney

As we stop tomorrow to remember those who fought in wars but didn’t return home, I thought I would share an Australian story about a unique horse breed in Australia.… Read more

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Z Special Unit Part 1 – Operation Jaywick, the remarkable mission behind enemy lines

8 September 2023 / 5 Comments

Introduction

This month 80 years ago, a small, unassuming ex-Japanese fishing vessel was pivotal in an audacious and successful secret commando operation by a handful of courageous Australians against the mighty Japanese war machine during World War II. Its history and how it got into Australian hands is remarkable. So is the bravery of its crew.… Read more

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The slow disappearance of one of Fraser Island’s tourist icons

14 July 2023 / 6 Comments

Every Fraser Island visitor has seen or knows about the Maheno wreck on the eastern shore about five kilometres north of Happy Valley. These days it is a tourist attraction and photographic stop. It must be the most photographed piece of rust in the world. The rusted remains, however, bear no resemblance to the luxury liner that plied its trade between Australia and New Zealand and the war-time hospital shipping the Mediterranean.… Read more

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