The Cygnet Joyspreaders Orchestra
I’ve been researching Clarence Stafford John Burton (1890-1970) who was born in 1890 at Emu Bay, Tasmania. His father, Edward Burton, was headteacher at the Lovett State School in 1907. In the 70s, I crewed on his namesake, the C…
John Harrison Hansbrough and the Cleburne Estate
John Harrison Hansbrough, an African American, was born near Stevensburg, Virginia in 1860, in the shadow of the looming Civil War. At the age of 34, he emigrated to Australia in 1894. He was employed as a labourer by Richard…
The Tatler Theatrette and the Manhattan Coffee Lounge
There was discussion in the Tasmanian History Facebook group recently of the old Tatler Theatrette in Murray Street, Hobart. I remember going there quite often as a small child when my mother would take my older sister and me to…
ANZAC Day
In Australia today it is ANZAC Day. A national day of remembrance of all those who served in theatres of war. Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the first campaign that led to major casualties for Australian and New Zealand…
My mother’s family
Growing up I heard my mother and her sisters speak of growing up in Collinsvale during the Depression years of the 1930s. Tough times for workers and dirt farmers alike, and formative years in their lives. They were stoic. They…
