The following is a true, factual, plain and simple story of the death of my Great Uncle Samuel. On Tuesday 13th of June 1882 my mother’s uncle Samuel Johnson died aged 15 and a bit. My mother never knew him – he died 33 years before she was born. Bacchus Marsh, where he lived, was a very new area and not yet officially a town although … Continue reading Death of Great Uncle Sam
When you’re driving you usually have your car radio set to your favourite station. On really stinkin’ hot days most people set the dial to ABC 774 because that station has fire warnings. Today it was continuous. So if you have never experience the fun ‘n’ games of living near a bush fire keep reading. Fire Weather Warning for the South West and Central forecast … Continue reading Waiting for a cool change.
During her second year at University my daughter produced a short film. This is her film. In some dystopian world in the distant future, or perhaps not so very distant at all, personality traits can be purchased from a supplier. The desire to be open minded and caring can be contrasted by a wish to be commanding and manipulative. So by working with a blank … Continue reading Visiting Dystopia
Those of you waiting with bated breath for the next instalment of the Chinamen’s Track might just need to have a little patience. I am in the process of moving out of my little flat in Melbourne and going back to live in Ballarat. So to fill in a few idle moments I need to catch up with a few places in Melbourne that I … Continue reading Postcard to Holly
It is taking a while to get the next ‘Chinamen’s Track’ post up so her are a few more photos to keep you amused. Continue reading An interlude
Pink. There is no reason at all for this post except that it is something to do while I work on the next part of the Chinamen’s Track. And in the end I just threw the ice away. No harm was done. Continue reading The Colour Pink
53 Ships. This is for anyone interested in fine detail. You may also have a better ability to research that I. The table below has been extracted from the publication linked here . Of course you won’t know what you’ve got on a tiny screen. But have fun. These are the fifty three ships that brought Chinese miners to Australia and avoided paying Victorian taxes. … Continue reading The Chinamen’s Track: Part Three
Back To The Beginning Please indulge me for a moment. Let us willingly assume that the poor fellow who died on the “Chinamen’s Track” was Chaoxiang which is ironic because his name, when translated means that he was ‘expecting fortune’. Chaoxiang lived in a small village in Canton and with Zhong, his steadfast and loyal friend, they set out on an adventure that was much … Continue reading The Chinamen’s Track: Part Two
We were rich back then It was a hot December day. A stinking hot December day. Dad helped us harness up the old draught horse. Ben was ten foot tall. To me he was ten foot tall but I was only ten and Ben was a big horse. You could walk under him without bending. Not really but sort of. If it was the gig … Continue reading Back then
On my previous post one of you commented, “What a fascinating life you have had and what ‘interesting’ people you seem to know.” And, in truth, I have bumped into some very interesting people. I think most people have interesting encounters and experiences. Some aren’t always positive. Ten years before I was to retire the school I was at was closed down. It was in one … Continue reading A Negative Encounter.
