Born five years after the first World War (1914-1918), Lil Jordan had already travelled through childhood and adolescence, married and had her first child by the time she came to live in Iluka with her husband Jim in the late-1940s. With the strains of WWII (1939-1945) having slowly eased, optimistic times were returning. Lil had […]
From the late-1900s the small settler community at Iluka promoted the village as an idyllic spot, to locals and other leisure seekers. The earliest holiday accommodation provided was at John Rush’s North Head Hotel, built in 1874. By 1916 the Hotel underwent an upgrade to meet expanded demand for either the weekend get-away, or a […]
On the corner of Micalo and Charles Streets in the coastal village of Iluka, for over thirty-five years the warm smiling faces of Jim (1896-1975) and Flo Steele (nee Cullen 1899-1987) welcomed customers into their convenience store. Jim and Flo moved to the village in the mid-1930s to begin running their small grocery shop. But […]
Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ Hickey (1887–1965) was bound to become a well-known figure in Iluka, a small coastal village in northern New South Wales. Her parents, John and Eliza Hickey, arrived in the early 1880s and established a post office, weaving themselves into the fabric of the seaside community. For their efforts, the Hickey’s post office would […]
A musical instrument? Some sort of animal horn? Not quite! You might be surprised to learn that this is actually a historical hearing aid. Known as an ‘ear trumpet,’ these devices were used to help people hear better. By holding the narrow end close to the ear, the wider end would collect and funnel sound […]
With the smell of buttery popcorn in the air and cold Passiona fizzing in eager hands, everyone got settled into their seats. Rows of sturdy, wooden folding chairs filled the Iluka Memorial Hall as Iluka’s own picture show man, Frank Clancy, prepared to project the latest film on the big screen. Born in 1905, Frank […]
By the 1890s, Iluka had already earned a strong reputation for its oysters, fished from the Clarence River and shipped to Sydney. Soon, prawns and fish like flathead, snapper, and bream followed, expanding Iluka’s fishing industry, and drawing in more fishermen to the region. As Iluka grew, so did the challenge of keeping catches fresh […]
When Hebe Prindable took this large oval-shaped basket down from the wall of his shed, to hand to the Iluka Museum, he knew it was worth more than the weight of the fish it once carried. Hebe himslelf used this very basket, along with other members of his family – the Prindables. The basket was […]
Mary Brown first laid eyes on Iluka in the early 1970s alongside her husband, Barry, and soon settled into the calm rhythm of the coastal village, on Yaegl Country in northern New South Wales. They moved into a weatherboard house at 9 Charles Street where they began a new chapter of their life together. Barry […]
Owned and operated by ‘Bill’ Hickey (William 1886–1973) from the 1910s to 1955, the timber launch known as Beryl was used to transfer people, goods, and the mail, across the Clarence River from Yamba to Iluka. She ran this route in tandem with her sister motor-launch the Phfrane (pronounced Fray-nee), also owned by Bill. Europeam […]
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