Leslie Clouten was recovering from his wounds on 28 September 1917 when he wrote a letter to his parents on the back of this folding souvenir postcard booklet. While serving at the front in France in June, Leslie had been injured by a gunshot wound in the abdomen, and was removed to England, suffering continual […]
Holding the arm of her new husband Ernest John Phillips, Scottish-born Jessie McGeachie (1883-1947), descended the stairs in the garden of her parentās home Craig Royston in Toronto, with its terraced lawns leading down to the edge of Lake Macquarie. It was the morning of 9 June 1909 and they had been directed to take […]
One Saturday evening in May 1935, the Blackalls Park Hall near the banks of Lake Macquarie was buzzing with excitement. It was the end of the swimming season, and the champions of the Stoney Creek Swimming Club were there to receive their trophies. The unbeatable menās champion, Bill Walker, knew the hall well. He had […]
When the Lake Macquarie swimming champion Bill Walker heard his name called, and he stepped up to receive his award for the Senior Point Score of 1935-6, he might have had a chuckle at being handed this silver-plated teapot trophy. That fresh winter evening in June 1936, at the Blackalls Park Hall near the banks […]
One Sunday in early February 1933, Bill Walker splashed out of the murky water and up the sandy bank of Stoney Creek near Toronto, Lake Macquarie. Puffing from swimming the 200-yard (183-metre) race, the 20-year-old was in fine form ā beating his competitors in the very respectable time of 2 minutes and 46 seconds. That […]
Drawn up in 1901, 1914 and 1920, these land subdivision sale posters from Toronto, Lake Macquarie, illustrate small pieces of what was essentially an enormous jigsaw puzzle. Named the Toronto Estate, the āpuzzleā had been created in 1885-7, when the attractive lakeside land was first divided and auctioned by the Excelsior Land Investment and Building […]
In 1925 William and Jane Clouten of Tacoma added the final letter to this pile of correspondence they had been collecting. Creased where they had been folded for dispatch, the documentsā worn edges and dog-eared corners suggest they may have opened and read many times. Each document was a terrible reminder of the loss of […]
In this official Australian Imperial Force (AIF) postcard portrait made in 1916, Leslie Clouten, a 20-year-old fisherman from Lake Macquarie, looks proud and confident, still unscarred by the horrors of war. During battle in France in 1917, Leslie was shot in the abdomen. After recovering, he returned to the front, but was wounded again at […]
On a Monday night in 1950 a group of women gathered at Booloroo Uniting Church and sang from the heart. Based around Lake Macquarie (NSW, Australia), and adopting the Awabakal word for āmotherā, they became known as the Babaneek Ladiesā Choir. This is a story of faith, friendship, and the gift of song. […]
Minnie Hall was just a teenager when the First World War began. Like many girls her age, she had an autograph album – a personalised book for those nearest and dearest to her to decorate with memories and anecdotes. Have a look inside the pages for a glimpse at Minnieās world. […]
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