Hiding a fascinating story behind its deceptively simple appearance, this wooden shuttle was used during the Pacific War (1944 – 1945) to weave green camouflage netting, intended to be used by soldiers stationed in the Pacific. World War II placed an unprecedented demand on Australian communities. As men answered the call to fight, women increasingly […]
The Glen Innes Examiner – formerly the Glen Innes Examiner and General Advertiser – has been a source of news for the Glen Innes community of New South Wales for a hundred and fifty years. First established in 1874, the newspaper played an important role in the early days of the town. Spreading information about […]
During the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, dentistry in Australia was developing at a rapid pace. In NSW, the Dentistry Act was legislated in January 1901, which established dentistry as a profession. New regulations offered a structure to assess the legitimacy of practising dentists and stop those who were unqualified from operating questionable […]
These days, many people are familiar with dental braces and trying to create the perfect smile. However, you might be surprised to know that braces have been around for thousands of years – worn by even the ancient Egyptians! Straight teeth have been aesthetically sought after for a very long time. Ancient Egyptians, Romans, and […]
In the late 1800s, wind-up toys emerged in Europe and captivated young hearts across the continent. This phenomenon began with simple designs, but soon evolved into the production of intricate and enchanting toys which could move seemingly of their own accord. The whir of mechanised hands and feet, the clatter of tin wheels on wooden […]
Percy Puck Sing Young must have been impressed when he walked into the Kwong Sing War store (later known as Kwong Sing & Co.) in 1894. The owner, Wong Chee, had recently erected a new building for the business in Glen Innes, northern NSW, and it stocked a huge range of items. Young soon got […]
While this metal contraption might look a little scary, it provided life-saving support for hundreds of newborn babies who struggled to take their first breaths. Dr William K. McIntyre (1881-1969), was a gynaecologist and obstetrician who practised in Launceston, Tasmania, on Kanamaluka county. McIntyre grew frustrated with the lack of options when it came to […]
When Jean Bellette (1908–1981) painted this modernist still life in the kitchen of her newly-acquired weekender in Hill End, she could not have foreseen the legacy she was creating for the arts in Bathurst. Her painting won the inaugural Carillon City Festival Art Prize in 1955 and was the first work acquired for the Bathurst […]
A chance encounter with a travelling photographer changed the course of young Charles Bayliss’s life in 1866. He was sixteen years old and living in suburban Melbourne when Beaufoy Merlin knocked on the door and asked to photograph the family home. The entrepreneurial Merlin had started a business documenting the buildings and houses of the […]
Greg Weight (1946- ) has been photographing artists since he joined Martin Sharp, Brett Whiteley, George Gittoes, and Peter Kingston at the artist-run Yellow House in Sydney in 1970. There, he met people who fascinated him for the ways in which they interpreted ‘the mystery and phenomena of the real world.’ For Weight, taking photographs […]
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