Florrie, Ethel, Percy, Frank and Marjorie Bray were all born on the Tweed River between 1870 and 1881. They were the children of Gertrude and Joshua Bray, who were among the earliest Europeans to permanently settle and farm in the district. They were raised in a large extended family, of 12 siblings, as well as […]
Richard Sneddon drove his horse and cart to the back door of the bakery of the West Wallsend Cooperative Society and filled his baskets with fresh loaves, which had been baked and neatly stacked on trollies the previous afternoon. Around the town, Richard left bread at the houses of co-op members, and collected the small […]
Three hearty cheers for William J.A. Bryce concluded an event on a Wednesday evening in 1903 at the Milton School of Arts. Bryce had been manager of the Milton branch of the English, Scottish & Australian (ES&A) Bank for over thirteen years, but it was closing since the town had suffered a downturn in business. […]
In the Aberdare Extended colliery pit where 34-year-old Thomas Brunskill was mining, it was dark, dusty, muddy, and noisy. About 1.30pm, without warning, several large chunks of the prized dense black coal detached from the roof of the confined space and struck Thomas, badly injuring his neck and shoulder. The year was 1927 and he […]
A 2015 image created by designer Miranda Heckenberg, with staff and volunteers at the Tamworth Powerstation Museum, this pastiche mimics 1950s and 60s advertising. Using the colour palette, fonts and text to recreate the post-war period this fun image has multiple elements revealing so much about the period if we look. The model, Kathryn Armstrong, […]
Milton Mudge probably felt a hint of pride each time a new batch of timber crates arrived, and he took down this stencil where it hung on the wall of his cordial factory in Milton. He painted the sides of the timber crates through the gaps in the letters, marking his name ‘M.J. Mudge / […]
The introduction of electricity into the home created a boom in labour saving devices. From the start of the twentieth century, these devices were marketed strongly towards women, who did the majority of work in the home. Electric washing machines, like the machine shown here, along with vacuums, hair dryers and clothing irons all entered […]
One Monday evening in May 1916, such a large crowd had gathered at the Morpeth School of Arts that many people could not gain admission. It seemed the whole town had turned up for the formal presentation to their popular postmaster, John Buckley (1865-1929), who was being transferred to Gosford. The crowd applauded loudly as […]
At the start of WWII a British military intelligence division formed to support the war effort. One of their key objectives was to assist prisoners of war to escape if caught behind enemy lines. A range of escape and evade equipment was created, including silk maps, of which the creator Clayton Hutton described as ‘the […]
In 1873, when shepherding in a lonely valley at Mulla Creek on Kamilaroi Country near Tamworth, 17-year-old Bridget Coleman (1856-1873) was assaulted and strangled. The lock of hair shown here is Bridget’s. Bridget’s brother Thomas, who was minding the sheep with her, discovered Bridget’s bloodied body lying face-down. Alarmed at the sight of her lifeless […]
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