The Dunny
Growing up in the unsewered Melbourne suburbs of Bentleigh and later Moorabbin in the 1950s, I became accustomed to the delights of the outside lavatory –...
Author: pjg
Stormin’ Norman
Australian artist Norman Lindsay produced many anti-German drawings and cartoons as well as posters for the 1916 Conscription campaign (before learning of the death of his brother at...
Conchies
In 1916 a new word entered the English language – ‘conchies’ – a derogatory term used by the press and the public in referring to...
A sturdy word from Birdy
When the First World War began, Britain’s Minister for War, Lord Kitchener, placed Major General William Birdwood in command of the Australian and New Zealand...
Migans at the Front
My great great grandfather Peter Migan was discharged from the 58th Rutlandshire regiment of the British Army in 1853, having assisted in the transportation of...
The Pain At Home
Several of my extended family participated in the two World Wars. Letters to and from Government Ministeries, War Departments and AIF /NZEF Base Records help to...
Yank Crank Bank
To help American servicemen orientate to Aussie ways during the second world war, the US Army produced the following instruction booklet in 1942. Some highlights include...
Sunbeams
TO ‘SUNBEAMERS’ Sunbeam Certificates will be awarded young readers for good puzzles, riddles, drawings or original stories or verses. The Purple Certificate equals...
The Glowing Demon
It was my 63rd birthday recently. The following article appeared in Melbourne’s Argus newspaper on the day I was born, in 1952. When do we see...
A Badly Coloured Supplement
OUR COLORED SUPPLEMENT – ROBBING A BEE TREE Aboriginal races seem to become more and more interesting as they gradually die out or are swept from off...