Edition 5

Traces

Uncovering the past

Traces1 min read
Welcome To The Fifth Edition Of Traces!
The end of 2018 marks the first anniversary of Traces’s first release. Fast-forwad 12 months and I still love sharing a little more about Australia’s past with each edition. In Traces Volume 5, our cover story by Richard James shines a light on Austr
Traces2 min read
Letters To The Editor
Dear Editor, Thank you for your magazine; I’m enjoying all the Australian content. The story ‘Finding your Anzac’ had a lot of great tips; however, one of the best sources is missing. The AIF Project by University of Canberra gives basic information
Traces2 min read
Heritage News
The burial site of Woollarawarre Bennelong will be preserved after the New South Wales Government announced in November that it has purchased the Sydney property on which it sits: 25 Watson Street, Putney. Bennelong was a mediator between Indigenous
Traces3 min readSocial Science
What’s New Online?
• Index of Wills and Probates, 1853–1943: more than 10 million records indexing wills, grants of probates, and letters of administration • Canadian Census, 1921: more than 8 million records describing name, relationship to head of household, marital
Traces2 min read
Mercycare Wembley
The Sister Martin Kelly Centre, at MercyCare’s Wembley campus in Perth, was built in 1892 for the Sisters of Mercy as a schoolhouse for the Subiaco Boys’ Orphanage. The limestone building, designed by Andrea Stombuco, is surrounded by old olive trees
Traces4 min read
Ned Kelly, villain
It seems there is no escaping Ned Kelly and his sordid tale of bushranging and murder. The Victorian Government recently pledged one million dollars of taxpayers’ money to restore, and develop as a tourist hub, Kelly’s birthplace at Beveridge. A vaca
Traces4 min read
The Endless Appeal Of Edward ‘Ned’ Kelly
Kelly was truly a legend in his own lifetime – and he knew it. Many people have a very particular idea in their head of Ned Kelly. He’s either a ruthless cop killer and thief, or a poor country boy turned freedom fighter. Like all good outlaw legends
Traces7 min read
Young Irelanders in Tasmania
In 1848, long before the tricolour became Ireland’s official flag, before it was waved over Dublin’s GPO during the 1916 rising, Meagher flew the tricolour from 33 The Mall in Waterford City, near where his statue stands today. The son of Waterford’s
Traces4 min read
Reconciliation In Trusted Hands
The scent of eucalyptus smoke lures passersby to the sandstone structures of Woodford Academy in the Blue Mountains. It cuts through the scratchy smells of vehicles and asphalt, casually curls around doorways, clings to walls and seeps into rooms, cl
Traces3 min readMedical
The Spanish Flu In Australia
The outbreak probably began on an army base in the United States in the last year of World War I. It soon reached Europe and spread. Ten per cent of Australian troops in Britain were infected, and 209 died. The Royal Australian Navy lost 26 men to th
Traces1 min readMedical
Tracing The Flu
Were your ancestors affected by the Spanish flu pandemic? Like much family history research, it can be hard to uncover relevant records and the answers they provide may be questionable. Death certificates for the relevant period (1918–1920) are obvio
Traces5 min readPsychology
The Maddest Place On Earth
Traces: Congratulations on the award. What made you decide to write the book? Jill Giese: Thank you. The award caps off an engrossing research and writing journey, full of surprises. For starters, I was astonished to learn that colonial Victoria offi
Traces1 min read
Fremantle Prison: The Convict Establishment
Built by convict labour and used as a place of incarceration for almost 140 years, the World Heritage–listed Fremantle Prison is one of Perth’s premier cultural attractions, providing visitors a unique insight into the history of convictism on the we
Traces8 min read
A Journey Back In Time To Norfolk Island
As we boarded the Air New Zealand flight to Norfolk Island on a Friday morning, my partner and I chatted about Marcus Clarke’s fictional convict classic, For the Term of His Natural Life. In it, Clarke describes Norfolk Island as a ‘dreadful place… s
Traces2 min read
More Than Its Heritage
During our time in Norfolk Island, we were constantly reminded that there is more to the place than its captivating history. The view from Mount Pitt, 320 metres above sea level, is a good example, giving you a 360-degree view of the whole island and
Traces4 min read
A Respectable Profession – Nursing In Australia
Traces: Your book features many great tragedies, especially over the war years, and reading the story of Vivian Bullwinkel and her fellow nurses who suffered at the hands of the Japanese soldiers was terribly sad. What other stories of heroism inspir
Traces2 min read
Street Photography
Street photographers were a familiar part of central Sydney life from the 1930s to the late 1950s. Armed with small portable cameras and positioned around the city, they photographed hundreds of pedestrians each day. Emerging at a time when personal
Traces6 min readCrime & Violence
The women of Old Ararat Gaol
Perched on a hill in Ararat, Victoria, is a bluestone building that incarcerated Victoria’s criminals and the criminally insane for more than a century. Ararat Gaol began construction in 1861 and was later transferred to the Victorian Lunacy Departme
Traces2 min read
Study Your Family History
Kristyn, tell us about the Diploma of Family History at UTAS. The diploma suits anyone with an interest in exploring their family’s past, plus those who work in a library, archive, or other institution where people seek help to find information about
Traces4 min read
A Treasure Lost And Found
My great-great-grandfather, Stephen Neate Dark, came to Australia from Wiltshire, England, as a 25-year-old passenger on the barque Bengal in 1840. He was a qualified flour miller and soon found employment in the settlement of Liverpool, New South Wa
Traces4 min read
Joseph Tuso: Child Convict
Traces: Tell us a little about your ancestor, Joseph Tuso. How did he come to be a First Fleet convict aboard the HMS Scarborough? Janette Baker: At the age of 14, Joseph was tried and convicted at the Old Bailey on 7 July 1784. The crime was assault
Traces4 min read
Pompey Elliott – A Legendary Australian Leader
Harold ‘Pompey’ Elliott (1878–1931) was Australia’s most famous fighting general in World War I. A charismatic, controversial and highly successful commander, he embodied exceptional intellect, authenticity and resolve. An accomplished tactician and
Traces5 min read
Australia’s War With France
It was the era of ‘Vichy France’, a murky and mostly forgotten period following the French surrender. When the Germans occupied Paris, a conservative – borderline fascist – French puppet government sympathetic to the Nazis was installed at the spa to
Traces4 min read
Freddie McEvoy Australia’s International Man Of Mystery
Born in Melbourne in 1907, Freddie spent most of his life in France and the United States, where he was the best mate of Tasmanian-born actor Errol Flynn. Together, they tore up Hollywood in swashbuckling style, creating one scandal after another wit
Traces2 min readCrime & Violence
Snowdropping
Australians are fond of slang, and various crimes throughout the course of our history have had their own strange names. Slang, despite being detested by some people, has always been prevalent among all classes and groups of society – but none more s
Traces5 min read
Art From Antiques
Tess Chodan’s creative vision was sparked when she stumbled upon her first antique collection of moths (which dated back to 1910 and was perfectly preserved). She left her career as a dealer in antique furniture and has since been pursuing her passio
Traces4 min read
Vaucluse House
Vaucluse House is a testament to the man for whom it was built, William Charles Wentworth. A sprawling and impressive Gothic Revival house, its story is often told through the lens of William’s triumphs and foibles. The list of achievements by the ma

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