The Journals of Lachlan and Elizabeth Macquarie
Today’s amazing online resource – the Journals of Lachlan and Elizabeth Macquarie – is generously brought to us all by Macquarie University and the State Library of New South Wales. Click here for full transcripts of diaries written over thirteen years by Lachlan Macquarie, governor of colonial New South Wales between 1810 and 1822, and his wife, Elizabeth….
Finding Eliza: Power and Colonial Storytelling by Larissa Behrendt – Book Review
Eliza Fraser’s story is one hell of a tale. No doubt you’ve heard it before: young woman shipwrecked off the Queensland coast in the 1836, long days at sea in an open boat, cast ashore on a large island inhabited by Aboriginal savages, husband killed and Eliza rescued from ‘a fate worse than death’ just…
Sydney Gazette – a treasure from Trove
Was there ever a more aptly named site than Trove? I’ve been having a lovely time searching through copies of the Sydney Gazette from 1805. Along the way I stumbled across the following, marvellous snippets. An eloping goose, dingoes, eels, goats and even a pot-smoking Reverend. A grey goose last week eloped from its owner,…
Australian Colonial Dance
Serendipity used to mean flicking through a dictionary and finding interesting and unusual words. But now it means stumbling across fascinating websites. Like this one: Australian Colonial Dance. It’s a lovely little blog about dance and music in colonial Australia, with interesting information and (crucially) bibliographic lists of sources. Of course my favourite post is the…