by Annie Hamilton The crack as the first musket went off was like a clap of strange thunder. ‘Gid doon, boyo! Thair feering …’ A rough hand thrust Bill to the ground. He could hardly understand the Irishman’s words. Then he realised what he’d heard: ‘Get down, boy! They’re firing …’ A volley of shots […]
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by Graham McDonald Whirr–whirr–whirr–whirr–whirr … the boomerang sang as it began to circle back through the air towards David’s hand. He caught it easily, then fingered the smooth acacia wood, deep in thought. What if …? There were rumours coming out of America of two brothers who had made a flying machine. One with fixed wings. […]
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Ann Jarvis: Honouring mothers
by Graham McDonald Mothers have been celebrated over the centuries in various ways and with various traditions, possibly since before ancient Roman times. In the 1600s, the Church of England created ‘Mothering Sunday’ in recognition of Mary the mother of Jesus. Later this religious celebration was expanded to include honouring all mothers. As time passed the celebration […]
by Graham McDonald Holden is no more: General Motors announces the 164-year-old Aussie auto brand will be axed by the end of the year. – Business Insider Australia, 17 February 2020 This announcement caused shock waves throughout Australia as so many of the population had grown up with the Holden brand. This was a sad […]
by Chanell Diaz 14-year-old Joseph Rowntree, travelling with his father to Ireland, saw first-hand the appalling effects of the Great Famine, where at least one million poor people starved to death. This was to have a real impact on his life. From 1836 to 1850 the Irish potato crop, which would normally feed about […]
by Aira Chilcott Each year on 12 May, nurses everywhere are celebrated on International Nurses Day. It falls on this date because it is the birthday of Florence Nightingale, who has been called the ‘mother of modern nursing’ and is sometimes known as ‘the lady with the lamp’. Florence Nightingale was born to wealthy British […]
His grandfather helped William Booth found the Salvation Army and helped Hudson Taylor start the famous China Inland Mission. His mother Mary spent time working as a missionary in China with Hudson Taylor and with the Reverend George Brown in Papua New Guinea. With such a Christian heritage, it’s not surprising that when Frederick and […]
Did you know that Queen Elizabeth II had two ceremonies to celebrate the beginning of her reign as Queen? The first was her public coronation as Queen, and the second was her ‘coronation’ as God’s servant. In this second un-televised ceremony, the Queen stood dressed in a simple white dress without any decoration. As she entered a […]
The line of horses struggled in the desert hills, their fetlocks sinking deep in the soft, burning sand. The dust stirred by their efforts rose in the still, searing air. The relentless sun seemed intent on delivering one message: ‘Go home, Aussies. This place is for camels, not horses.’ It was the Sinai Desert, 1917 […]
On New Year’s Eve 1999, an estimated 2 billion television viewers around the world watched Sydney’s spectacular millennium fireworks celebrations. The year 2000 was going to be a big year for Sydney. It was going to host the Olympic Games later in the year, and the whole country – actually, the whole world – was […]