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Harold Freedman - Melbourne's artist for the people
Harold Freedman (1915–99) was born in Melbourne and educated at Melbourne Technical College. Starting his long career in 1936, he worked in all public arts: portraits, war propaganda, political...
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Ellis Island New York - a place of welcome or of discrimination?
Ellis Island is a small island in New York Harbour located in the upper bay near the New Jersey coast. By the time Samuel Ellis became the island's private owner in the 1770s, Ellis Island...
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Small pox, breakthrough doctors and the anti-Vaxxers
Giacomo Lorandi wrote of the pro-inoculation career of Theodore Tronchin in France and the anti-Tronchin response, to be followed by the anti-vaccination movement in Britain and the USA. Swiss...
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History of blood transfusions and soldiers at war
In 1628, Dr William Harvey was an English physician who published a book in which he described the circulation of blood in humans. Researchers commenced experiments involving the intravenous...
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Public art in rural Australia - grain silo murals
Victoria Spanning 200 ks across rural Wimmera-Mallee in Victoria, the federal and state-funded Silo Art Trail was designed to stimulate social, cultural and economic benefits to the region through...
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"Henry Ford and the Jews: The Mass Production of Hate by Baldwin
Henry Ford and the Jews: The Mass Production of Hate is by Neil Baldwin (published in 2002).Baldwin reported that car manufacturer Henry Ford (1863-1947), inventor Thomas Edison and tyre magnet Harvey...
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Norman Rockwell Museum - a lifetime of special art
The Chase School of Art opened to students in 1896 and two years later it became the New Yorker School of Art. New Yorker Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) enrolled in art classes at this school in 1908. Two...
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The meaning of British surnames - Ancestry.com
The names Australians gave new born babies was a widely cited post, covering the most popular first names given to boys and girls in Victoria since 1900. But I have never tackled surnames, given that...
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Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and Theosophy - or trickery?
The first part comes from the Blavatsky Archives; many thanks. Helena Petrovna von Hahn was born at Ekaterinoslav in Southern Russia, in 1831. She was the daughter of Colonel Peter von Hahn, and writer...
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two great museums in Leipzig - Johann Sebastian Bach and Felix Mendelssohn
I've long been interested in Leipzig’s musical connections. Now I'll summarise the details published in Discover Leipzig and focus on the historic Bose House-museum. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)...
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Ida Wells, a very special black-rights and women's-rights activist
Ida Wells (1862-1931) was the first child of James and Lizzie Wells who had been slaves of the Confederate states. The parents were freed by the Union, thanks to the Emancipation Proclamation in Dec...
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Children and Dogs – A Bridge to Nature guest post
In Nov 2016, Animal Medicines Australia released its Pet Ownership in Australia Report, providing insight into the state of pet ownership in this country. At 62%, Australia continues to have one of...
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Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov - great pretenders
In July 1918 Bolshevik revolutionaries, acting on Moscow’s orders, shot Czar Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, four daughters (Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia), their son Tsarevich...
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The kangaroo in WW1 - nationalist pride and homesickness
As shown in the photo below, a toy kangaroo, made of brown velvet and with movable legs, was dated between 1914 and 1918. Pinned to it was a collection of World War I fundraising badges made of...
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Bruges, a perfectly preserved medieval Belgian city
Bruges (pop 120,000) was founded in the north of Belgium in the C9th by Vikings who settled locally. A town developed around the fortress that the Counts of Flanders built in the area and the young...
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The late Thelma Webberley, a very fine journalist
Thelma Komesaroff (1923-2015) was a student at University High, an elective school in Melbourne that encouraged its students to stay at school, even throughout the Great Depression and the 1939-45...
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Can a great book be made into a very good film? On Chesil Beach
I had good reasons for seeing the 2017 film On Chesil Beach. Firstly Ian McEwan is one of the most intriguing modern novelists I have read, especially his 2007 novella of the same name! Secondly the...
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Little Tich - best comedic performer in the world, from 1884 on!
Harry Relph (1867-1928) was the 16th child of a very elderly Kent publican. Harry stood only 4’6” high, with dwarfish legs, and was born with six digits on each hand and foot. His deformities were...
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Intellectual Jewish life in Vienna in the early 20th century - Peter Singer
Here is a blog post of mine, reposted from 23/12/2008 and now modified.Prof Peter Singer, born safely in Australia straight after the 1939-1945 war, wanted to get to know his late grandfather, David...
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Germany’s Colonial Empire 1884-1918: Deutsches Historisches Museum
Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands etc had booming colonial empires, often after long and brutal struggles against local citizens. By the late 19th century, Germany also wanted colonies.We...
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