A site of history s odds and ends, and lots of books.
I ve always liked lighthouses. I think it s something to do with their solidness, as sentinels on the edge of the world. I like the stone, the history and the beacon in the darkness. It also helps that they are usually on stunning pieces of coastline. I have two pictures of lighthouses as part of my [ ]
Welcome to this guest post by Sam Mee, the founder of the Antique Ring Boutique. Walk through Australian cities today and you can’t miss their 19th-century Victorian inheritance. St Paul’s Cathedral towers above Melbourne’s commercial skyline while Flinders Street Station still dictates the city’s transport logic, much as the original terminus did 150 years ago. [ ]
So, this is technically not a new post. It s an update to an old one. In 2015 I went on a trip the Wimmera in Victoria and came across two horse troughs in two different towns with the same inscription. The inscription read that they had been donated by Annis and George Bills. You can [ ]
It s been a while, life, work and other writing are basically the reasons. But I m hoping to get back into a slightly more regular blog schedule, as there s a backlog of, I hope, interesting things I want to write about. But back to the buried village. The village in question is Te Wairoa, just out [ ]
This is a slight departure for Historical Ragbag, as I ll be looking at a mythical figure. But it still involves research and a good story so I decided it still fit. In researching for my novel, it s contemporary and with merpeople but based on Welsh history and mythology, I came across a figure who gets [ ]
The story behind this post comes from a couple of pages of Dr Clare Wright s excellent book The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka. It s a fascinating read with lots of really interesting information, but there was one aside apart from the broader narrative that, when I read it a few years ago, made me go, wait, [ ]
Bear s Castle is an enigma. There is little agreement over why it was built, or its purpose, but it truly captures the imagination. Bear s Castle stands on the edge of the Yan Yean Reservoir, just out of Whittlesea. It s one of those places I d only seen photos of, so to say I was pleased to [ ]
Tae Rak, a wetlands environment which is part of the World Heritage Listed Budj Bim Landscape, is a remarkable place. Not only is it a place of evident beauty, but it a landscape that has been actively cultivated for thousands of years by the Gunditjmara people. The presence not only of eel traps, but the [ ]
Welcome to another iteration of Ragbag On Road. In this edition, you find me on the incredible Silo Art Trail in Western Victoria. Introduction below. So, in this post I m going to take you on a tour of the Silo Art Trail, its history and some of the history of the towns and the silos [ ]
The remarkable twelve story neo-gothic Manchester Unity Building opened in December 1932 in Melbourne, a gothic salute to the industry of the time and home to the Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows. The Order are inscribed on the bones of the building. From crests on the facade to the mosaic in the entrance. Everything [ ]