It all seems so long ago now. I refer to the days of my childhood and my memories of my grandmother, Eva Dalby. Memories that have faded with time. I can still visualise my Nana’s house in Broadmeadow, Newcastle; it was her domain. I spent a reasonable length of time in that home, sometimes visiting with my mother and at other times I would stay overnight at the request of my parents. Constructed in the early 1900’s, the cement-rendered home … Continue reading
Twenty years ago, it was a surprise to learn of the existence of a diary written by my great-grandfather William White between 1894 – 1904. One of his grandsons, Alan kindly offered to loan the diary to me so that I could transcribe it and include this insight into their family life in my book on the White family. Many thanks for that Alan. In transcribing the diary which is notated on 146 pages of an ordinary exercise book with … Continue reading
This woman’s story started my passion for writing about my family history. I don’t know what her character was like before she was sent out to Australia, but I think she was or became a strong resourceful woman who cared about her family and community. In a strange twist, DNA testing to enhance my family history information, found out that I was not biologically related to her. Nevertheless, I think her story is indicative of many pioneer women whose struggle … Continue reading
One hundred years ago, on 30 June 1922, the Four Courts building in Dublin was bombed and thousands of government records were destroyed in the blast. Ever since, historians have rued the extensive devastation of valuable source material which the current Irish project Beyond 2020 seeks to remedy. Ernie O’Malley in his book, The Singing Flame, described the carnage: ‘Flame sang and conducted its own orchestra simultaneously’. Staunch Republican O’Malley who reported directly to Michael Collins and Richard Mulcahy during … Continue reading
For some time now I’ve had a photo of a man in a military style uniform in my possession. It was passed to me by my mother when she moved house as she knew of my interest in our family’s history. The photo was originally found in my Nan’s wardrobe after she passed away in 2004. The simple frame was barely holding together, there were no markings or inscriptions on the photo itself to indicate who this gentleman was, or … Continue reading
