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Welcome to a new year

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I ended 2016 in a rather reflective mood as it was a year with mixed blessings for me. I wonder what 2017 will bring. In my December post I preferred to use the term ‘aspirations’ rather than ‘resolutions’ and Helen in her post last week spoke about setting goals for the year. We all seem to have the same idea of looking forward in its broadest sense. Thomas MacEntee in a recent Geneabloggers post (http://www.geneabloggers.com) explained that he’d been contemplating … Continue reading

Wheeler Project – Reflections

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Annie Wheeler’s index of Central Queenslanders serving in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) has enabled Genealogical Society of Queensland (GSQ) volunteers to document the lives of more than 2,700 Australian men and women who fought and died and World War I. Their service records, housed in the National Archives of Australia (NAA), show the diseases from which they suffered – scabies and diarrhoea, trench foot, venereal disease, influenza and tuberculosis – as well as the battle injuries that either killed … Continue reading

CHRISTMAS MEMORIES

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Because it is Christmas time I thought I would write with a Christmas theme this time. Unfortunately, I do not have any stories, letters or photos handed down from previous generations that show how they celebrated their Christmases, so I will tell you about Christmas for me as a child growing up in the 50’s and 60’s in a small town in Northern New South Wales.   There was always a tree, a big one, almost reaching to the ceiling. … Continue reading

Reflections

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As the year draws to a close, we often reflect on the events during the year and start to think of what lies ahead. Like me, many of you have probably experienced the highs and lows that life can throw at us. The worst low was the death of a very close friend after a short but painful battle with cancer. The best high, and an ongoing joy, has been getting to know my new grandson who turned one in … Continue reading

Wheeler Redux – Australia, Forever Changed

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One-sixth of Australia’s total pre-World War I population of 5 million was killed in action or wounded in the Middle East battles at Egypt or Gallipoli, in France or Belgium at Messines, Polygon Wood, Passchendaele. Survivors of these battles were discharged, repatriated to Australia, expected to take up their lives after what is today acknowledged as the most brutal war in living memory. Some managed to resume their pre-war lives, despite old wounds, amputations, painful memories of loss and sacrifice; … Continue reading