Unintentially this issue has developed a travelling theme.

Among the offerings in this issue we have Mrs Elizabeth Hawkins' letter to her sister in England back in 1822 describing her tremendous journey to Bathurst; an interesting account by Frank Cridland of a trip by air from Sydney to Brisbane in 1930, as well as some personal reflections on the historic Pacific crossing of Charles Kingsford Smith and his crew. Max O'Rell came to Australia on a lecture tour in the 1890s and we have reproduced his observations of the Australian bush and the effects the solitude has on the people there.

Most travellers today find that speed means their journey has a beginning and end but they have lost the art of appreciating what's in between the two. Jim Low talks of the value of the journey and how land travel gives the traveller a sense of place.

We have a wealth of information in our Letters page but as usual we need your help in trying to track down the answers to some of their queries.

There are a number of reviews to round off the year. Graham Seal looks at a number of books that you may find interesting and David Mulhallen reviews Margret RoadKnight's latest CD while giving an interesting account of her career.

Once again we have a good selection of poetry and some songs that enhance the articles for you to listen to and enjoy.

Please consider sending along an article, old photos, poetry etc for inclusion.

In the coming weeks we will be moving the site to a new address. We will be working on a new format for the new year so if you haven't already done so, join our email list to get the latest updates to the site.

On behalf of everyone who helps put Simply Australia together, I wish you all a safe and peaceful Christmas season.