war – Simply Australia

25 July 201821 December 2022

The Autograph Book

© Glenda Bone-Gaul

World War 2 brought many changes to Australian households. On a practical level it brought shortages that affected normal domestic life. These shortages had to be worked around and great imagination had to be used in order to cope with the lack of food, clothes, petrol and so on. The role of women in the home became much harder, their usual routine had to be contoured to the changes War brought. The lack of manpower was felt in many ways and women had to make up for this shortfall. Some women coped better than others. This is the story about one such woman and how she dealt with the changes that War brought to her home.

14 April 200921 November 2022

Buried in Katoomba

The Story of Private John Parker

Veteran of The Great War

© John Low

John Parker lies in an unmarked grave,¹ one of many in the cemetery at Katoomba. Untended, it is indistinguishable from the unoccupied plots nearby. His death was one of those small tragedies reported occasionally in the local press and arousing for a brief moment a flutter of community interest before fading from memory. Parker’s tale may well bear retelling. Continue reading “Buried in Katoomba”

13 April 200921 December 2022

The Songs the Diggers Really Sang

Down through the years the Australian soldier became respected as a reliable fighter; a mate, when a mate meant the difference between life and death and, above all, the Australian soldier was considered to be a ‘larrikin’ who saluted but would not ‘dip his lid’ to no man. He was Aussie, he was Cobber, he was Bluey, he was Pongo, he was Curley and he was Digger. His progress has been documented in song.

1 March 200921 November 2022

Australia’s First Great War Memorial

The Anzacs were still fighting in the gullies of Gallipoli when, in October 1915, the Mount Hawthorn Progress Association formed a committee to build ‘Anzac Cottage’ (sometimes called ‘Anzac House’) in Kalgoorlie St, (No. 38) Mt Hawthorn, a developing suburb 5 kilometres north of Perth. The Association wanted to perpetuate the then very new name ‘Anzac’ and build a monument that would be useful, providing ‘a home for a wounded soldier who took part in the famous landing’. Continue reading “Australia’s First Great War Memorial”