They broke the ground for the generations to follow. The Old Ghan railway was a major achievement, not only providing an essential service but in showing what is required to live and work in this challenging environment. Continue reading
Filed under genealogy …
From Tipperary to Outback Australia
Today, a hundred and eighty years later I stand near his grave in the hot, dry semi-desert land of the Australian ‘outback.’ Emigrating to Australia in the 1860s and becoming one of the burgeoning numbers of the Irish diaspora, John, better known as Jack, was part of a heroic effort to develop this new and challenging land, so different in every way from the green fields of Tipperary. Continue reading
Middleton’s Irish connection
The name Middleton seemed appropriate for this midpoint between Goolwa and Port Elliot, but I was unable to pinpoint where in Ireland the original Middleton was, presumably a place between two towns or village Continue reading
You’ll take a cup of tea? Archaeological evidence for tea drinking at Baker’s Flat, South Australia
The fineness of the design and the stippling indicate a manufacture date in the early nineteenth century, suggesting that the teacup may have been brought to South Australia in an emigrant’s baggage rather than purchased locally in the years after arrival. Continue reading
ISAANZ 26 call for papers June 16 extension
It’s been a difficult few years for researchers in Irish disapora studies, but things are looking up now with the Global Irish Studies Conference in South Africa in July (see What’s On ), and here in Australia it is pleasing to see the ISAANZ conference 26 is planned for December in Melbourne. The call for … Continue reading
The Irishman who Shot the Duke of Edinburgh
The author, Simon Smith, is a filmmaker who has recorded stories from around the world, and that background is seen in the writing as he fills in little details and concentrates on the lives, likes and troubles of the main characters. Continue reading
Irish Fiddle Music in Nulla Nulla Creek
A musical tradition found along the banks of the winding stream that makes up the Nulla Nulla Creek where my grandfather Billy Kyle lovingly nurtured Irish traditional music so that we too remember and indeed continue to cherish those songs and sounds today. Continue reading
Elvis Presley’s Irish Roots
He had a granddaughter called Rosella who had several children, one of whom was a son called Jesse Presley. In 1913, Jesse Presley married a lady named Minnie Mae. They had a son in 1916 called Vernon Elvis Presley. Continue reading
A Brief History of the Irish in Australia
With the passage of time Irish Catholics eventually did become part of the fabric of Australian society. With the coming of each generation, they moved along and some of them, up the social scale. But their ascent was neither rapid nor easy. Continue reading
Feisty Irish Women and Irish National Foresters
Susan has had international recognition with her interview on The Ryan Tubridy Show on RTÉ Radio1…The Irish National Foresters were a Friendly Society that commenced in Ireland and then started in Melbourne in 1886 … Continue reading
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