Articles by: Paul Dee

Gippsland watercolours

Gippsland watercolours

January 20, 2014

Arts & literature, Such was life:

Daniel Long’s sketchbook dates from 1856 and contains charming watercolours and pencil drawings depicting various locations in Gippsland.

Are you making a list and checking it twice?

Are you making a list and checking it twice?

December 19, 2013

Such was life:

Ready for Christmas? Have you done everything that needs doing? Are you sure?

Baths, and how to take them.

Baths, and how to take them.

November 18, 2013

Social life & customs, Such was life:

Need advice on washing up? Want to compute the area of an irregular sized paddock? Or maybe you require some hints when ordering windmills? Then check out our 1930s housewifery pamphlets.

Sketchbooks of Victoria

Sketchbooks of Victoria

November 12, 2013

Arts & literature, Such was life:

Charles Edward Bruges Hammond was born in London in 1870. He left home at fifteen, sailing to New Zealand and Australia. For some years he moved between England and Australia… Read More ›

Are you a fan too?

Are you a fan too?

September 23, 2013

Sport, Such was life:

Without the crowd, it would be just another game of footy.

Picture this: Black Rock

Picture this: Black Rock

September 13, 2013

Cities & towns, Such was life:

Black Rock, in Melbourne’s bayside east, was named after Charles Hoston Edben’s Black Rock house which, in turn, was named from Black Rock, Dublin.(1)

Tango in Melbourne

Tango in Melbourne

August 6, 2013

Social life & customs, Such was life:

‘When an Argentinean dance called the tango arrived in Melbourne in 1913, the wowsers were shocked by dancers who danced cheek-to-cheek and whose legs and arms pressed against each other… Read More ›

Skiing Marnong

Skiing Marnong

June 6, 2013

Sport, Such was life:

Thousands of years before alpine resorts, chalets and four-wheel drives, Victoria’s Mt Buller was inhabited by Aboriginal tribes, in particular the Taungurong people (also spelt Taungurung). A Taungurong woman is quoted… Read More ›

Telling time in early Melbourne

Telling time in early Melbourne

May 29, 2013

Social life & customs, Such was life:

In 1853 Melbourne was developing rapidly and the need for consistent, accurate time across the burgeoning colony saw the first observatory built in Williamstown. Time was communicated… ‘by dropping a… Read More ›

Melbourne’s feral dogs

Melbourne’s feral dogs

May 2, 2013

Social life & customs, Such was life:

In the 1840s and 50s, Melbourne had an unregistered dog problem. Initially the stray dogs were only a nuisance, but they soon became aggressive and threatened the safety of Melburnians.