Category Archives: Local Culture

A Final Glimpse of Tasmania, Past, Present and Bucolic

‘Scrimshaw.’ My favourite new word for the week. What is scrimshaw? A character from Harry Potter perhaps? No, not quite. That was Rufus Scrimgeour, I believe. Scrimshaw is, in fact, the art of engraving images on objects made from whale … Continue reading

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“Core of my heart, my country!”

An opal-hearted country,A wilful lavish land –All you who have not loved her,You will not understand –Though earth has many splendours,Wherever I may day,I know to what brown countryMy homing thoughts will fly. For many Australians, the words of poet … Continue reading

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Post Production Ponderings

November arrived with a clash of cymbals, a tarantara of trumpets and thunderous drum rolls. I submitted my thesis on the first of the month, which was a huge weight off my shoulders. The following day, the Lyceum Club Adelaide … Continue reading

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Christmas Cards: Setting the Mood

Then its zippity jingle and dash away pingHang holly and berries in all the hallsThe tassels on all the thermostats andWrite merry Christmas on all of the walls…~ from Eloise at Christmas Time by Kay Thompson One upon a time, … Continue reading

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Of sheep and seaside daisies…

The first sign that the town had a connection with Scotland was its name: Glencoe. The second sign: a redheaded ‘Weasley’ walking down the main road… Glencoe is a small country town in south-eastern South Australia, to the north-west of … Continue reading

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A Café by the Sea

The sun is up and the early morning swimmers are trudging up the beach, damp and dripping, to gather for coffee on the veranda at the Normanville Kiosk & Café. In dribs and drabs, the dawn patrol of dog walkers … Continue reading

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Shakespeare in the Rain

On a prime position, in the southern foothills above the Adelaide plains, sits a beautiful house that looks more like it belongs in the lush green English countryside than in the hot, dry southern hemisphere. Built in the late 1930s, … Continue reading

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Colonel Light’s Vision: an old chestnut or a model for the future?

Through this exceptionally long, wet winter, I have spent a lot of time immersed in the history of South Australia, researching families and individuals who played a significant part in founding our state. Edward Gibbon Wakefield, for example, was a … Continue reading

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Masks begone!

The irony of my blog’s name struck me anew this morning. No borders, only horizons? Uh huh. Not much truth in that, these days. Not that I’m complaining. South Australia has been spectacularly well protected from the horrors of a … Continue reading

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Sculptures by the Sea

Several years ago, I took a handful of young boys to walk along the coastal path from Bondi to Tamarama, to check out the Sculptures by the Sea exhibition. We were absolutely rivetted by the creativity on display and I’ve … Continue reading

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