Edition 11, 2020

Traces

Uncovering the past

Traces1 min read
Traces
Managing Editor: Giulia Heppell Consulting Editor: Eden Cox Advertising: media@executivemedia.com.au 03 9274 4200 Production and Design: Abby Schmidt Editorial submissions: traces@executivemedia.com.au Contributors (in order of first appearance): Nat
Traces2 min read
Letters To The Editor
Thank you for another wonderful edition of Traces! My favourite was the ‘Victoria’s ghost towns’ article, as I’m a big believer in ghosts myself. Although it’s not actually about ghosts, it was still an interesting read considering I knew a lot about
Traces2 min readMedical
Welcome To The 11th Edition Of Traces!
We bring you Traces edition 11 at a time of intense global stress. The year 2020 has brought the worst public health crisis since Spanish influenza, almost exactly 100 years ago. Drawing comparisons between the 1919 pandemic and COVID-19 is hard to r
Traces3 min read
Heritage News
Through the new portal ‘Australian Museum Inside Out’, the Australian Museum (AM) has opened its ‘virtual doors’ to ensure science and culture remain accessible by curating virtual tours, online exhibitions, school resources, podcasts from scientists
Traces3 min readPopular Culture & Media Studies
Worth A Thousand Words
The well-known adage ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’ is the premise of an exciting new online exhibition that places the public at the centre of the curatorial journey. ‘A Thousand Words’ marks the first collaboration between two of Australia’s
Traces1 min read
What’s That Thingamajig?
Answer: ‘Compressed air’ manual washing machine Created around 1879, the ‘compressed air’ manual washing machine was a fine piece of domestic technology, and it was made in Melbourne! Dirty clothes were placed in the unit with hot water, soap and was
Traces2 min read
The Cathedral Of St Stephen, Brisane
The iconic St Stephen’s Cathedral has a fascinating history dating all the way back to the mid 1800s. Located on Elizabeth Street in Brisbane’s CBD, construction on St Stephen’s Chapel began in November 1848, three years after the land was granted fo
Traces2 min read
Finding Details In Disasters
It can be easy to overlook aircraft accident reports as simply technical documents; however, even brief investigations recorded a wealth of local detail. When supplemented by coroners’ reports, local studies collections and newspaper accounts, they c
Traces5 min read
A Pioneer Printing Family
Australia’s convict history has always fascinated me. Sitting in history class, I was captivated by the stories of those transported to the other side of the world, sometimes just for stealing a handkerchief or a piece of cheese. I was shocked by the
Traces5 min read
Influenza Pandemic Of 1919
The Great War was still raging when the first signs of the flu began to appear. The distance and slow transport meant that Australian authorities had time to consider their options while the epidemic spread through other countries. The Australian Gov
Traces3 min read
Finding Details In Aircraft Disasters
In 1936, Mount Garnet was a pretty roug-hand-ready place. A tin-mining town that had seen better days, it lies approximately 80 kilometres west of Innisfail in North Queensland. That October, the settlement was hemmed in by bushfires, worrying reside
Traces4 min read
Navigating History On Screen
I love devouring ‘creative interpretations’ of history, watching theatre, film and television dramas set in the past, and reading historical fiction. I’ve found that unpicking why filmmakers might have made certain choices can be a useful tool in the
Traces4 min read
Uncovering the real Christian Henry Schultz
Two years ago, I was fortunate enough to be gifted several folders full of letters mostly written by my great-uncle to his parents during World War I. These had been handed down to my father’s cousin, and when hearing that I was researching our famil
Traces3 min readCrime & Violence
Melbourne’s Most Notorious Woman
Hannah Mitchell was born in England in 1877, where she got a midwife certification, and came to Australia with her husband and three children in 1913. After her husband was killed in the Great War, she set up her clinic in Richmond, advertising herse
Traces6 min read
The Story Of Paul Brickhill Bestselling Author And Prisoner Of War Hero Part 1
Paul Brickhill simply, and fairly suddenly, disappeared from the publishing industry and was slowly forgotten about by readers. But why is this so? The superficial bare bones of Paul’s life from 1916 to 1991 are as follows. Paul Brickhill was born in
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The Life And Times Of John Patrick Dwyer
John Patrick Dwyer could justifiably have rallied against the fate that orphaned him in a wild place at six years of age, burdened his life with type 1 diabetes and deprived him of children. Yet, he seems to have reserved any anger for collegial medi
Traces3 min read
Finding Your Ancestor’s Burial Location
There is a range of reasons visiting the gravesite of an ancestor can be beneficial in the exploration of your family history. Often, people were buried close to their family members, so if you have information on one ancestor but don’t know the full
Traces4 min read
Giving Trove Room To Grow
Your average 10-year-old bears little resemblance to their baby selves, but surprisingly, Trove has not changed much in the past decade. Despite growth spurts, new skills learnt, and an ever-bigger circle of friends, Trove is trying to fit into a ver
Traces5 min read
Australia’s Oldest Synagogue
As president of the board that manages the daily concerns of the synagogue and its congregation, Jeff Schneider is in the place of worship frequently enough, with his mind set to do a task. Yet, he says he often finds his eyes gravitating to the orig
Traces3 min readSocial Science
What’s New Online?
• Pernambuco Deaths, 1930–2017: more than 3,100,000 indexed records added to a new collection • Electoral Rolls, 1881–1935: more than 2,800,000 indexed records added to a new collection Visit www.myheritage.com. • England Births and Christenings, 153

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