Minutiae… Small pieces of information can fascinate. They don’t usually answer the big questions but they work together in magical ways to bring the past to life. An individual is placed in a more detailed setting and their world is populated with real objects, against a background of colours and sounds. Even now, for most […]
I was very excited to receive an invitation to contribute a Guest Blog to the Biodiversity Heritage Library. I’ve been following this fantastic organisation for a while on Facebook and on their website, viewing the regular postings and information they share. Managed by the Smithsonian in New York, the BHL is a collective of major libraries including […]
A lovely review by Writing WA in today’s West Australian newspaper. “Bernice Barry’s biography not only brings Molloy’s life and times alive for readers but also shares her years of research.” You can read it in full in The West Australian.
Another great review this week. Thank you to the National Trust (Australia) and to reviewer Dr Robyn Taylor (NT quarterly magazine, ‘Trust News’ August 2015). ‘This beautifully illustrated book is a joy to read’. It ‘has a different approach’ that ‘brings psychological depth to the main characters and greater poignancy’. And thank you to the […]
Dr Green’s name appears often in the settlers’ letters, journals and diaries, not least because as their physician and surgeon he was an important part of daily life. Their comments about his work and their observations about his personal life paint a sketchy picture of the man but, viewed in isolation, the collection of anecdotes […]
A big thank you to the Royal Western Australian Historical Society and to Gillian Lilleyman for her review of ‘Georgiana Molloy: the mind that shines’ in ‘History West’, August 2015, which describes the book as ‘an even closer study of Georgiana and ‘a sensitive reappraisal’ that ‘will assure this fascinating pioneer heroine a new generation […]
One of the most intriguing aspects of research over the last few years has been the high frequency of historical coincidences that have come to light in the lives of the Molloys and the people around them. Two stories, apparently unlinked, can be suddenly revealed as connected by a shared association – usually a person […]
Two hundred years ago today, 18 June 1815, John Molloy survived the Battle of Waterloo. As dusk fell, and after a day of fierce fighting near a country crossroads in Belgium, the men still left alive in his battalion were desperately trying to defend the now famous farmhouse ‘La Haye Sainte’. Lieutenant Molloy was seriously […]
Over the last eighteen months I’ve posted many photographs of places in England and Scotland, and of documents in archives there. Australian readers say they enjoying seeing them. Looking through some video today reminded me that there are lots of people reading these posts who don’t live in Australia or, if they do, they’ve never […]
The beginning of June is the beginning of Winter in Western Australia. The native plants in the garden are coming into flower and there are lambs in the paddocks but the rain isn’t stopping for a while yet so time today to get on with some indoor jobs – like posting an update. Good news […]