It was about 8pm on Sunday 17 December 1922 and an 18 year old Ruby Anderson had been screaming out in pain for about an hour. Her father, Thomas, no doubt worried, went to fetch the horse and trap from...
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Secrets of the housekeeper
Read MoreLove triangles and lunacy
Read MoreFor seven months, John Wilson rode the tram line between Carlton and Prahran working as a conductor. He directed travellers, punched their tickets and often carried a razor in his pocket. John was engaged to Stella Marks, a 23 year...
Floating body of evidence
Read More***WARNING: this post contains confronting and/or upsetting themes*** ‘The nails and cuticles were coming off. The hair loose from the scalp, patches of greenish brown all over the body…the string of her nightcap was tied round her throat tolerably tight’....
Drug dens and “boring” family trees
Read MoreI was tasked with a project from my grandmother; “I know nothing about my fathers’ side of the family”. This was not a statement, but a not so subtle quest for her genealogist granddaughter to undertake. She wanted me to...
Prostitutes and vagabonds
Read MoreProstitution. Vagrancy. Insufficient means. Just a few of the punishable crimes Phoebe Harris was imprisoned for in her short life. Phoebe Harris’ story is not an unusual one for the time. That doesn’t mean it is any less sad. Born...
All is not as it seems: family trees and lore
Read MoreEvery family tree is made up of many branches; each ancestor holds their own timeline and individual story. Sometimes these stories, or part thereof, can be uncovered and we can put ‘flesh on the bones’ of an ancestor. Sometimes the...
Truth or Dare: Desertion and Divorce in one family tree
Read MoreNothing screamed ‘scandal’ like an article in Truth – a sensational and melodramatic tabloid which specialised in the reporting of scandalous events around Australia. In 1916 desertion, perceived adultery and eventual divorce was just the story to be featured in the Melbourne...
Family trees and Google mysteries
Read MoreThe internet is a great and powerful tool. Google answers any and all of our questions, from determining the currency of Ghana to advice on how long to cook the Christmas turkey. However, there are pitfalls to the electronic encyclopaedia...