The Dusty Box

Category: Australian History

  • Harry Waters and the Lightning Gang

    Harry Waters and the Lightning Gang

    Harry Waters was broke. As he sat drinking in the billiard saloon of the Geraldton R.S.L., a criminal acquaintance appeared. James Henry Hawkins was in the same financial position. The two men sat together, nursed their drinks, and spoke of their lack of money and how they could rectify the situation. Waters had an idea.…

  • The Haunted Swing

    The Haunted Swing

    Invented by Amariah Lake of New Jersey in 1893, the haunted swing was a Victorian era amusement ride. Participants entered a room and took a seat on the swing provided. When the ride got underway, the attendant gave the swing a push. As it moved, it appeared to rotate, creating an illusion that the people…

  • A View to Matrimony

    A View to Matrimony

    Matrimonial advertising was used by many people who wanted to marry. As Europeans immigrated to Western Australia, they found themselves living in a remote location with a limited social circle. Placing an ad in the newspaper was the answer to a difficult situation. It offered hope that they would find a partner to share their…

  • Knock Off & Bring Them Back

    Knock Off & Bring Them Back

    The first test between Australia and England at Lord’s started off disastrously. On 22 June 1896 Australia won the toss and elected to bat. Henry Donnan and Joseph Darling were the opening batsmen and their partnership had barely gotten underway when Donnan was run out for one. George Giffen was next and on the first…

  • Controversial Slacks

    Controversial Slacks

    Driving with her mother and sister from Sydney to Canberra in 1933, 23 year old Dorothy Henderson-Smart of Johannesburg thought little of the black slacks she wore throughout the journey. Comfort was her main priority on a drive that would take many hours. They arrived in Canberra and on 21 November 1933 they took a…

  • The Oriental Bank Robbery

    The Oriental Bank Robbery

    The discovery of a robbery at the Oriental Bank in Melbourne spurred the Acting Manager, George Hamilton Traill, into action. A public notice was immediately placed with three Melbourne newspapers and went to print on 30 January 1867. They cautioned the public against transacting with any of the bills, which were specially endorsed to the…

  • The Australian Hatter

    The Australian Hatter

    The origin stories of words and how they evolved is fascinating. A word may have a particular use or meaning today but had a completely different meaning in the past (such as the word ‘dude‘). A word may have developed from another word or started off as slang. Perhaps a word which is common today…

  • The Prince of the Red Desert

    WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are warned that the following blog post may contain images and names of deceased persons. Roebourne, 13 August 1889 Mr. Alex. Edgar has arrived in town. While in Condon he received a letter from Mr. Alexander McPhee saying that he had caught a white native about 260 miles inland from…

  • Australia’s Cat Invasion

    Australia’s Cat Invasion

    2,000 cats wanted in Australia. I looked at the above article from 1857 in horror and wondered about its authenticity. Surely not. My attention caught and completely distracted from my family history research, I began to search for more information. What I discovered was a story completely unknown to me; a story which has turned…

  • Dirk Hartog

    In 1616, Dirk Hartog, in command of the Dutch ship ‘Eendracht’ left Holland bound for Batavia (today’s Jakarta). He was employed by the Dutch East India Company and was accompanied by several other ships when they became caught in a storm and were separated. Hartog and the crew of the ‘Eendracht’ arrived at the Cape of Good Hope without the other ships…