Mary MacKillop, the Children and the Poor
Mary MacKillop 1842 – 1909 The tiny face of the boy in the rowing boat was screwed up in timidity and fear. Every time Mary Mackillop went to the orphanage at Kincumber, three boys...
The Holden Car – Henry James Holden (1859 – 1926)
“Holden is no more: General Motors announces the 164-year-old Aussie auto brand will be axed by the end of the year.” From Business Insider Australia – 17 February 2020 This announcement caused shock waves through...
Jindi Cheese – World’s Best Cheese – 1996
Although George only ever moved 5kms from his birthplace in Jindivick, East Gippsland, his life is characterised by some very big moves. A farmer and earthmover turned world champion cheesemaker, George’s life is synonymous...
Mother’s Day – Ann Jarvis
MOTHER’S DAY Ann Jarvis. Mothers have been celebrated over the centuries in varying forms and traditions since possibly before Roman times. In the 1600s’ the Church of England instigated ‘Mothering Sunday’ in recognition of...
Coca Cola
The Coca-Cola Story Asa Candler 1851-1929 This flowing copperplate script with red and white colours is a logo that is recognisable around the world. Its success is due to Asa Candler, whose primary motivation...
David Garland – The Architect of ANZAC Day
THE ARCHITECT OF ANZAC DAY Chaplain Lieutenant- Colonel Canon David Garland The catch cry of Canon David Garland was “nothing is too good for our soldier boys”. It epitomises the heart of a man...
National Children’s Week
NATIONAL CHILDREN’S WEEK Saturday 19 – Sunday 27 October 2019 Throughout the history of mankind, the natural progression of life has been a birth ultimately followed by death at some point in time. When...
The Sydney Morning Herald – John Fairfax
The Sydney Morning Herald John Fairfax (1804 – 1877) John and Sarah Fairfax after fourteen years of hard work in growing their business in Leamington, England, stood in the place that was John’s printing...
The Man Who Named Australia – Matthew Flinders
The Man Who Named Australia – Matthew Flinders For over two hundred years, the final resting place of the man ultimately responsible for the naming of ‘Australia’ was lost. Then in early 2019, his...
Cannibals, Kanakas & Florence Young
Cannibals, Kanakas & Florence Young Our History and the Christian Connection The Queensland Kanaka Mission had received a request for help from a place where cannibalism is very much alive. Who would be willing...
Five Dollar Note – Queen Elizabeth ll
Five Dollar Note Our History and the Christian Connection Queen Elizabeth ll – Longest serving English monarch Did you know that Queen Elizabeth II had two ceremonies to mark the beginning of her public office?...
BHP, The Church Missionary Society and Old Charlie
BHP, The Church Missionary Society and Old Charlie Our History and the Christian Connection Murabuda Wurramarrba’s son Tony, reached out and dropped his Order of Australia onto his father’s coffin. “He was the better...
Coles
Sir George James Coles ‘Are you a millionaire, daddy?’ Judith asked her father. It was not long after decimal currency had been introduced into Australia. ‘No,’ he replied. ‘But it will make it a...
Cadbury Chocolates – John Cadbury
CADBURY CHOCOLATES Our History and the Christian Connection John Cadbury ‘What to bring when you’re told not to bring a thing.’ It’s Cadbury Favourites of course. Yep, the big purple box with its treasure...
The Great Christmas Awakening
Boxing Day 1903 saw 40,000 people in Wales, mainly miners go to Cardiff for a big celebration and many of them ended up all the worse for their drinking. Boxing Day 1904 saw only...
Safe Work Australia – Bob Mellows
SAFE WORK AUSTRALIA Our History and the Christian Connection Bob Mellows. A smouldering fire in a timber pumphouse deep underground led to one of the greatest mine disasters in Australian history. It also led...
ANZAC – Battle of Beersheba – Sir Harry Chauvel
ANZAC – BATTLE of BEERSHEBA Our History and the Christian Connection Lieutenant General Sir Harry Chauvel. The horses were restless, pawing the ground in the relentless heat. A shimmering haze hung over the desert,...
Pearl Harbour – Captain Mitsuo Fuchida
PEARL HARBOUR Our History and the Christian Connection Captain Mitsuo Fuchida Fuchida was more excited than usual as he awoke that morning. As general commander of the air squadron, he made some last-minute checks...
Dunkirk
Why is Dunkirk so famous an event? What was special about what happened there? What could cause such a disaster turn to a celebration?
Father’s Day – Sonora Dodd
FATHER’S DAY Our History and the Christian Connection SONORA DODD In 1909 John and Sonora Dodd attended the Mother’s Day service (http://diduno.info/mothers-day/) at their church. As Sonora listened to the sermon and heard the...
Australia’s First Newspaper – Robert Howe
Australia’s First Newspaper – Robert Howe Our History and the Christian Connection Perched on a stool, bent over trays of typeset, Robert Howe was just eight years old when the King’s Representative inspected the...
The ‘Fair Go’ Governor – General Sir Richard Bourke
Major General Sir Richard Bourke Governor of NSW, 1831-1837 Our History and the Christian Connection The ‘Fair Go’ Governor There were sectarian tensions in County Limerick, Ireland where Richard Bourke and his wife Elizabeth...
NAIDOC WEEK – William Cooper – Bill Ferguson
NAIDOC Our History and the Christian Connection William Cooper – Bill Ferguson – Aboriginal Activists NAIDOC represents the National Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observance Committee and is celebrated each year. NAIDOC WEEK is a very...
Aboriginal Activist – Bill Ferguson
Bill Ferguson (1882-1950) Our History and the Christian Connection INSPIRING ABORIGINAL CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER. Furious at being ignored by both political parties, Bill Ferguson resigned from the Labor Party and stood as an Independent...
World Book Day – 23rd April
To find out what book takes the title of the most published and read book ever we can go to our trusty friends at Guinness World Records. They nominate the Bible as the best-selling book of...
ANZAC – Gibraltar- Field-Marshal Montgomery
ANZAC – Gibraltar Our History and the Christian Connection Field-Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery ‘Hello, Monty, glad to see you.’ The governor of Gibraltar, Rusty Eastwood, held out his hand as the car door opened...
Mr Eternity – Arthur Stace
On New Year’s Eve 1999, an estimated 2 billion television viewers around the world watched Sydney’s spectacular millennium celebrations. Sydney was to host the Olympic Games in 2000 and the city was the centre...
ANZAC – ‘Banjo’ Paterson
ANZAC – Egypt – ‘Banjo’ Paterson Our History and the Christian Connection Andrew Barton (Banjo) Paterson The line of horses struggled in the soft burning sand, their fetlocks sinking deep in the desert hills....
ANZAC – Fromelles – Sergeant John Ridley
ANZAC – FROMELLES Our History and the Christian Connection Sergeant John Ridley “After passing over rough ground covered with the bodies of the dead and wounded, strewn with barbed wire and pocked by shellfire, the...
ANZAC – Gallipoli – Andrew Gillison
First Australian Chaplain to die at Gallipoli – Andrew Gillison Our History and the Christian Connection The convoy of nervous soldiers sailed towards ANZAC Cove. The plan was to storm the peninsula and defeat...
Caroline Chisholm – The Immigrants Friend
The Immigrant’s Friend Our History and the Christian Connection Caroline Chisholm. “The richest and most powerful Government of the world, master of India and a million men, failed in the colony, where a single...
Kristallnacht – William Cooper – Aboriginal Activist
KRISTALLNACHT Our History and the Christian Connection William Cooper – Aboriginal Activist With a single swift swing the sledgehammer exploded through the window, sending splinters of glass flying through the air. The young storm...
Prison Reform – Elizabeth Fry
Prison Reform Our History and the Christian Connection Elizabeth Fry In a dark, crammed room, the dampness rises like an invisible oppressive enemy, piercing every joint and bone; whilst the foul stench of urine,...
The Sydney Harbour Bridge – John Bradfield
The Sydney Harbour Bridge Our History and the Christian Connection John Job Crew Bradfield Australia’s iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge is recognised around the world. On May 28th 2000 a milestone was reached as 250,000...
Buccaneer – Explorer – William Dampier
WILLIAM DAMPIER – Explorer Our History and the Christian Connection Who are they? The dark skinned Aboriginals could not believe what they were seeing. They look human but they look so pale, so ghost...
First Fleet – Captain Arthur Phillip
The FIRST FLEET Our History and the Christian Connection Captain Arthur Phillip The animals were taken on board two by two. Sound familiar? Well would you believe, this is what happened as Captain Arthur...
Helen Cadbury and The Pocket Testament League
The Pocket Testament League Our History and the Christian Connection Helen Cadbury Helen was only twelve when she went with her father, Richard Cadbury, and sat at the back of the hall watching the...
David Jones Department Stores
David Jones (1793 – 1873) Our History and the Christian Connection ‘NEWS FLASH’ David Jones converting a large section of their Sydney city store into a Club for servicemen and women!! What? Is David...
World Teachers Day – Thomas Shadrach James
World Teacher Day Our History and the Christian Connection Thomas Shadrach James. A most unlikely man was engaged in education in the early days of Australian schooling. Even more improbable is the fact that...
Terra Australis – Pedro Fernandez de Quiros
TERRA AUSTRALIS Our History and the Christian Connection Pedro Fernandez de Quiros Many people in the then known world were not really sure that Australia existed, except for the Aborigines who were living here....
Explorer – Captain James Cook
Captain James Cook Our History and the Christian Connection He was standing at the water’s edge facing advancing Hawaiian warriors. Unfortunately at that crucial moment some of his men started shooting from the boats....
Explorer – Charles Sturt
EXPLORER STURT Our History and the Christian Connection Charles Sturt, 1795—1869 Death seemed imminent. Sturt and his men were stranded on a sand bar at the Murray- Darling river junction. Confronting them on the...
Royal Flying Doctor Service – Reverend John Flynn
THE TWENTY DOLLAR NOTE Our History and the Christian Connection The Royal Flying Doctor Service and The Reverend John Flynn. By the 1950’s, the Royal Flying Doctor Service was acknowledged by former Prime Minister Sir...
Author – Inventor – David Unaipon
THE FIFTY DOLLAR NOTE Our History and the Christian Connection Aboriginal Inventor, Poet and Writer – David Uniapon Whirr–whirr–whirr–whirr–whirr… the boomerang sang as it began to circle back through the air towards David’s hand....
Labour Day – William Guthrie Spence
LABOUR DAY Our History and the Christian Connection William Guthrie Spence. The crack as the first musket went off was like a clap of strange thunder. ‘Gid doon, boyo! Thair feering…’ A rough hand...
The Father of the Nation – Alfred Deakin
Our History and our Christian Connection Alfred Deakin – 2ND, 5TH and 7th Australian Prime Minister Two men were walking down a street in Melbourne CBD late one afternoon in 1878, deep in conversation....
SAO – Arthur Smith Arnott
SAO Biscuit Our History and the Christian Connection Arthur Smith Arnott Australians have always had a curious attitude to their favourite biscuits. Eating them is not enough. We have to play with them. Long...
