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Monthly Archives: May 2019

Read more about the article A tale of two world tours: the MGM trackless train and the steam truck Britannia
Britannia steam truck on world tour in Newcastle NSW 1971

A tale of two world tours: the MGM trackless train and the steam truck Britannia

A "trackless train" and a steam lorry made compelling subjects for Australian photographers when they visited the country during world tours at opposite ends of last century. MGM trackless train outside Auburn Garage, Sydney, c1928 . Among a number of interesting photographs in one collection of glass negatives we were privileged to borrow was this oddity: a strange train-shaped truck outside J.A. Goldthorpe's garage in Auburn, Sydney. A little research discovered that this was the famous "trackless train" owned by MGM film studios, which came to Australia in 1928 as part of a world tour promoting…

Continue ReadingA tale of two world tours: the MGM trackless train and the steam truck Britannia
Read more about the article A family’s journey from postwar Bremen to Greta migrant camp
Eastern European migrants arrive in Newcastle NSW on the Fairsea, 1949.

A family’s journey from postwar Bremen to Greta migrant camp

During World War II Australia’s industrial infrastructure received an impressive boost, as the nation fought to make itself defensible against Japan and to become as self-sufficient as it could. Much of this capacity remained after the war, and for some decades Australian industry flourished, creating jobs and putting healthy paypackets into the pockets of the working middle classes. There was so much work, in fact, that Australia reached out to Europe – much of it still struggling with postwar reconstruction and deep poverty – for more potential workers and citizens. Still unwilling to let go of…

Continue ReadingA family’s journey from postwar Bremen to Greta migrant camp
Read more about the article Clangers. Some of my printed errors.
No, the punt is not going to Stockton.

Clangers. Some of my printed errors.

One problem with publishing books is that your errors stay around a long time. You can make a mistake on radio and with luck it's gone and forgotten in a day or two. Even a newspaper isn't so bad: an error will plague you for a week or so and then - unless you are being sued over it - the pain goes away. Books are different. They have a long shelf-life (boom boom!) and so when you make mistakes in books they hang around for ages. And publishing corrections is pretty difficult. You can fix…

Continue ReadingClangers. Some of my printed errors.
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