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Monthly Archives: March 2022

Read more about the article Dulcie Hartley’s history of Pulbah

Dulcie Hartley’s history of Pulbah

This is an edited text of my late friend Dulcie Hartley's short history of "Pulbah Island" in Lake Macquarie. Dulcie's daughter Venessa has provided the document, the full version is available for download in PDF form. Pulbah Island, a potential jewel in the crown of Lake Macquarie, has had a most chequered history since European occupation of Australia, ranging from a monastery to a fur farm. Easily accessible by water, it is situated between the headlands of Wangi Wangi and Point Wolstonecroft and comprises 69ha of sandstone and conglomerate, supporting a thick and, in places, nearly…

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Read more about the article If only George Orwell could see us now

If only George Orwell could see us now

What would George Orwell think if he could come back to life now? In his hugely influential dystopian novel 1984, Orwell extrapolated from trends he could see in his own times (the book was published in 1949) to imagine where these trends might take the world in the future. A future where the world’s nations coalesced into three main blocs; the presumed Anglosphere of Oceania, the possibly Russian dominated Eurasia and the possibly China-centric Eastasia. Oceania was ruled by “Big Brother”, a figurehead who demanded total loyalty from all citizens in deed, word and even thought…

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Read more about the article Imperial hubris and the fall of Singapore

Imperial hubris and the fall of Singapore

The wartime dealings of Australian Prime Minister John Curtin with his British counterpart Winston Churchill have become the stuff of Australian folklore. Some historians have portrayed Curtin as Australia’s bold saviour, while others have accused him of being a nitpicking panic-merchant. Thanks to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which some years ago made many formerly secret telegrams and cables between the two leaders and other leading figures of the period publicly available on its website, interested readers can make up their own minds. WHEN wartime Prime Minister John Curtin used to remind Australians that:…

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