Charlie and the detective: a vintage Australian true crime epic
I am obliged to my friend Elaine Sheehan, the daughter of Charlie Thompson (who, coincidentally, once lived next-door to my mother), for access to many of the documents relied on…
Remembering C.K. Thompson, Newcastle journalist and author
Many Australians of a certain age will remember C.K. Thompson's books from their childhood. Thin little hardcover volumes of stories about Australian animals and birds, they were common in school…
Tomahawk Joe and friend at Cronulla, February 1938. Photo by Ray Olson, courtesy of the State Library of NSW.
The real Tomahawk Joe, at last
Time and again, over the years, I've heard stories of a "wild white man" known as Tomahawk Joe who made a name for himself in the Newcastle area in the…