Schapelle Corby (aged 30) is an Australian woman currently serving a 20 year prison sentence after being convicted for smuggling drugs into Bali. She has protested her innocence from day one and continues to do so despite the possibility that an admission of guilt coupled with an appeal for clemency to the President might result … More Schapelle Corby – not forgotten!
After an eleven year fight against cancers, Jane McGrath has finally died aged 42. She died surrounded by her husband cricketer Glen McGrath and her two young children. Jane first developed breast cancer back in 1997 two years after meeting Glenn, but after chemotherapy beat it off. She had two children and then in 2004 … More Vale Jane McGrath
There are all sorts of people doing all sorts of odd things in order to set world records, but I have to admit this guy from Queensland, Australia, is one of the strangest I’ve come across! Back in 1998, Les Stewart completed 16 years hard work. As ‘therapy’ after sickness meant he had to give … More Faces of Australia: Bizarre records
In 2003 Graeme Wylie was diagnosed Alzheimer’s’ disease and he finally died at his home in Cammeray in March 2006 aged 71 Shortly afterwards Shirley Justins (below right), his partner of 18 years was arrested and charged with manslaughter. His long time friend 75 year old Caren Jenning (below left) was arrested and charged with … More Faces of Australia: The quality of mercy.
Always seeming to be the bearer of bad news, we are sad to report the death of of another one of Hollywood’s greats, Tula Ellice Finklea, far better known as Cyd Charisse (87). Ok perhaps Cyd Charisse wasn’t quite as ‘great’ as some, but she certainly had her moments. One of those ‘moments’, in my … More Vale Cyd Charisse
Somehow over the past few months, two eighteen month old twins were allowed to starve to death by their parents in Sunnybank Hills, a Queensland suburb. Their bodies were discovered by an eleven year old sibling who went into their room to try to locate the source of a foul smell in the house and … More Suburban Starvation
Over the time we’ve been here we’ve got almost used to the incipient racism underlying a lot of Australian society. The one thing in it’s favour is that it isn’t hidden away and that people are quite open about it which at least means it is able to be discussed freely. However occasionally underlying racial … More Racist Australia?
An interesting slant on Australia’s favourite folk song, and ‘almost national anthem’ has emerged thanks to the work of Dennis O’Keefe who spent 15 years researching the story. The fundamentals seem to be that Banjo Patterson, who wrote the song, was ‘courting’ the daughter of the squatter who owned the land where the events took … More Waltzing Matilda – historical archive?
After several years no word has been heard about the fate of little Rahma el-Dennaoui missing now since November 2005 with no clue about her whereabouts. We ran a short story on her disappearance in 2007 (Spare a thought… ) but nothing has yet been heard. One of the problems hampering the police search was … More Remembering Rahma el-Dennaoui
I’m no great lover of opera though I can happily listen to some of the great arias when removed from their pretentious surroundings. This morning on Australian Classic FM, they were playing the final scene of Puccini’s ‘Tosca’. Unfortunately this scene contains nothing I can claim to like listening to either. However they did relate … More The Tumbling Tosca
The Eclectic Interweb 