History & heritage

Ninety years ago this month, Australia embarked on an ambitious but ultimately ill-fated experiment in biological control. In 1935, Queensland sugar cane farmers faced a relentless enemy—the cane beetle ...

Despite contacting the usual suspects who may have owned this panel van in the local area, no-one seems to know ... Back in 2002 this Morris Mini Panel Van was discovered by RACQ in Allora and was purchased from a private owner.

Threatening skies didn't deter fans of Emu Creek State School as they descended upon the iconic local institution to celebrate 150 years of education - as the skies opened up, hundreds of past students, staff and community members ignored the weather and joined with dignitaries to mark the special occasion.

Ian McLaughlin. This June, the Riverina will come alive with the echoes of clippers, stories from generations past and the vibrant sounds of local music as the historic Toganmain Woolshed celebrates its 150th anniversary ... Toganmain Station has long stood as a testament to the rise and resilience of Australia's wool industry.

John O'Donnell presents an analysis of town and city bushfire protection case studies where prescribed burning and other adaptive management and mitigation have assisted in restricting bushfire impacts on communities across Australia and the United States. His extensive review covers some 25 Australian and nine US fires.

Jeffrey Mellefont, Australian National Maritime Museum. Like everybody's first visit to Lord Howe Island, ours in early May, 2025, completely charmed my wife, Anna and me ... here's another one I particularly want to add: the very finest little regional museum that I've visited in ages. The Lord Howe Island Museum just bowled us over ...

Jenny Oldland. As work towards the opening of Edithburgh’s Vietnam War Memorial Walk gathers pace so too does the interest for the project’s opening celebrations, with tickets for the Behind the Lines concert, headed by John Schumann and The Vagabond Crew, selling fast.

Chris Murray. On Friday, 16th May, the last QantasLink flight rolled into Lord Howe at around 2.45pm piloted by senior QantasLink captains, Mark Nesbitt and Jarrod Seen. This flight marked the end of an era that began on the 1st of June, 1991, when VH-TQP – an aircraft owned by Eastern Australia Airlines - arrived at Lord Howe bearing passengers, freight and mail from Sydney.

Earlier this month, Year 10 students, along with Mrs Veal and Mrs O'Toole, from Allora P-10 State School visited the Allora Museum on Drayton Street to deepen their understanding of Australia's World War II history.

Hidden in sheds, under tarps and out of sight in Maldon, are some amazing things. This is a 1925 Oldsmobile Tourer, which obviously means it’s now 100 years old. Here’s a fun fact: it was Oldsmobile that pioneered the production line, not Henry Ford, although he certainly picked up the idea and ran with it with his Model T.

In 1900 Australia was still a number of individual colonies, the Boer War was still taking place, and in China the Boxer Rebellion was drawing nations across the world into that conflict. In Charlton ten members of the community from different walks of life met in a small room behind a shop, and with the taking of minutes, banking and a constitution the Charlton Club was born on May 21st...

As soon as I uncovered tangible evidence of the organised gangs of terrorists running rampant in Kenya, I immediately concluded that the formerly placid and highly relaxed tribespeople must have been politically stimulated by some unidentified outside forces.

Anthony Bennett. Could a small south-western settlement have ties to a conflict 16,000 kilometres away? This is exactly how Hay, formerly Langs Crossing, connects to what some called 'The First Modern War' ... Hay was half a world away from the fighting. It had a modest population of just 172 citizens.

This first in a series of articles from Robert Onfray on the history of Fraser Island, ranging from the timber days to tourism booms, shipwrecks to settlement struggles. This week's tells the story of the Fraser Island Fishing Expo, first held in 1984.

Exhibition Curator Ozan Fikri said he recently had the pleasure of meeting with fellow Narrandera resident Mark Wilkie and their conversation took an unexpected turn when he mentioned his roots in Cyprus ... Mark is set to share his work with the community in a special exhibition featuring 14 of his voyeur pictures.

A fete, with all the trimmings, reflecting on 150 years of education is an event worthy of celebrating but it is also the ideal venue for a school reunion. Emu Creek State School invites all students past and present to turn up any time after 10am on Saturday 31st May for what should be a wonderful day ...

On Monday 31st May 1875 a large group of Greenmount District locals gathered for the opening of the new Emu Creek State School and waited patiently for the official opening by well known politician Mr W. H. Groom ... It is very doubtful if Mr Groom, the first Head Teacher, Cornelius O'Brien or anyone gathered there that day, would have guessed that one of the 40 students enrolled would go on to be one of Australia's most loved writers.

God looked down upon the small country town of Murrabit and decreed that the seventh day shall be filled with polished chrome, flat top pistons, and lumpy cam ... car clubs from Deniliquin, Echuca, Swan Hill, and Kerang gathered for the National Motoring Day at the iconic Murrabit Market site.

One of the Riverland's most recognisable distillers has marked its 100th season by releasing a new piece of Australian spirit "history". Renmark's St Agnes Distillery – operated by Angove Family winemakers – last week unveiled the St Agnes XXO 50 Year Old Exceptional Reserve brandy, the oldest bottled spirit ever produced in Australia.

Joanna Tucker. Work is continuing towards the Australian Cornish Mining Sites: Burra and Moonta World Heritage bid, with the possibility heritage status may be achieved as soon as next year ... an opportunity to skip the preliminary assessment, so World Heritage consultant Barry Gamble has decided to endorse the parallel preparation of a full World Heritage nomination.

Joanna Tucker. Kernewek Lowender Copper Coast Cornish Festival was once again a major success, with visitors travelling to the region from far and wide. The 2025 edition of the biennial event was held last week ... An estimated 30,000 people attended the seven-day festival...

Jeni Kendell. Each May, the Nimbin Aquarius Foundation is planning to put on an event to celebrate the original Aquarius Festival in 1973 which helped reawaken and renew our wonderful town of Nimbin and ripple out in so many ways to far corners of this country. This annual event will resemble the ‘Festival of Dangerous Ideas’ that has become a landmark for people thinking outside the square.