Convict Artisans in Exile: Colony’s crafty criminals
A new exhibition shines a spotlight on the incredible, and usually unsung, talents of our convict artisans whose valuable skills helped forge a new society.
Today In History
How Sydney sisters changed the Aussie film industry
Three Sydney sisters who had no training in film production made a silent film so well received in 1926, they turned a corner of Sydney’s inner west into our version of Hollywood.
Last man executed in NSW
John Kelly was sent to the gallows in 1939 for murder, a decision his father labelled as “class justice”, claiming his son would have lived if the murder victim wasn’t from a prominent family.
How Sydney model was acquitted of lover’s murder
It had sex and crime … little wonder 1950s Sydney was fascinated by the trial of model Shirley Beiger, accused of shooting dead her lover outside a popular Sydney nightclub.
More Stories
Sad truth behind legend of star soprano’s no show
Few realised what was really going on behind the scenes the night a brave young chorus girl stepped up to save the night for Sydney opera fans.
Tricks our first magicians played on the entire world
From the Great Levante to Murray the Escapologist and The Amazing Mr Rooklyn, Australia has a daring history of magicians who entranced and entertained.
Mystery still remains over Richmond Base tragedy
Eight young, brave and dedicated family men lost their lives just minutes into a routine flight in 1959. And to this day, there is no conclusive cause of the crash.
Honouring our ‘get on with it’ women of service
Dispensing cakes and cracking codes, the Wasbies and the Garage Girls went to war for Australia. Now two new books are shining a light on their stories.
Memories of devastating 1955 Maitland floods live on
The Maitland floods of 1955 took a huge toll on lives and property, like 21 houses on one street washing downstream and fell apart. But there were also amazing stories of survival.
Mortuary train took dead bodies to final burial place
From 1867 to 1938, the richest Sydney residents along with the poorest were taken to be buried the same way — by a special train to Rookwood Cemetery.
Acting triumph of the other Richard Burton
It was a great acting triumph, Richard Burton acted the part of a pilgrim on the way to Mecca so that he could write about what he saw. Not Burton the Welsh actor but Burton the 19th century linguist and adventurer
Newtown housewife who used poison to kill two husbands
When Yvonne Fletcher’s second husband died in a similar manner to her first, police soon discovered the reason why — poison — which sparked a surge of copycat cases, predominantly by Sydney housewives.
How the ‘human glove’ murder case was solved
A man’s decomposed body was found in Wagga Wagga’s Murrumbidgee River in 1933. To help solve his murder, police were able to catch the killer by tracing his fingerprints from a glove.
Nurse who died while treating soldiers at Quarantine Station
Annie Egan realised her dream to become a nurse but the Gunnedah local lost her life to the Spanish flu while treating WWI soldiers at Quarantine Station at Manly in 1918.
Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/today-in-history/page/3