Victory Cafe Taree
In 1943 George Cassimaty moved his business from Manning Street to set up the Victory Café in the Beehive Building. It was here that George changed the face of the Taree café scene…
Message in a bottle
On Monday afternoon, 18 November 1946, while the old residence of the Manning Ambulance Superintendent was being demolished to make way for a more modern building, a letter in a bottle was found…
When Hollywood came to Gloucester
In the 1930s visiting the cinema was a favourite pastime. Most films shown in Australia at that time were Hollywood productions and, in 1935, the NSW government took steps to promote the Australian film industry…
Strange coincidence: Brown sisters
Behind the humble façade of this Tuncurry Cemetery headstone lies the extraordinary coincidence of the Brown sisters’ death…
The well in the Art Gallery Carpark
On Friday 25 May 2018, as excavators were constructing a carpark for the Manning Regional Art Gallery in Macquarie Street, Taree, an old brick well was uncovered. Seeing the handmade bricks…
Murder at Monkerai
Frank Rudkin was married to Jessie, a woman some 20 years his junior. On the morning of 5 July 1921, a neighbour’s son, found Frank’s body lying…
James Hickey Stevens
James Hickey Stevens, known as ‘Jim’ to all, was the second son of George and Eliza Stevens of ‘Killarney’, Dyers Crossing…
Coded postcard message
This postcard was bought by a stamp collector in 2009. Can you imagine his surprise when he turned the postcard over and discovered the coded message written on the back? He thought it was a message between teenagers but this is not so…
The New Manning Valley Pioneers
Around about 2003, we three couples were on the cusp of retiring from Sydney. We knew that as retirees we might have difficulty adjusting to a major move. So we thought, let’s move together…
Father Patrick O’Regan
Patrick O’Regan was one of three Irish born brothers who were ordained as priests and joined the catholic ministry in Australia.