Robert Small and the Sudan contingent
In 1851, a Presbyterian Denominational School was operating at Redbank: the schoolmaster was William Small. Robert, one of his sons, was born in 1859…
James Lethbridge Templer (1811-1845)
James was born in Dorset, England in 1811 and entered the East India Company in 1828. A decade later he left the company and sailed to Australia – a country he was destined to never leave…
Shallow Island Baths Taree
The boat ramp near the Manning River Rowing Club leads to the location of Taree’s first public baths formed in 1902. It was called the Shallow Island Baths…
The Elephant House Wingham
In 1906, immigrants Alice and Edward McCreery Shea Hill moved to Wingham where they opened a business next to the Australian Hotel…
Captain William Terry
In September 1837, Captain William Terry of the whaling brig Tigress informed passing ships that he was seriously ill and intended to dock at Carrington, Port Stephens…
Greenwood Theatricals
Robert Greenwood and his family enjoyed a comfortable life in New Zealand – that is until he was bankrupted in 1886. It was then that the musical talents of his wife and children saved the day…
Harold Howard Maher WWI
When WWI began in 1914, the Defence Act 1903 prevented First Nations people from enlisting. But as the war went on and losses mounted, restrictions eased…
What’s in a name?
At the outbreak of WW1, Frederick Ziegenbein (or Zeigenbein) was employed as a telegraphist at Taree Post Office…
The Elusive Frederick Manton
Frederick Manton, a son of renowned English gunsmith Joseph Manton, arrived in Sydney in April 1829…
Cry “Fire!”
Destructive fires in Taree were not unusual. But were they all accidental?