The Owl Store, Gloucester
On 27 March 1929 ‘The Owl Store’ opened at 36 Church Street, Gloucester. It was a Self-Serve Grocery Store – a new method of shopping at the time…
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2 Commerce Street, TareeBetween 1903 and 1906, William Wrigley bought 5 lots of land on the corner of River and Commerce Streets, Taree. William was a builder and carpenter and after completing his apprenticeship in Sydney he went to South Africa where the building trade was flourishing. He returned to Australia in 1898 and spent the next 44 years… -
Edward Langley (Teddy) WhitbreadEdward Langley Whitbread is buried in Woola Cemetery on the outskirts of Taree. The headstone describes his death on the 12th February 1909 as accidental. Look a little closer and you may be able to make out a jockey’s cap and crop incised into the stone. A local lad, Teddy Whitbread was born in 1888 and… -
Lost on Kiwarric MountainIn October 1922, six-year-old Sydney McCarthy arrived with his mother from Sydney to holiday with his grandparents, Mr and Mrs George W.R. Green, at Kundibakh. After the long train and car journey, his mother was resting when Sydney wandered from the property... -
Those rascally rabbits: Broughton Island rabbit experimentAudiences tend to love fictional rabbits such as Thumper or Bugs Bunny, but in Australia rabbits have caused widespread environmental and economic devastation since their introduction in the 1850s. Governments have spent millions of dollars fighting these pests. In 1906, Broughton Island became the scene of one such attempt. Microbiologist Dr Danysz from the… -
The wrecking of the Empress of IndiaThe schooner, Empress of India, was travelling from Port Macquarie to Sydney loaded with sawn hardwood when she encountered fierce weather. Captain Peter Williams sheltered in Cape Hawke Bay but during the night the winds were so violent that the ship started leaking and was in danger of being driven ashore... -
Anne Baxter – Hollywood ActressOn 12 December 1985 the Los Angeles Times reported the death of Anne Baxter aged 62. This followed a stroke suffered some eight days earlier. Anne Baxter was a grand-daughter of the influential architect Frank Lloyd Wright. More importantly she was a very successful American actress with a career spanning her Broadway debut aged 13… -
Hannah WebsterOn 12 November 1913, Hannah, daughter of Mr and Mrs John Wallis, was married at her father’s homestead “Ellerslie”, Bulga. The bridegroom was Benjamin Webster, a timber worker many years her senior. Hannah and Benjamin settled into life on the Plateau. However, over the years relations between them soured and, notwithstanding their large family, they… -
The Harrington Maritime Pilot StationThe Manning River is the only double delta river in the southern hemisphere with one entrance at Harrington and the other at Old Bar. Harrington has long been the river’s gateway, but its treacherous bar has been the ruin of many ships. From as early as 1824 vessels have come to complete ruin at Harrington.… -
Sad tales of Glenthorne Public School’s teachersGlenthorne Public School operated for 63 years with nine teachers serving the small community. Of these teachers, four suffered tragic events while serving in their roles. William Percy was a popular teacher who loved playing cricket. He passed his pupil teacher’s examination at 13 and worked his way to full teacher. He taught at Glenthorne… -
Black Head Surf Club or is it River Club?Calls for a lifesaving club at Black Head started as early as 1915 after the near drowning of four people. Ten years later in 1925, the surf club officially opened. While rescues have been a part of regular duty, a special rescue happened in Taree in 1929. Black Head and Taree-Old Bar Surf Clubs have… -
Pixie O’Harris paintingsIn 1957, renowned Australian illustrator and author, Pixie O’Harris, painted a series of 25 murals for the Children’s Ward of the Manning River District Hospital in Taree. The paintings depict scenes from children’s stories including Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty and Robin Hood... -
Call of the mermaids at Crowdy Head LighthouseFor centuries watery sirens have lured sailors and their vessels onto Mermaid Reef 10 kilometres off the coast of Crowdy Head creating sadness and destruction. In 1878 the government fought these forces by erecting a lighthouse to warn ships of their impending doom... -
Toki Simon: The smiling assassinToki William Simon was a Biripi man born in Forster, NSW in 1915. When he was young, Toki worked with his family to craft cabbage tree furniture at Forster. He also played rugby league for Cape Hawke being regularly identified as one of the team’s best players. In 1939 Toki married Joyce Dungay from Taree. World…
