Francis McNamara aka “Frank the Poet”
A poem entitled “A Convict’s Tour to Hell” was composed by Frank McNamara in 1839. It has been said that it draws inspiration from Dante’s “Purgatory”…
Simsville – a Settlement in Purgatory
Located in the Purgatory Scrub east of Stroud, Simsville, also known as The Jarrah, was the site of a timber getting and sawmilling operation spanning the years 1911 to 1947…
The McAskill Murders, Booral Wharf
In January 1878, the Booral Wharf store was alight and there was no sign of the wharfinger Alan McAskill or his wife Mary…
The Brick Machine Case
On 28 September 1927, the court house in the small town of Stroud was abuzz with anticipation. Albert Herbert Thompson was to be tried for the fraudulent appropriation of money from two brothers, local dairy farmers Andrew and Anthony Jacob Weismantel…
The Australian Agricultural Company: Introduction
The Australian Agricultural Company (AACo) is Australia’s oldest continuous company. It was established in 1824 through an Act of British Parliament for the purpose of improving flocks of Merino sheep…