Albert George Chapman – Champion Rower
In 1886, the Balmain Working Men’s Rowing Club established itself just a few hundred metres from the Balmain Rowing Club. In these early days a working man…
Graham Barclay: Water ski champion
As a young man, Graham Barclay played professional rugby league football before a serious knee injury ended his career…
Vincenzo Fazio (1865-1962)
Driving around Tuncurry, you may notice iconic sites such as The Great Lakes Cinema, the abandoned BI-LO, and the Rockpool. But one lesser known locale is Fazio’s Transport and Bricks…
Fire at the Bellevue Hotel, Tuncurry
In the early hours of 13 July 1954, a fire started within the Bellevue Hotel at Tuncurry…
Private Willie Alway
When you find a personalised photo in your Aunt’s collection from someone you have never heard of before, your curiosity can’t help but get the better of you…
Rare wooden grave marker
This rare example of a legible wooden grave marker was found behind a shed at the Great Lakes Museum in 2014. It once marked the grave of 14 year old Joseph Edwin Hadley…
Strange coincidence: Brown sisters
Behind the humble façade of this Tuncurry Cemetery headstone lies the extraordinary coincidence of the Brown sisters’ death…
The wrecking of the Empress of India
The 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…