Who could imagine a rural ALP parliamentarian talk about being a socialist ?? It’s an oxymoron! But in the early days of the 20th century it was not uncommon. One famous example was the MLA for Ballarat West from 1904-1907, Scott Bennett. As well as a short spell in the parliamentary talk shop he was [...]
Not sure if many listeners know much about Frank Hyett, I certainly would like to know more. He was born on February 9 1882 at Bolwarra near Ballarat. He arrived in Melbourne just after 1900, and became involved in both sport and radical politics. Local Football and Cricket In the sporting arena he played local [...]
Bare knuckle boxing was a popular 19th century pastime. In Victoria, after 1866, it became compulsory to wear gloves and follow the Queensbury rules, but bare knuckle fights were still held, albeit illegally. The last, and one of the most famous bouts, occured on March 20 1879. Held n the NSW side of the Murray [...]
The little town of Lancefield, an hour and a bit North West of Melbourne, has a great farmers Market on the fourth Saturday of each month, and is well known for the wonderful Aspy Cafe in High Street. Like so many other parts of rural Victoria, it has links to the Kelly Outbreak, and we’ll [...]
The Great Trade War, aka World War 1, had a major impact upon Australian society. One area it did this was in the world of footy. Here i touch upon its impact upon the Victorian Football League, (VFL). Read on In 1914, the year war broke out, there were 9 sides competing in the VFL. [...]
Victoria in the 1850s From the mid 1850s there were substantial democratic demands made across what is now the state of Victoria. The Eureka Stockade, the 8 hour day, and parliamentary reformn are some of the obvious ones, but what about the desire to ‘unlock the land!’ During this perod a broad coalition, including Chartists, [...]
