Archive
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The Sinking We Weren’t Told About: SS Iron Crown and the War at Tasmania’s Doorstep
My Nan remembered the air raid drills at her Hobart school, needing to practice going to the trenches at the bottom of the yard. She spoke of the rationing, especially of missing Vegemite and chewing gum. What she didn’t know was that in 1942, a Japanese submarine sank the SS Iron Crown in Bass Strait. Read more
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A Hobart Ghost Story: The Hearthstone Séance, 1893
They said she appeared near the hearth. A pale figure in the lamplight, still and silent. No-one agreed on how long she stood there, or whether she moved at all. Only that she had lifted a hand, pointed towards the fireplace, and was gone. Read more
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A Carrick Ghost Story: The Short Life of Emma Lynam
It is said that the small village of Carrick is frequented by a ghost; a woman dressed in white is often seen at night. She is said to walk the Oaks Road where Mrs Regan met her death. But who was Mrs Regan and how did she die? Read more
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The Rise and Fall of Count McHugo: A Tale from Van Diemen’s Land
“None dreamt that it were better to have had the very devil amongst us for two or three months than McHugo for as many days, or even hours”. The brief reign of Count Jonathan Burke McHugo, from regal arrival to dramatic downfall, a tale of intrigue, rebellion and royal delusions. Read more
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Maritime Rescue at Low Head, Tasmania: The Courage of Beattie Traill
June 24, 1863, unleashed a tempest off Low Head, Tasmania. Waves surged like mountains, and the lighthouse keeper, signaling in the storm, witnessed a boat’s desperate struggle. Abandoned by passing vessels, the crew clung to life. Amidst the chaos, Beattie Traill, daughter of the assistant keeper, defied the raging sea. Read more
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Ice, Isolation, and Empty Stomachs: A Tale from Macquarie Island
In the sub-Antarctic wilderness of Macquarie Island, the crew of the 1870s sealing vessel Sarah Pile battled frost, starvation and isolation after being stranded ashore. Forced to survive on raw penguin eggs and without fire, their ordeal and survival later unfolded in a Hobart courtroom. Read more