Labels such as `The Man About Town`, `The Stubborn Patriarch`, `The Slab Hut`, `The Black Hammer`, `The Monarch`, `Dear Nellie` and `The Steam Maker` are curious ways to pay homage to your ancestors. But this is exactly how the Wilson family pays tribute to the many previous generations whom have contributed to where they are today. This family is proud of their roots, they have a genuine interest in history and being sixth generation Australians, they’re about as Aussie as it gets for English settlers. Continue reading The Wilsons of Williamstown→
Story by Kendrea Rhodes. Photos courtesy of the RFDS.
Stories about the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) usually conjure feelings of pride and wonder. As Australian’s we are rightly proud of a world class aero-medical and health care system that spans this enormous country for the good of the people. And we wonder at the seemingly miraculous ways that the RFDS help people in need against all odds. More than 250,000 patient contacts occur every year, that’s one person every two minutes of the day, 365 days a year. Continue reading Music Festival for Flying Doctors→
If I said, “Aussie Special” would you immediately think of barbeques, surfboards, beer, bikini’s or perhaps vintage racing cars? Australia was unique in the way it put together race cars in the 30’s & 40’s. Being so far away from manufacturers in Europe, the UK and the USA, these inventive Aussies cobbled up the ‘race cars to beat all’. Of course they were different and hard to replicate due to the availability of parts. But they weren’t fussy, they’d use parts from any make or model such as Ford, Hudson, MG, Riley, Alpha or Bentley. Quite often if an original race car was involved in a crash, its parts could evolve into an Aussie Special out of someone’s back shed. Aussie Specials were raced a lot in Grand Prix’s all over Australia, and Lobethal is no exception, both back then and today. Continue reading The Lobethal Grand Carnival→
In 1964 “Pat” Seidel, a farmer from Kenton Valley, traded in his 1951 Ford for a brand new, compact Ford Fairlane. Quite an outlay for a normally frugal farmer – but it was a decision he never regretted and one that his descendants are now grateful for.
Pat took the car out to church, shopping and family events, but mostly it stayed in the shed, well cared for and much admired for 25 years. The 500 sedan, with a 289cc V8 engine, was still in good condition when he passed away in 1989, leaving the family in a quandary as to what to do with it. Continue reading From the Bay to Birdwood in a ’64 Fairlane→
Popular Adelaide rock ‘n’ roll band, Holly and the Buddies, will be performing at the Stanley Bridge Hotel in Verdun to help out an old friend, Herbie the Love Bug. The performance, to be held on Sunday, September 27, is in support of SA Variety Bash Car Number 53, otherwise known as Herbie, who has just returned from Alice Springs after completing this year’s Variety Bash. Held annually, the event attracted 91 entries and raised in excess of $1.9 million to assist South Australian children in need. Continue reading Holly & the Buddies to help Herbie→
Birdwood High School student, 17 year old Jake Markham, has been selected to play in the Australian Schoolboys soccer team, touring China, the UK and Ireland in January 2010.
Jake captained the South Australian team at the national ‘School Sports Australia’ Schoolboy’s Soccer championships, held in Perth this year. Despite being injured in the 2nd game against QLD, Jake had already shown enough skill to be selected among the 18 players for the Australian team. He joins 2 other lads from Adelaide to make up the South Australian contingent in the national team. ‘School Sports Australia’ is a federally funded committee who represent all education departments across Australia to promote excellence in school sports. They run national events in 22 different sports for primary and secondary school children, and ten international tours every year. Continue reading Australian Schoolboys Soccer→
Long before the days of the supermarket, department store or shopping mall, there was a general store in every small town and on many city street corners. These were truly “general” stores, stocking every daily necessity required by its customers from popcorn to car tyres, banana’s to garden gloves and the essentials; bread, milk and newspapers. Those were the days that people looked upon a venture to the store as an outing, not a chore. These days we are known as “consumers who make purchase decisions based on demographic trends”. But in times gone by, the general store owners knew all their customers by name, was a friend and advisor, as well as a happy face. Continue reading Gumeracha General Store→
Story and photos by Kendrea Rhodes
