Buckshot Bear

BILLY BOYS - photo -1915 These boys made tea at break times for the men, which involved lighting a fire and boiling the water in billy cans. LOCATIONS: Building sites, blacksmiths and railway yards in cities. In rural areas billy boys also worked with stockmen. SALARY: As an entry-level position, billy boys were often apprentices on meagre salaries who were expected to learn their trade over a number of years. Many left school and took on these roles at age 13 or 14. As part of their on-the-job training, billy boys often did lots of other odd jobs around sites such as running messages and handling tools.

Two wheels to the Front Line During the First World War the bicycle was a significant item of military equipment, yet it is often overlooked by historians. The AIF Cycling Companies have often been forgotten in military history, but the humble bicycle played a very important role in the logistics of warfare. On 10 March 1916, AIF Headquarters in Cairo issued ‘AIF Circular Memorandum No. 32’ to establish the Cyclist Companies. The key details of the memo were: 1. Approval is given for the organisation of a Cyclist Company in each Australian Division. The Company will be of the establishment laid down in Part VII War Establishment 1915. 2. The Company will form a distinct organisation, but Officers appointed to it will be seconded from units, and their promotion will be regulated accordingly. The Cyclist Companies were deployed to the front line as well as undertaking cable burying, traffic control and reconnaissance work. They were used in many major battles, including Messines in June 1917 and Passchendaele July 1917. However, before the official formation of Cycling Companies, bicycles were being used for transportation and other military needs as can be seen by this photograph taken in Serapeum, Egypt c. 1915. Here the Signal Section of the 13th Battalion, AIF, is ready to march off to a ceremonial parade with their bicycles and signal equipment. The standard issue Army bicycle during the First World War was the BSA, made by the Birmingham Smalls Arms Company, a major British arms and ammunition manufacturer since the Crimean War, and a builder of bicycles since the early 1880s. The British Army in 1901 adopted the BSA Mark 1 as standard issue, and then over the next decade a number of improvements and modifications were made. By 1911, the Mark IV model, , was in production, fitted with a ‘coaster’ rear hub that enabled the rider to ‘coast’ and also to back-pedal to slow the bicycle. But the Australian cyclists in Egypt had to persevere with a variety of BSA bicycles, ranging from the Mark I to the Mark IV models. It was not until July 1915 that the Mark IV was introduced, now fitted with hand-operated rear brakes, plus a free-wheeling hub in place of the coaster hub. Shortly after the Australian cyclists had reached France, this bicycle became the standard issue. Both the Light Horse and the Cyclist Companies were issued with the Short Magazine Lee–Enfield .303 calibre rifles. Troops in the Cyclist Companies had two options for carrying the rifle. It could be slung over their shoulders, as worn by 827 Private Jack Bambury and 830 Private Herbert Davis at Henencourt, 12 May 1917. Alternatively, the soldier could use the carrying clips which would enable the rifle to be attached to the down-tube of the bike (the diagonal tube just behind the front wheel). All cycling units had colour patches and badges. The colour patches were square with a white background and a superimposed red middle square. These were positioned at the tip of each sleeve of the tunic. These patches can just be seen in this photograph too. The AIF Cycling Companies have often been forgotten in military history, but the humble bicycle played a very important role in the logistics of warfare. Australian War Memorial.

Just asked my wife, put two eggs into cold water and bring to the boil.....as soon as its a rolling boil time exactly two minutes and take them out of the water and into egg cups....don't take to long to take the tops off

Its pretty serious.....seriously The Never Ending Pav (Pavlova) War

PIT SAWN TIMBER HOUSE - 1890 Family portrait of the Perren Family outside the first pit sawn timber house along Rosemount Road, Nambour

How was your brekky today

Still a darn good breakfast!

Bit of salt, some malt vinegar and lunch is ready

Vegemite ......#3 is about perfect.

Moving the Big Merino

More than a century after he enlisted in World War I, a young Ngarrindjeri soldier was at last brought home to rest at Raukkan 24 March 2017. Mack Miller served on the Western Front and died from tuberculosis in the Spanish flu quarantine Hospital in the exhibition building in Adelaide in 1919.

My sons were on a fishing trip in the Northern Territory last year and there were some Aboriginal kids jumping off the pier and there was a croc around that size. The kids would throw a big rock in and the croc would go after that and they'd jump in the other side and quickly clamber out. Sons said to a local that they couldn't believe what they were watching and got told that the kids do it all the time.

THE MARBURG HOTEL - 1886 Exterior view of the Marburg Hotel. A family group poses on the verandah, including Otto Sakrzewski who was the proprietor of the hotel 1886-1914. His wife Auguste is seated, holding a baby.

ESSEX TOURER - 1929 Essex Tourer made by the Hudson Motor Company of USA. Car pictured was and Australian body on an imported chassis. This model known as The Challenger. Tourer has rear curtains in place. Extra curtains between rear and doors could be added in wet weather.

Aussie in Rome

Big Platypus at Broken River Eungella QLD.