Traces

This magazine is for people passionate about Australia and New Zealand's genealogy, history and heritage. Whether you want to explore convict history, find your Anzac, identify photographs or trace your family tree, our trusted expert advice will help you discover your past.

Traces

Heritage news

The Bush Inn, New Norfolk, Tasmania • With a history dating back to the early 1800s, the Bush Inn played a significant role in the development of New Norfolk, and remains a beloved landmark for locals and visitors alike.

Rescuing the past from the wreckage • This year marks the 50th anniversary of Cyclone Tracy’s destruction of Darwin. Its nine hours of carnage left the city a tangled heap of debris and broken lives, but it inspired Dr Mike Epworth to embrace his family’s carpentry tradition and forge a greater connection with his heritage.

How the car changed Australia • We live in a material world. The things we own, the clothes we wear, and the houses we live in all express who we are, or who we want to be. But if there was any single object that defined the 20th century in Australia, it was the motor car.

Wakka Wakka resistance in the Burnett River Basin • With traditional hunting grounds and water sources spoiled by the domestic animals of European settlers, the Wakka Wakka people of Queensland resisted white occupation in their territories by the use of guerrilla warfare.

NEWSREELS: A RECORD OF DAILY LIFE • Many public occupations of the past have been rendered obsolete by new technologies. Although written records, and sometimes photographs, of these activities exist, rare moving images provide a true snapshot of daily life.

What’s that thingamajig? • Answer: an addressing machine

DO YOU HAVE A STORY TO SHARE? • Traces welcomes article submissions and pitches from historians, genealogists, family history researchers, authors and history lovers.

The name behind the frame • Removing a simple memento of the South African War from its frame revealed a sweet message, hidden for decades. But which soldier wrote it – and who was his ‘Jewel’?

Murder or misadventure on the Moana? • ‘My God, I’ve poisoned two people with oxalic acid in mistake for lime juice!’ With that single alleged – and later disavowed and recanted – statement, so began the fateful afternoon of Friday 3 January 1919 on board the Royal Mail Steamer (RMS) Moana.

A long-lost relative found • On family movie night, we would drag out our mattresses and position ourselves in front of the TV to watch whatever movie the TV guide served up. Historical adventures like Indiana Jones were always a favourite because the hero was not only a daring risk taker, but was also a keen researcher. So, when my own research had me travelling across the world in search of my own family holy grail, it felt like a grand adventure.

Speaking of Dulcie • My mum is beyond the usual means of communication: letters, phone calls, chats over tea and biscuits. She died in 1979, when I was a teenager. Over the past 50 years, in my quest to understand her life, my esteem for her has grown considerably.

THE WILD WAYS OF ADELAIDE IRONSIDE • Adelaide Ironside was only 23 when she became the first Australian artist to travel to Europe to advance her career. The ambitious painter earned the respect of John Ruskin and the Prince of Wales, but her work didn’t enter public collections until many years after her death.

The flapper • The flapper emerged in the 1920s in many countries around the world, including Australia. These modern women embraced a new lifestyle that was viewed by many at the time as outrageous, pushing the barriers of economic, social and political freedom.

A LABOUR OF LOVE • From a young age, Jacob Ure was captivated by the allure of old homes and their silent stories....