Research and writing involves a lot of repetitive time-consuming tasks such as typing, editing, transcribing and formatting data. All the public hears about is the amazing discovery. The bulk of the work is essential but it can be rather monotonous and certainly not news-worthy. Over the last few of days #ThanksForTyping has emerged on Twitter to recognise the wives of … [Read more...] about ‘Thank you to my wife’ – unpaid work by women
Canberra
A Quirky Hotel with a History
It was just another visit to Canberra but this time my mother was accompanying me to see her grand-daughter who lives in Canberra. All I wanted was a simple twin share room but one of the hotels I often use was booked out and the other I also sometimes stay at did not have twin share. They offered to put up a foldaway bed if I paid an additional sum of money – but I didn’t want … [Read more...] about A Quirky Hotel with a History
Canberra Research Week
When I made the decision to write a book about Australian World War One history in the midst of our move to Singapore I knew I would have to come back to Australia on various research trips. While much of my research centres on digitised historical records, most historical records are not digitised and t is only recently that publishers have offered e-book versions of histories … [Read more...] about Canberra Research Week
Design 29: Creating a Capital
This is the year of Canberra. The celebrations of the centenary of its founding mark a point where Canberra can reflect on its past. The one hundredth anniversary which coincided with one of my daughters moving to Canberra has caused me to rethink my attitude to the city and recognise that as a place I should take it more seriously. A couple of months ago I wrote a review of … [Read more...] about Design 29: Creating a Capital
The Dream of a Century: The Griffins in Australia’s capital
The capital city of Australia is a twentieth century creation. It emerged from a paddock in rural New South Wales one hundred years ago. On 12th March 1913 Lady Denman, the wife of Australia’s Governor-General, stood on the newly laid foundation stones and announced the name of the city to be – Canberra. The city had already been born by the time the crowd gathered in the … [Read more...] about The Dream of a Century: The Griffins in Australia’s capital