Theme: Overlooked. When I first started investigating my maternal grandparents’ line, it was known that my Great Grandparents Edwin Hunt and Margaret Morgan and their large family had emigrated to Australia from Berkshire in 1879, and that he had two sisters Elizabeth and Mary Anne who had emigrated earlier. A third sister Emma and a… Read more

Theme: Nickname I am late with this – I couldn’t think of anything new to write about concerning my family’s or my husband’s family’s various nicknames – nothing very startling or unusual – but then I remembered….. I once owned a gorgeous little sports car – British racing green with a black hood and tonneau… Read more

Theme: Favourite Photo. This photo shows my Aunt Betty and my mother Vada d’Archy in the grounds of their home in Toowoomba, Queensland. It must have been taken soon after their father Dick d’Archy left to fight in the First World War. He had been managing a large cattle station in far North Queensland, where… Read more

Topic: Creativity My mother “Vada” (d’Archy) Johnston was always very clever with her hands. A stay-at-home mother like most of her contemporaries, she was always knitting, crocheting or sewing something. She used to make all her own and my dresses. When my brother and I were young she went to a number of evening classes… Read more

Topic: Nickname Like most other late 19th Century families in England and Australia at least, my Darchy family delighted in never using a person’s full first name. It was usually just shortened – William became “Bill”, Frances became “Frank” etc, or the middle name was used – Edith Lillian was always “Lily” and her daughters… Read more