All stories
Such a small favour
Emily Luttrell
Emily Luttrell first approached the Minister of Defence in June 1922. ‘Please pardon me for taking the liberty of writing,’ she began, ‘if you could see your way to help me ... I would deem it the... » read more
Thank God you are found
George McQuay
In 1916, an unknown patient was admitted to Broughton Hall, a ‘mental facility’ for returned soldiers in Sydney. Some said he’d been found behind the lines in France—wandering aimlessly and wearing a... » read more
The stone carver
Daphne Mayo
In 1929 Australian artist Daphne Mayo set to work on Queensland’s state memorial. The monument took the shape of a circular colonnade, a ring of Doric columns modelled on an ancient temple in Greece... » read more
War has made me a pacifist
Hugo Throssell
The funeral of Captain Hugo Throssell VC took place not long after Remembrance Day in 1933. He was buried in Perth’s Karrakatta cemetery with full military honours. Throssells’s medals and sword were... » read more
A lost soul
William Riley
William Riley was an orphan. His parents died of tuberculosis when he was very young. William was separated from his two sisters and they would never meet again. He was sent to the Burwood Boys’ Home... » read more
A sorrow unsaid
Brian Lyall
On 2 December 1915, Major G.F. Stevenson, Commanding Officer of the 6th Australian Battery at Gallipoli, wiped the grime from his hands and wrote a letter home to Australia. The letter began in the... » read more
Attempting the impossible
Frederick Weir
Frederick Weir returned to Adelaide in 1918. He was just twenty-two when he joined the Army and most of his adult life had been spent at war. For almost four years he’d served with the 4th Field... » read more
Her hands are never still
Charlotte Crivelli
In 1915, Madame Crivelli established the French Red Cross Society of Victoria. It was the beginning of an (unpaid) career in war work that would long outlast the war itself. Crivelli organised... » read more
I still have the bullet in my body
James Dann
Private James Dann, a fisherman from Broome, enlisted soon after the Gallipoli Landings. He was sent to the Peninsula, wounded at Lone Pine, and sent home with a bullet in his body. The slightest... » read more
Never to love again
Olive Pink
Olive Pink was one of the few white women to settle in Alice Springs in the 1930s. And in that dusty frontier town she quickly became known for a series of causes. Long before it became fashionable,... » read more
