Waltzing Matilda and the Swagman Inquest

The song ‘Waltzing Matilda’ has held a place in the hearts of Australians throughout the decades and across nations. Many people will know that the lyrics were penned by Andrew Barton ‘Banjo’ Paterson in 1895 while staying with the Macphersons at Dagworth Station, near Winton, after hearing the story of their woolshed being burned during […]

Fashion fatality: accidental death by misfortune

Mrs Eliza Baxter – who lived in a house on the premises of the Victoria Steam Saw Mill in the Drayton district with her husband, her stepmother and her son – became another victim of the deadly crinoline fashion on 24 March 1865. At about 7 am, Eliza – in her dress and a crinoline […]