Innehållsförteckning för Edition 30, 2025 från Traces

Hello, and welcome to Edition 30 of Traces, the first one for 2025! In this edition, we continue our mission to uncover extraordinary people and stories from Australia’s past. In the Insight section on page 8, Dr Sue Walker AM introduces us to William Shum, the visionary founding editor of two major Australian magazines: The New Idea and Australian Home Beautiful. Shum’s influence on Australian culture through these two publications can still be seen in the way we live our lives today. In our Maritime feature on page 18, new Traces writer Linda Bretherton explores the Australian National Maritime Museum’s collection of early 1900s Japanese maritime postcards, and what they can tell us about international trade and travel. In our Crime and Punishment section, on page 21, Phillip Keith Johnson…

William Shum had an extraordinary impact on the creative and cultural life of Australians over the crucial decades when modern Australia was being formed. As the founding editor of two popular magazines, first The New Idea and then Australian Home Beautiful (both still in print today), he came into people’s homes every month for 43 years from 1902 to 1945, at a time when magazines were the most powerful influence on the way people lived. His story, the influence of which continues in our lives today, is only now being told. Never one to seek personal publicity or acclaim, Shum was happiest behind the scenes: writing stories as a journalist, capturing people’s daily lives in photographs, managing a team of journalists and designers, and deciding what was noteworthy, new and…

James Murphy, son of James Murphy (Senior) and Catherine Fitzgerald, was born on 17 February 1832 in Summerhill, County Meath, Ireland. Aged 22, he migrated to Australia with his brother, William, where they joined their parents, who had migrated several years earlier. James’s sister, Bridget, remained in Ireland to marry Francis Burke, and later joined the Murphy family in Monaro, New South Wales. James and his siblings had survived Ireland’s Great Famine and the depressed economic conditions of their homeland. Upon arriving in Australia, James acquired a small, fertile 40-acre portion of land at Cathcart, New South Wales, on the bank of the Dragon Swamp, which is a series of connected freshwater holes that do not dry up even during severe drought. It was here that his wife was murdered.…

Archibald Watson was brilliant, eccentric and audacious – a complex character who made a significant contribution to the study of anatomy and physiology. Archibald Watson was always close to scandal – his most ignominious period was when he was arrested for blackbirding (the practice of kidnapping or tricking people into slavery or cheap labour in distant countries) in the Pacific in the early 1870s. Before he could be tried for murder and kidnapping on the high seas, Watson ‘jumped’ bail and went to New Zealand, before then heading to Europe. Deciding to study medicine, Watson, cognisant of his sordid past, avoided England and obtained medical degrees from Göttingen (1878) and Paris (1880). A clever linguist who by the end of his life could speak six languages, Watson seems to have…

Traces welcomes article submissions and pitches from historians, genealogists, family history researchers, authors and history lovers. Topics include, but are not limited to: • Ancestor stories • Historical research and news • Research tips • Character studies • Historical building profiles • Antiques, collections and preservation • Historical recipes. Send your submissions and pitches to eden.cox@executivemedia.com.au Please note that all article submissions and pitches will be reviewed by the editor. The editor reserves the right to reject submissions. Articles are between 1000 and 1200 words. If imagery is available, it must be high resolution (300dpi).…

Stanley Melbourne Bruce was an idealistic and hardworking prime minister from 1923 to 1929. After he lost the 1929 election, he served two terms as Australian High Commissioner in London. Those years between 1933 and 1945 were agonising. The aftermath of World War I left Bruce with a firm belief that Australia needed to directly participate in the affairs of empire specifically to avoid the horror of international conflicts. Bruce’s abiding faith was to seek peaceful reconciliation of international disputes. He represented Australia on the League of Nations and later served in the British War Cabinet as Australia’s Dominion representative. His idealism brought him into conflict with Churchill’s pragmatism as the world spiralled into World War II. In 1939, Churchill was rotund and balding, with a puffy, pinkish face. He…

The weather was perfect for the Epsom Derby in England on 31 May 1922. Thousands of people made their way to the racecourse to watch the races. The sky was clear, and the sun shone warmly overhead. The ideal conditions for the Derby also happened to be the perfect conditions for flying. At about midday, Captain Cyril Turner took off in an aeroplane specially designed by Major Jack Savage. He flew over Epsom Downs racecourse and piloted the plane in a predetermined course. Strange smoky clouds soon drew people’s attention. They looked up as letters began appearing in the sky. With each twist and turn, Captain Turner continued writing with the aeroplane, until he eventually spelled out the name ‘Daily Mail’. Ten days later, The Illustrated London News published exclusive…

Architectural features are what make our older homes unique, so what can be done to preserve them? Traces posed this question to Mark Weller from The Authentic Age, an advisory service on the restoration and alteration of period buildings. Weller says the key to preserving heritage features is maintenance and repair. Without regular upkeep, he says, ‘they are likely to fall into serious disrepair or even be destroyed. An example is a timber finial at the top of a roof gable; if left with peeling paint, the timber will split and/or rot. ’Old houses need not be uncomfortable or inconvenient,’ says Weller. ‘For example, careful positioning of central heating or air-conditioning ducts, ventilators and radiators provides amenity without intruding too much on the heritage character. ’Likewise, items like power points…