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Average Citizen @civilduty.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

In my search of Australian newspaper archives, I came upon this lovely little article. A gentle reminder to focus on the beauty the world has to offer, especially in times of darkness. I think we can all use some Bottled Sunshine in our lives right now.

Article titled "Bottled Sunshine" from the Albury Banner and Wodonga Express published March 27 1925 sourced via Trove.

Bottled Sunshine.

Fortunately for the world its supply of Bottled Sunshine far exceeds that of its Wet Blankets.

If this were not so what an unbearable place the world be. Some lands, peoples and centuries are richer in it than others.

Children and puppies and kittens and lambs and all young things (unless they be ill) are Bottled Sunshine.

Precious stones and coal, flower-buds and seeds and the kernels of fruit are Bottled Sunshine.

Flashes of kindly wit and peals of laughter from out a merry heart are its very essence.

Beautiful, witching, attractive in an unstable, uncertain sort of way, are the dispositions of some people, of whom it may be said, "They have a mercurial temperament."

Better to be merry, to be known as Bottled Sunshine, with a heart as full of the joy and gladness of living as are the woods of singing birds in the springtime.

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Average Citizen @civilduty.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

Last night I had a dream that the US Military opened up on a long time ally in an unprovoked surprise attack. The world was shocked at what had transpired. People were frightened. Sometimes I have dreams that mirror later real world events. I sure hope this ain't one of them.

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Average Citizen @civilduty.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

The search for Frederick Fisher According to the story narrated by James Norton, his father, who was John Farley's solicitor at the time, believed John's account of meeting the ghost of Frederick Fisher. Mr Norton, being a friend of Attorney General Saxe Bannister, pushed for an investigation. 1/9

adb.anu.edu.au

Biography - Saxe Bannister - Australian Dictionary of Biography

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Average Citizen @civilduty.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

Watching what is happening in America at the moment reminds me of the English Reformation which started when King Henry VIII made himself head of the Church of England and closed down the monasteries and nunneries. The effects of this period still echo down to the modern day in the UK and beyond.

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Average Citizen @civilduty.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

The ghost of Frederick Fisher So it was in the period between the disappearance and search for Frederick Fisher that his ghost was seen by John Farley. One night, John had been walking home via Queen Street after spending the evening drinking at an Inn called The Harrow. 1/

campbelltown-library.blogspot.com

The Haunted Harrow

Almost everyone in Campbelltown would be familiar with the story of Fisher's Ghost. Not many however would be familiar with "The Harrow"- th...

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Average Citizen @civilduty.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

The disappearance of Frederick Fisher On the 17 June 1826, Samuel Hopkins watched as Frederick Fisher left the farm to go for an evening walk, something that he was in the habit of doing every night. Lawrence left the house with four other men shortly after Fred and headed to a nearby pub. 🧵 1/

A photograph depicting Queen Street in Campbelltown looking towards Reeve's Emporium c.1900 courtesy of The History Buff Campbelltown City Council Local Information Blog. The photo displays a wide dirt lined road fringed with sandstone guttering and sidewalks of packed dirt. The road is lined to the right with a one story shop and a long row of white picket fences demarcating the boundary of residential dwellings. To the left is a two storey building forming Reeve's Emporium selling clothing, drapery and shoes. A man is walking toward Reeve's Emporium on the dirt packed sidewalk along a timber post and rail fence. More one and two storey buildings lie nestled behind Reeve's Emporium with only their facades visible in the picture. In the far distance, a few trees can be seen growing alongside the road.

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Average Citizen @civilduty.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

The last year of Frederick Fisher's life. On 25 June 1825, Frederick Fisher answered a knock at his door. Before him stood William Brooker, a carpenter, who being well fortified with alcohol, aggressively sought payment for hiring his cattle out to Fred's lodger, Charles Rennett. 1/

dictionaryofsydney.org

Brooker, William | The Dictionary of Sydney

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Average Citizen @civilduty.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

Who was Frederick Fisher? Frederick George James Fisher, born in London on 28 August 1792 to parents, Frederick and Ann Fisher. By the age of 22, Frederick worked as a shopkeeper and had been charged with uttering forged bank notes (i.e. knowingly passing a forged note with intent to defraud). 1/

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Average Citizen @civilduty.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

Fisher’s Ghost According to the legend, not long after a man named Frederick Fisher disappeared, his ghost appeared beside a creek near his farm in Campbelltown, to a man named John Farley, who was passing by after an evening at Patrick’s Inn (also known as The Harrow). 1/🧵

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Average Citizen @civilduty.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

A little message to Americans. What's coming in the future will make the last three weeks seem normal. You don't have much time left to stop the slide into fascism. Think weeks...not months or years. No one is coming to save the country from tyranny. There is only the power of the people. 1/

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Average Citizen @civilduty.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

A Mysterious Discovery On Monday 15 August 1899, a workman was busy carrying out an excavation at the Queen Victoria Markets and was shocked to come across a coffin containing the body of a fully dressed man. This mysterious discovery was reported in the Queanbeyan Age. 🧵 1/

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Average Citizen @civilduty.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

As the world is beset by the recent resurgence in isolationist movements, most of them at the far right of the political spectrum, it’s probably time to talk about Australia’s past and current flirtation with fascism. So sit back and let me tell you a tale about the “Australia First” movement. 🧵1/

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Average Citizen @civilduty.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

Today in Australia’s History: Pleasingly Plump Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror and thought “I’d love to be five kilograms heavier”? Well I can't say that I have. But if you were a poor or working class person living in the 1920’s or 1930's, you may have been thinking this.

Coloured advertisement for Sargol Tablets displaying a picture of a man in a blue bathing suit standing on a ladder against a pier and a woman in a red bathing suit sitting on the pier. The man and the woman are interacting against a backdrop of sea and sky. Below the picture is a written advertisement extolling the benefits of Sargol weight gain tablets.

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Average Citizen @civilduty.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

I'm parsing through old Australian newspapers at the moment, trying to find something interesting to post about and I was struck by the difference in formatting compared to the modern day. A large number of Australian newspapers didn't contain news articles on their front pages.

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Average Citizen @civilduty.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

I'm going to tell you all a little something that I first realised back in 2012. You see, around that time I was watching climate change initiatives around the world being defunded or reduced in scale. I realised that our Governments had no intention of stopping or mitigating climate change.

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Average Citizen @civilduty.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

This day in Australian History: Adelaide Christmas Chronicle Some of us have already started preparing for Christmas, some of us have finished and some of us will prevaricate until the week before Christmas and then barrage through the shops in a flurry of desperate consumerism. 1/🧵

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Average Citizen @civilduty.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

I was looking for some information on the old Liverpool Gaol (later Liverpool Asylum) and came across this entry for the WWII Liverpool Internment Camp. Special internees included overseas foreigners and members of the Australia First movement. Might have to do a deep dive in a future post.

dictionaryofsydney.org

Liverpool Internment Camp during World War II | The Dictionary of Sydney

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Reposted by Average Citizen

Sarah Bendall @sarahabendall.bsky.social · 11/11/2024

Excited to be partnering with Sovereign Hill Museums Association to offer a few workshops. Our first is ‘300 Years of Women’s Fashion’ on 30 November. Read more about it & grab your tickets via link below! 🎟️ www.sovereignhill.com.au/events/300-y...

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Average Citizen @civilduty.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

Historical Occupations: Marine Store Collector If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably come across an entry for an ancestor’s occupation in the census and can’t make head nor tail as to what kind of job it is. A trade that a couple of my ancestors share is that of Marine Store Collector. 1/🧵

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Average Citizen @civilduty.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

This day in Australian history: The murder of John Brackfield Today i'm going to give you a murder mystery. I'll be asking you to tell me who you think killed John Brackfield only using the information presented here. Buckle up because this is one long crazy ride. 1/ 🧵

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Average Citizen @civilduty.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

Today I told the story of Annie Whitehead and Mary Cole who were sentenced to The Parramatta Female Factory. So what was this place? The Parramatta Female Factory served the function of a workhouse, hospital and prison for female convicts in New South Wales, Australia.

A sepia print of The Parramatta Female Factory

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Average Citizen @civilduty.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

This day in Australian History: Duck Stealing. The Sydney Gazette reported on the results of the trial of Anne Whitehead and her domestic servant, Mary Cole, who were charged with the “Foul” crime of duck stealing. Both women were tried at The Sitting Magistrates Court on the 10 November 1824.

An account of the trial of Anne Whitehead and her servant, Mary Cole, for stealing ducks published by the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser on 25 November 1824.

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Average Citizen @civilduty.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

I've spent my first few hours on Bluesky just checking out all the amazing things you are thinking, doing, creating and sharing and all I could come up with is this mediocre post. I think i'm gonna like it here.

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