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history

Confronting cancel culture
15 May 2021

Confronting cancel culture

by Greta | posted in: Life and things | 0

Late autumn has arrived! It’s a lovely time of year here in Hervey Bay, with calm, warm days with maximums in the low to mid-twenties and cool to cold nights. The temperatures dip to ten degrees or less, time to … Continued

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cancel culture, history
A hint of Déjà vu
11 Jul 2020

A hint of Déjà vu

by Greta | posted in: History, Life and things | 0

When I was a kid growing up in the sixties and seventies of the previous century, life was good. But there was an ever-present background noise, like the rattle in an air conditioner on a hot day. I’m talking about … Continued

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China politics, cold war, history, pandemic, Putin
Let’s all celebrate Australia Day together
26 Jan 2019

Let’s all celebrate Australia Day together

by Greta | posted in: Life and things | 2

It’s Australia Day here in Oz, the day back in 1788 that marked the official founding of the penal colony in New South Wales. It’s a Saturday, as it happens, but after a few years of celebrating the day itself … Continued

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Australia Day, history, lorikeets
The cemetery – stories of the past
3 Jan 2019

The cemetery – stories of the past

by Greta | posted in: History, Travel | 0

Last year Peter and I had gone on a conducted tour of Kingston’s convict ruins with a descendant of the Christian family. I’d strongly suggest that anybody going to Norfolk for the first time attends the tours. The guides are … Continued

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cemetery, gravestones, history, Norfolk Island, penal colony
The celebration of a nation
27 Jan 2018

The celebration of a nation

by Greta | posted in: Life and things | 1

It’s the 26th January, 2018. Today is the 230th anniversary of when Captain Arthur Phillip planted the British flag at the site of what became Sydney in the state of New South Wales. The place is New, it’s in the … Continued

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Australia Day, celebration, history
Auschwitz
20 Nov 2017

Auschwitz

by Greta | posted in: Travel | 4

Auschwitz. The very word is enough to send a shiver down my spine. It equates to unspeakable horror, monstrous crimes. Nazi Germany was the focus of my studies at university, so I can claim to know a little more than … Continued

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Auschwitz, Birkenau, concentration camp, death camp, history, Nazi, Poland
Rudesheim, the Rhine Gorge – and Miltenberg
21 Oct 2017

Rudesheim, the Rhine Gorge – and Miltenberg

by Greta | posted in: Travel | 1

The thing about having done parts of this trip twice or three times is that sometimes I don’t have much more to say than I did in my previous blogs. That was the case with Rudesheim, where we visited the … Continued

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history, Holocaust, Jews, Miltenberg, mists of time
Batavia’s Graveyard is being excavated at last #history
28 Apr 2015

Batavia’s Graveyard is being excavated at last #history

by Greta | posted in: History | 0

It’s been a while since I wrote a Batavia post. It has also been a while since Beacon Island (Batavia’s Graveyard) has been vacated and the fishing shacks removed. With those impediments to a proper investigation out of the way, … Continued

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Batavia, Batavia's graveyard, beacon island, history, murder, Pelsaert, skeletons
A triumph for an amateur historian
7 Oct 2013

A triumph for an amateur historian

by Greta | posted in: History | 0

In 1963, the last resting place of the Dutch merchantman Batavia, which hit a reef on the Abrolhos islands off the coast of Western Australia in 1629, was finally found. 1963. It had taken three hundred and eighty-four years before … Continued

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50 years, abrolhos islands, amateur historian, Batavia, Batavia found, Batavia wreck, fiftieth anniversary, greta van der rol, history, Pelsaert, wreck site found
Using real history as a plot. Not as easy as it sounds?
12 Mar 2013

Using real history as a plot. Not as easy as it sounds?

by Greta | posted in: On writing | 10

It’s time to start a new writing adventure, face the cold, blank screen and begin. For me, it’s the hardest part of the whole process – the empty page. Once something – anything – is down, words are written, then … Continued

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fact vs fiction, history, plot, plotting

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