Traces

Traces magazine delves deep into Australia’s history, from ancient Indigenous heritage to colonial times,convicts, local history, antiques and artefacts, family genealogy and more!

Welcome to the 35th edition of Traces!

Traces

Heritage news

BLUNDELLS COTTAGE, Canberra • One of the oldest surviving buildings in the Australian Capital Territory offers a rare window into the rhythms of rural life before Canberra emerged as the nation’s capital.

MELBOURNE’S music revolution • What comes to mind when you think of the 1960s? Is it fashion – miniskirts and skin-tight jeans, or ‘flower power’ and psychedelic patterns? Or perhaps pop music – The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and local groups like The Bee Gees, The Seekers, John Farnham, or Normie Rowe? Old Treasury Building’s newest exhibition, Swinging Sixties, explores Melbourne’s exploding music scene during this era.

Zooming in on the secrets of the streets • When historian Robyn Annear began zooming in on digitised historical photographs of city streets, she uncovered a vivid record of everyday life. This edition, Annear discusses her latest project, and the clues that street photos hold – long hidden in plain sight.

LITTLE COLLINS STREET, LOOKING EAST FROM QUEEN STREET, IN 1874

Granny Smith’s agricultural legacy • Every family tree holds unexpected branches, but some grow into stories that become part of the nation’s identity.

A beautiful WRECK • On a stormy night off the Victorian coast in 1905, the cargo ship La Bella struck a reef and broke apart, leaving its crew to cling to the wreckage while rescue boats fought through the darkness. The tragedy – reconstructed through court records and eyewitness accounts – reveals both devastating loss and extraordinary acts of survival and courage.

What’s that thingamajig? • Answer: A pair of ear trumpets

MURDER ON THE PIER A true detective story from 1885 • On a November evening in 1885, a quiet patrol along a Port Melbourne pier placed a newly appointed detective at the centre of a sudden, violent murder.

WHISPERING DEATH • When a former World War II pilot arrived on her doorstep unannounced with boxes of wartime records and memories, historian Patricia Skehan found herself drawn into the remarkable story of the Green Ghost Squadron, whose Beaufighter crews flew dangerous missions across the Pacific in the final years of the war.

Dame Florence Cardell-Oliver A forgotten cabinet trailblazer • Dame Florence Cardell-Oliver was a pioneering Australian politician who broke barriers in Australian politics, yet her remarkable career and influence have been largely overlooked in national historical narratives.

The young voices keeping history alive • In a hyper-connected digital world, the National History Challenge offers young people something deeper – a way to understand who they are, where they come from and how their family’s stories fit into Australia’s past.

The great escape of Mary Ware • In colonial Victoria, a seemingly conventional marriage in a banking family concealed a far more complicated story – one that would end in a quiet disappearance across the Pacific.

Liberty of London The fabric of life • For 150 years, Liberty of London fabrics have stitched themselves into family stories around the world. Countless colourful prints have become heirlooms of memory, creativity and connection passed down through generations, and across the seas.

The Cedars An authentic step back in time • Tucked into the rolling hills of Hahndorf, South Australia, The Cedars is a historical home that provides a glimpse into the lives and art of the Heysen family.