Today is Labour Day in Australia, the day in which Aussies commemorate the achievements of the Australian labour movement. Once upon a time, workers to Australia came from England under penal transportation. Under the Master and Servant Act, workers worked long hours, 10 to 12 hours a day, sometimes more, six days a week. As … Read more
Last week, Myer Melbourne unveiled its 58th Myer Christmas Animated Windows. I wasn’t there for the noon unveiling at the Bourke Street Mall, which featured the Salvation Army Australia Songsters, Aussie soprano and actress Mariona Prior, and of course Santa Claus and his elves, but I happened to be in the city later that afternoon. I walked … Read more
Frances Billinghurst looks at Wheel of the Year in the Southern Hemisphere.
In the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November. We trace the first Thanksgiving dinner to a poorly documented 1621 celebration in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Tradition, not necessarily history, tells us that the Pilgrims and Native Americans sat down to a rich harvest feast. It had been a harsh and challenging winter, … Read more
My sister-out-law and her family visited the US during the Halloween season and fell in love with it. Halloween is not big in Australia, but I love the holiday and I can’t let it pass me by without some celebration. We invited the family over for an afternoon of Halloween pumpkin carving followed by dinner. Field … Read more
A spooky holiday in spring? Australians don’t celebrate Halloween as much as Americans, but it’s catching on. I celebrate it every year.
We acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. We recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We aim to provide an inclusive service.