Story · Originally published September 2025

All The Posts – an annotated list


The annotated list of all the posts we have done, since we began, chronologically organised.

September.2015
Our Little Allie – our great aunt Alice, who died at Chiltern aged 11.

Lunchtime at Primary School – the games and fashions we remember

Wednesdays at Number 10 – an initial overview of the task we set ourselves.

Jim’s Schooling – our father’s primary schooling at Koroit and boarding at Xavier College,Kew.

October 2015
First Year Teaching – our individual recollections

Twelfth Birthday Letter to Alice – our mother’s parents wrote to her for her birthday. We publish the letters.

November 2015
Great Great Grandparents – on our maternal side.

Sue, Margaret, Rikki and Fred – we write individually about this four way friendship that was so formative for us both.

First Year Teaching 1909 – extracts from our grandfather’s “pupil teacher’ book.

December 2015
How to Rescue the World – the long family tradition of political discussion and protest.

March 2016
Alfreda Maria Holm, our maternal grandmother: the first seventeen years. – a formidable young woman.

April 2016
Alf and Alfreda: The Early Year – the first few years of our maternal grandparents’ life together.

May 2016
Grace McCormack, Our Other Grandmother. – initial research findings into her origins and early life.

June 2016
Cut out of the Will. – our parents’ “mixed marriage”. – the protestant/catholic divide.

The Poor Little Thing – our research into the real story of Martha Rye, our maternal grandfather’s grandmother.

July 2016
28 Moore St – the building of our childhood home, and our memories of living there.

August 2016
War Service – the researched story of our four great uncles’ wars – the Dau/Dow brothers.

September 2016
Family Camping. – three generations of camping experiences: those of our grandparents, parents and us, as kids.

October 2016
“Are you up to it?” – we do our actual walk to school and report on the experience.

November 2016
The Demon Drink – the family attitude to alcohol.

December 2016
Primary School Teachers 1950s – our individual memories.

February 2017
A Great Sorrow – the story of our aunt’s move to Sydney in 1945.

April 2017
The Pakenham Bourkes 1839 – 2017 Part One. – report of our research into our father’s family.

June 2017
Pakenham, the Visit. – the day of discovery we spent in Pakenham.

July 2017
The Pakenham Bourkes 1839 – 2017 Part Two – a continuation from April’s post.

September 2017
Meat and Three Vegs. – what we ate as kids.

November 2017
The Farm. – childhood memories of our great aunt and uncles’ farm at Cockatoo

December 2017
I Can Hear Sleigh Bells – memories of childhood Christmas.

April 2018
Decade by Decade – a summary of our mother’s overview from 1850 – 1950, followed by our own overview of the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

June 2018
The Croydon Years – our mother’s memories of Croydon from 1930 to 1936

July 2018
Fred’s Films – a taste of the amazing visual record Fred has give us of our early adult years

August 2018
Poowong Footage. – Fred’s film of our father with his second wife in 1976 is shared with her family.

October 2018
Drouin Christmas 1975. – the story of an extended family Christmas at Sue and Jono’s Drouin farm house.

November 2018
Stella Park. – the story of Polly and Guelda, important members of Jono’s family.

March 2019
Auntie Bert, a “sterling character” – the story of our great aunt Berta Holm

July 2019
The Built Environment – Hawthorn. – landmarks in Hawthorn and how they relate to our family story

November 2019
The Built Environment – Box Hill. – landmarks in Box Hill and how they relate to our family story

February 2020
Tuesdays at Number Ten – Appraisal and Reflection. – after five years on this blog project

March 2021
The Year of Covid. – our experience of the first year of the pandemic

April 2022
Corona Virus – an Annotated Vocabulary. – an A-Z of the language that became all too familiar in Melbourne during 2020 and 2021.

October 2022
Women’s Work – the jobs that the women in our family have done over the generation.

February 2023
Hair – hairstyles over the generations, as evidenced by our family photo collections.

July 2023
Families Along the Goulburn. – the results of further research into our father’s maternal relatives.

November 2023
“Are you Related to the McCormacks” – the report of a two days spent visiting the graves and homes of our father’s maternal relatives.

May 2024
Pins and Needles. – Sewing in our family, across the generations.

September 2024
Books of Our Childhood. – the favourites remembered

November 2024
Infant Jesus Catholic Church, Koroit. – Sue’s visit to our father’s childhood church and school.

February 2025
Fire and Storm – our family’s brush with fire and storm across the generations.