Goodbye to Perth

Over the last four days, we have had lots of fun exploring some more of Perth and spending time with our grandsons. I had offered to cook fish for lunch for the family on Good Friday, and if I say so myself, we had a nice meal of Barramundi in lemon cream sauce.. It was…

Porepunkah – Our Last Night on This Trip

We delayed our departure from Deniliquin this morning because the local Museum opened at 10.00 am and we wanted the opportunity to see inside. This was the house in which Jill’s grandfather lived whilst he served as the Inspector of Police in the town from around 1931 to 1938. It appears that the police stopped…

Cowra Part One – Family History

Our trip around the locations at which Jill’s Grandfather served during his police career is not in the same order as the places to which we was posted. We are now at Cowra and today, we spent a few hours exploring the nearby little village of Gooloogong, which is where his story starts. Frederick GeorgeRuffles,…

Family History – Moss Vale

We are here in Moss Vale in New South Wales’ Southern Highlands. This is the epicentre of Jill’s family history. Her great grandparents are buried here, her grandfather was born here and her mother and father were married here. Jill’s great grand parents, Robert and Mary Anne Ruffles were married in England on October 3,…

Cooma – Our Family History

Our time in Cooma was spent looking around for places where Jill’s Grandfather, Frederick Ruffels, would have served as a policeman. We first found the gaol, that sat (appropriately) next to the court house and behind that was the police station. The building looked as if it would have been used in the 1920s when…

Bombala Part Two – Family History

Tonight, we are in the town of Bombala in Southern New South Wales. This is a small rural service centre in the south east corner of New South Wales on the Monaro Highway between Cooma and Cann River. It is a quiet and peaceful town on the banks of the Bombala River and it is…

Happy 100th Birthday to my Auntie Phyl

Now that I’m in my 70’s, I am very lucky to have some Aunts who are still alive. People on both sides of my family seem to have lived long lives. My favourite, Aunt Phyllis, turned 100 years today. She is my mother’s younger sister.  Phyllis was born in Hamilton in 1920. She was the…

Bruce’s 70th Birthday

Well, I’ve reached the ripe old age of seventy. It was only a little while ago that I thought that it was inconceivable that I would reach the same age as the Beatles song ‘When I’m Sixty Four,’ but now I am even older. It’s a little consolation that according to my seven year old grand-daughter…

Welcome to Our New Grandson

We had a surprise on Sunday when our second grandson arrived early in Perth. Yuki had expected to have an elective Caesarean on Wednesday but this little guy decided to come early and she gave birth naturally on Sunday. He was born at 10.45 am, weighing 3.54 kg with a length of 52 cm Jill…