Thunderbolt’s Cave is named after Captain Thunderbolt, a bushranger in the 1800s who used the cave as a hideout in 1867 and 1868. He conducted robberies in the New England area through to Tamworth. Frederick Wordsworth Ward (1835-1870) was renowned for escaping from Cockatoo Island in 1863 and had a reputation of a “gentleman bushranger”. … Read more
Located on the hills above Hobart, Mount Nelson Signal Station is the first signal station built in Tasmania in 1811. Signalling was done using flags until 1831 when a three-armed semaphore, able to give 666 code signals. Seven years later, it was replaced by a six-armed semaphore, capable of over 900,000 code signals. A semaphore … Read more
Wooden stumps were installed in locations along the “Brisbane Line” to force tanks to rise up, exposing the belly for attack with explosives. The rugged terrain would have forced enemy vehicles to have to use roads, which would have been destroyed. Tank traps and boulders were part of the defensive line. A brown sign is … Read more
Thunderbolt Hideout is 12 km north-east of Tenterfield. The brown sign is on the side of the road at the site with a short 150 metre walk to the hideout. The hideout is one of many caves and bush hideouts used by Captain Thunderbolt, a bushranger named Fred Ward. Other Thunderbolt brown signs include Thunderbolts … Read more
The Mount Stromlo Observatory (MSO) is the headquarters of ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics (RSAA), located in Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory. The large telescopes at Mt Stromlo were damaged by the fires in 2003 and now decommissioned. The sister site, Siding Spring Observatory near Coonabarabran still has operational large telescopes. The … Read more
The miner dugouts were created by miners wanting to have a dwelling to live in. The dugouts were carved into the banks of Burra Creek, extending 3 miles on each side. The mining boom led to a shortage of housing for the minors and their families. The dugouts helped fill the void of the housing … Read more
