The Tingle Factor Box

Roaming Roy Finds A Poetic Place - Banjo Paterson Memorial

Recently, some of Roys friends have been studying Banjo Paterson's poetry at school. Banjo Paterson is one of Australia's most famous and most loved poets. He wrote many poems which have become important parts of Australia's folklore, including Waltzing Matilda, which is today almost a National Anthem! Children always seem to enjoy his poetry, yet often know very little about the man who wrote it. Roy thinks this is a shame, and decided it would be the perfect time to show his friends the place where this famous poet was born.

Roy Finds Lumps And Bumps - Bathurst Migrant Camp

This week, Roy has decided to show you a different type of place. So often when Roy and I go out and about we are visiting a place where there is lots to see. Yet not all historical places are actually like this. Sometimes, whatever was there has long gone, leaving very little behind, other than 'lumps and bumps' in the landscape. Often these sorts of places were built to be transient, serving a purpose and then simply being dismantled or left to fall apart. Though there might not be a lot left to look at, sometimes they have the most interesting stories. One such place is Bathurst Migrant Camp.

Roaming Roy Finds A Chiefs House - Chifley's Home

This week, Roy decided it was time to tell you about a place which he visited a few months ago and which he absolutely loved, the Chifley Home in Bathurst. Roy has visited many historic places and homes, but the Chifley Home was one which really captured his imagination. Not only was it the home of a really important man, it was a home which was so typical of the era, and which was largely as it was at the time when the Chifleys lived there. On top of that, most of his friends know all about Bathurst and racing, or the gold rush, but so few of them know about its famous son so Roy thought it was time to remedy that!

Ben Chifley was one of the most popular and most respected of Australia's Prime Ministers. He was elected as the leader of the Labor Party after the death of John Curtin in 1945. John Curtin died in office and was replaced briefly by Francis Forde, but Chifley took over the leadership only 8 days later, becoming Australia's 16th Prime Minister. His home in Bathurst was purchased in 1972 by the local council and opened as a memorial to the Chifleys. If you would like to visit, Chifleys Home is in Bathurst (NSW), at 10 Busby Street and is open from Saturday to Monday for guided tours at 10am and midday. If you visit, make sure to check out the education centre next door to the house itself before joining one of the fantastic guided tours of the Chifley Home. If you can't be there for a guided tour though, you can still wander around the outside of the house and read the interpretive signs.

Ben Chifley was a fascinating man and, today, many of the children find him a slightly odd candidate for the 'top job'. He had a humble beginning, born in Bathurst, the son of a blacksmith, and only ever had a basic school education. At the age of 14 he started going to work, and his third job was with the railway. He would stay working with the NSW Railways for 25 years, working up to being an engine driver by the age of 27. In fact, the train which he drove has recently returned to Bathurst and can be seen outside the station. Despite having only a basic school education, Chifley was by no means uneducated. He was an avid reader and a regular at various evening classes.

At the age of 28 Ben Chifley married Elizabeth McKenzie and soon after they moved into the house now known as Chifleys Home. He was not the owner of the house though. The house was purchased by Elizabeths parents and is actually just across the street from her childhood home. In 1920, 6 years after their marriage, the house was given to Elizabeth by her parents and it was Elizabeth who arranged for Ben to have joint ownership of the home, though he had to pay her 10 Shillings for this! Although they did instal a few modern amenities, like electricity and water, and Ben's job as Prime Minister meant they were one of the first houses in the area with a telephone, Chifleys Home is a reflection of the man himself, modest, humble and down to earth. Many of the furnishings have been altered from other uses (an old piano became a bookcase) and even the Prime Ministers Study doubled as the spare bedroom! If you would like to learn more about Chifley or his house, click here or here.

Roaming Roy Gets In A Grave Situation - The Grave of Yuranigh

This week, Roy was really excited to find out about an exhibition which will be opening tomorrow at the State Library of NSW. The exhibition is called ' Carved Trees - Aboriginal Cultures of Western NSW' and looks at some of the extraordinary carved trees created by Aboriginal people. Roy is fascinated by carved trees. They are truly beautiful, and as the tree reclaims the carving, growing over it and hiding it from view, Roy thinks this just adds to their beauty. He was sad to discover that many of his friends had never seen a real, still living, carved tree, and decided to tell you about a place where they can be seen - the Grave of Yuranigh.

Roaming Roy Finds Fairytowers - Golden Gully

This week, with so many people travelling around Australia during the school holidays, Roy thought he would like to show his friends somewhere which he finds absolutely amazing. Lots of people visit Mudgee, Bathurst and Hill End during their holidays, but if they travel between these places they tend to just drive straight past Golden Gully, thinking there is nothing worth seeing. Roy disagrees! Although there are no shops or restaurants, the erosion is fascinating - like a fairy city all carved out of dirt.

Roaming Roy Meets Some Naked Sheep - Wool Industry

This week, Roy has decided to do something a little bit different. He was listening to Australian bush music earlier this week and noticed that there are a lot of songs about shearing, yet many of the children he knows don't know much about Australia's wool industry. Many think that sheep raising is simply done for food and wool is a convenient byproduct, but Australia has a very proud history of shearing and wool and even today, is one of the biggest wool producing nations in the world, producing over a quarter of the worlds wool. So this week, Roy investigates the wool industry.

Roaming Roy Picnics With His Friends - Water Rats

Recently, the children at school saw what they thought was an introduced rat in the school frog pond. This made them most worried, and they thought they might need to set traps or even put poison out to get rid of the rats! They did note that it was a funny looking rat though - it had webbed feet and it was actually swimming in the pond. Roy and I were concerned by this, because from the childrens description they had actually seen a native rat, the Australian Water Rat, but had failed to recognise it. So, to save him from any unwelcome advances we thought we should introduce him to our friends!

Roaming Roy Discovers A Poets Muse - Henry Lawson's Mum

This week, Roy and I want to tell you about someone who is very important to Australian history, but who you might not know about. Most Australians seem to know who Henry Lawson is and Roy has already visited two places which inspired his poetry. You can read about them by clicking here or here. He is one of our most loved poets and story-tellers, yet how many people know of his amazing Mum, Louisa? Roy and I discovered that the anniversary of Louisa Lawson's death falls later this week, on August 12. She was an extraordinary Australian in her own right and yet beside her famous son is almost forgotten. So this week, Roy and I visit the remains of her home and find out a little about the woman who raised one of our most celebrated poets.

Roaming Roy Finds A Gold Mine For Artists - Hill End Part 2

Last week you might remember that Roy and I visited a town called Hill End in NSW Central West. We showed you a little around the town and the diggings and explained some of its history as a gold mining city in the 1870's. We also hinted at a fascinating art history focused around the town and promised to revisit to tell you more. We thought of leaving it for a few weeks, but decided that while the visit was fresh in our and your minds we should finish the story of this fascinating and important Australian location. We will explain a little of the history and, using photos of the interpretive signs around Hill End, show you some of their artworks (and even try our best to recreate their pictures ourselves!) So this week, we again take you to Hill End, a town which has proved to be gold mine for Australian artists.

Roaming Roy Finds A Town With Rich History - Hill End

When Roy and I were deciding where to visit today, we thought we should look to see if there were any important events which happened this past or coming week - there were. This coming Wednesday, the 30th of June is the anniversary of an event known as the Lambing Flat Riots where Chinese gold miners were forced off the gold field at Burrangong, not far from Young, NSW. Although I have been to Lambing Flat Roy has yet to visit, but we thought that as a commemoration of the troubles which arose between the various nationalities on the gold fields, we would visit one of the richest and most multicultural goldfields in NSW - Hill End.