Despite the fabulous name , this is not about a Spike Milligan or Barry Humphreys character.There really was an Eccleston Frederick Du Faur. He left a wonderful legacy to his adopted city of Sydney.In his quiet methodical way he made his dreams come true and left Sydney a better place than found it.As if being one of the founders of the Art Gallery of NSW was not enough, he was the driving force behind the creation of the Kuringai Chase National Park. That preserved a large area of rugged native bushland on Sydneys northern edge.A gift for the ages!!

In 1890 the University of Sydney received 250,000 Pounds from the Estate of John H Challis.It was the first major private benefaction. In today's money , that is $ 42,000,000!The gift was used to create professorships in Law, Medicine, Veterinary Science, Biology,Civil Engineering English Literature, History and Philosophy.Challis thus made a major contribution to Sydney.He arrived in Sydney at the age of 22 with little money.Over the next 26 years he worked as a merchant, and clearly made a lot of money.What do we know about him ?The answer seems to be, not very much; even though Challis House is in Martin Place and Challis Avenue , Potts Point is named after him.

There is a statue of Allan Cunningham on the Bent Street frontage of the Lands Department , at the corner with Loftus Street. There is an obelisk to his memory in a pond in the Botanical Gardens, just near the kiosk.As if that was not enough- the Federal Electorate of Cunningham commemorates him; Cunninghams Gap ( which is the access from the coast to Toowoomba ) commemorates his discovery of it and the Cunningham Highway ( which runs from Ipswich 327 kms to Goondiwindi ), is named in his honor.He has certainly left his mark.He was first and foremost , a botanist , and discovery was used to allow him to collect and record plants.This pod sketches the life of a very well travelled person.

Naval Surgeon, Explorer, Adventurer, and perhaps a would-be Smuggler

George Bass was an extraordinary person, enormously talented and incredibly brave. It was her, together with Matthew Flinders who carried out early exploration from the infant colony at Sydney by traveling down the south coast and ultimately proving there was a large body of water between what is now Victoria and Tasmania. previously maps had all been drawn with Tasmania drawn connected to the “northern island”.

He was an extraordinary man but was never fully recognised in a public way for his efforts. He was highly regarded by those who knew him well, referring to him with phrases such as “ingenious, enterprising, and remarkable” - praise any of us would be overwhelmed to have applied to ourselves. Despite that,  history didn’t treat him well and he is often overshadowed by Flinders. The best indication of which is that no one wrote a biography of him until 1952. There is a subsequent one but it took all that time for someone to tell us about this wonderful man.

He is one of the statues on the Lands Department building, on the Northern Facade of the building. It is truly extraordinary how much he packed into 32 years, the entire span of his life.

If you asked ten Australians who George Bass is or what he did, not many could do it but hopefully this will help close that gap.

If you are visiting Sydney, and only have a day or two and you’re wondering what the best thing would be to do. Then I don’t think there’s much doubt that you should go up to Observatory hill.

It’s...

In this episode we return to Churchill, which is on the Rocks Ridge, and move away from the valley of the tank stream heading down towards Darling Harbour, and millers point.

On the way, we mention why gas...

An amble in Randwick gives glimpses of the founding and development of the area together with some potted histories of a number of significant early homes.

The amble leads to a reference to one, Commodore Goodenough. Apart from having a striking name, he was also an interesting person.

He left quite a legacy, given his early and untimely death.

This episode takes us up Grosvenor Street to Church Hill.

During the 19th Century , this was a very fashionable area. This was probably due to the elevation and views. It is not easy to see those attributes these days.

Church Hill was also the site of one of three Government Windmills which ran along the ridge which now gives access to the Harbour Bridge.

This tells of that windmill ( built to last 200 years , but blown down in a storm after a year or so ) and also of the three Grand Hotels which once graced The Hill.

The area carries a lot of traffic from the Bridge but is not crowded. It is well worth an amble.

The walk up Grosvenor goes past a number of historic buildings. An added plus is that Lang Park does have sunshine in the early afternoon in Winter.

Enjoy your amble

Most Australians should know this name. I suspect however, that most like me had never heard of this person.

That changed for me when I serendipitously noticed an obscure plaque near the entrance to The Scots Church in Margaret Street, Sydney.

This is the story of Peter Dodds McCormick.

The imposing statue of T. S. Mort dominates the southern edge of Macquarie Place , which is opposite the Lands Department Building.

Mort was an interesting and complex person who arrived in Sydney in 1838 aged 21 years. He came with very little money.  In the 40 years til his death he rose to become a very prominent and successful business man. He was very community minded, giving both time and money to many causes. One of those causes was Horticulture. He was an avid gardener. The gardens around his home were some of the finest in the colony.

More than 1000 people attended the unveiling of the statue by the then Governor in June 1883.

That speaks volumes as to the regard in which he was held.

Have a sit in the Place and admire the statue whilst his story is told.

There are worse places to sit , than outside the nearby Customs House Hotel. I remember it with affection from my misspent youth !!

Happy ambling.