King Henry VI inherited the English throne aged 9 months, on the death of his father, the legendary Henry V and he inherited the French throne from his grandfather, Charles VI some months later. He was crowned as a boy in November 1429. Henry was simply not meant to be a ruler and his reign, during the  Wars of the Roses simply made the situation worse. His reign included imprisonment in there Tower of London and prolonged periods of madness. What a comparison to the orderly nature of the British monarchs today!

Jelly arrived in the colony long after it was fashionable on tables in England. It was very much a rich man's dish because of the time it took to make. Learn about these techniques and how jelly later becomes a staple in all Australian homes.

Halloween was not part of growing up for many of us. We just assumed it was an American custom we acquired via popular television. Actually it started as a Celtic festival more than 2,000 years ago. Dr Carole Cusack Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Sydney, tells us more about the Celts, how [...]

Read More... from Halloween with Professor Carole Cusack

Jacqui Newling returns with Part 4  on oysters. In the early days, oysters were used as mortar. However, we quickly started harvesting them for eating and by the 1860s had seriously depleted this resource. Thus began oyster farming. [...]

Read More... from Eat Your History Part 4: Oysters

Jacqui Newling returns with Part 4  on oysters. In the early days, oysters were used as mortar. However, we quickly started harvesting them for eating and by the 1860s had seriously depleted this resource. Thus began oyster farming.

Halloween was not part of growing up for many of us. We just assumed it was an American custom we acquired via popular television. Actually it started as a Celtic festival more than 2,000 years ago. Dr Carole Cusack Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Sydney, tells us more about the Celts, how the festival became part of Christianity and now a mainstream celebration.

My childhood and teenage days on Bondi Beach were regularly punctuated by shark alarms. As we all scrambled out of the water as fast as we could, there was no doubt as to who was the victim and who was the predator. A new exhibition at the Australian Museum, Sharks, aims to turn this view [...]

Read More... from Sharks with Bob Kearney

In this episode Jacqui looks at tea. Convicts and poor settlers had drunk tea back in England, but it was not considered a staple and was not included in convicts’ rations. As more idea from China came into the colony, the poor drank cheap green tea while the wealthy drank black tea with milk and [...]

Read More... from Eat Your History Part 3: Tea with Jacqui Newling

In this episode Jacqui looks at tea. Convicts and poor settlers had drunk tea back in England, but it was not considered a staple and was not included in convicts' rations. As more idea from China came into the colony, the poor drank cheap green tea while the wealthy drank black tea with milk and sugar. Learn how this became the ubiquitous drink for Australians.

My childhood and teenage days on Bondi Beach were regularly punctuated by shark alarms. As we all scrambled out of the water as fast as we could, there was no doubt as to who was the victim and who was the predator. A new exhibition at the Australian Museum, Sharks, aims to turn this view on its head: we are the predators and sharks the victims. This is a big ask for many of us!

So off I went to see the exhibition with Professor Bob Kearney. Bob is a fisheries management expert and I’m pleased to say, makes a welcome return to Arts Wednesday - not to mention a great partner to review this exhibition.