On this day: Genocide deniers in America in 1933

In a photograph dated the 17th of December, 1933, American communists attack a group of Ukrainians in Chicago, USA. The Ukrainians were demonstrating to raise awareness of the Holodomor, Stalin’s genocide of millions of people in Ukraine.

Between 1932 and 1933 Soviet authorities confiscated the food and crops of millions of ethnic Ukrainians, deliberately starving them to death. A similar genocide was also committed in Kazakhstan, where 42% of the ethnic population was killed and replaced with Russian colonists.

Unlike the Holocaust, there was very limited Western media coverage of the Holodomor, despite conservative estimates putting Ukraine’s death toll on par with it, and other estimates putting it even higher. This was because prominent journalists were either friends of Stalin or communists themselves, and they refused to report on it.

Amongst these genocide deniers was The New York Times’ Walter Duranty, while Welsh reporter Gareth Jones risked his life to get the truth out.

Christmastime in Australia, 1923.

This photograph shows Perth, Western Australia at Christmastime in 1923. The Majestic Theatre is in the foreground, displaying posters advertising Fools of Fortune (1922) and The Buster (1923).

On this day: Edwardian London from the air

Source

7th November 1909: English scientist Norman Lockyer photographed London from the air with a use of a helium balloon. This image shows Sloane Square, on the boundaries of the Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Chelsea districts.

Lockyer, who – along with French scientist Pierre Janssen – was credited with discovering helium, was seventy-three at the time the photograph was taken.

Happy Birthday to The Landowner’s Secret!

The Landowner’s Secret – the first book in my Brindabella Secrets series – came out on this day two years ago!

New South Wales, 1885

When Alice Ryan wakes to find thugs surrounding her cottage, on the hunt for her no-good brother, she escapes into the surrounding bush.

It is wealthy landowner Robert Farrer who finds her the next morning, dishevelled, injured, and utterly unwilling to share what she knows. With criminals on the loose and rumours that reckless bushrangers have returned to the area, Robert is determined to keep Alice out of danger, and insists on taking her into his home-despite the scandal it may cause. Convincing her to stay on with him for her own safety, however, is going to take some work.

What Robert doesn’t expect is his growing attraction to the forthright, unruly woman staying in his home. Before either of them can settle into their odd new situation, their home and wellbeing come under threat and they will need to trust each other to survive. But they are both keeping secrets, secrets that have the potential to ruin their burgeoning love, their livelihood … and their lives.

Vintage Canberra

It’s springtime in Australia! Here’s an image of the season in Canberra in the past.

The Homecoming from Gallipoli

This painting, titled The Homecoming from Gallipoli, 15 July 1915, is by New Zealand artist Walter Armiger Bowring (1874 – 1931). It depicts soldiers returning home from the Gallipoli campaign in the First World War.

2779 New Zealanders – one-sixth of those who fought – died in the campaign.

 

 

On this day: A Policeman as a Bushranger

5th July 1880: one week after the Kelly Gang siege at Glenrowan, an Australian policeman poses with the equipment of two of the bushrangers (highwaymen) killed. The helmet belonged to Joe Byrne, and the rifle and skullcap belonged to gang leader Ned Kelly.

The Glenrowan siege came at the end of the bushranger era, as improved communication technology and the arrival of the railway made it harder for bushrangers to operate. My book The Landowner’s Secret takes place around this time.

The Landowner’s Secret on Sale for $2.99

The Landowner’s Secret is on sale on Kindle in Australia and New Zealand for all of July!

New South Wales, 1885

When Alice Ryan wakes to find thugs surrounding her cottage, on the hunt for her no-good brother, she escapes into the surrounding bush.

It is wealthy landowner Robert Farrer who finds her the next morning, dishevelled, injured, and utterly unwilling to share what she knows. With criminals on the loose and rumours that reckless bushrangers have returned to the area, Robert is determined to keep Alice out of danger, and insists on taking her into his home-despite the scandal it may cause. Convincing her to stay on with him for her own safety, however, is going to take some work.

What Robert doesn’t expect is his growing attraction to the forthright, unruly woman staying in his home. Before either of them can settle into their odd new situation, their home and wellbeing come under threat and they will need to trust each other to survive. But they are both keeping secrets, secrets that have the potential to ruin their burgeoning love, their livelihood … and their lives.

On this day: a Victorian School Opens

Pupils of the school photographed in 1895.

The Church of England Primary School in the village of Harby in Leicestershire, England opened on the 25th of March, 1861.

Part of the National Society for Promoting Religious Education, an organisation formed to promote education in England and Wales before the government began to regulate the school system, the building was constructed in 1860. It had two classrooms, and living accommodations for the teacher.

Bombed London Under Snow

January 1942: London stands in ruins and covered in snow after German bombing in the Second World War. A crane and truck can be seen clearing debris.

St Paul’s Cathedral – which survived the Blitz – is in the background.

From the collection of the Imperial War Museums.