Posts in this category include information about Aboriginal people pre European settlement, at the time of contact, and today. It will acknowledge the presence of various people on the island and the archaeological evidence and stories that show indigenous connection to country.
It IS true that Johnny Lennon was punished for singing in his cell. But this story happened in the prison on St Helena Island in Australia. Read more and see the news article written about his story. Continue reading Johnny Lennon… locked up for singing in his Saint Helena cell
Being an island means that St Helena is not a simple day’s journey for a quick visit. The lucky few have their own small boat and can access the long jetty in between carefully timed tides. For the rest, it takes an organised tour to access the restricted zone surrounding the Prison Stockade and Warder’s Row. I’m pleased to say that the first annual St … Continue reading Take a walk on the wild side… with a ‘Belinda tour’of St Helena Island.
The symbolisation of the might and power of Napoleon Bonaparte the first was on display in all its glory recently as I stood at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris recently. Built during Napoleon’s reign (1804 – 1815) to allow a triumphal procession down the Champs-Élysées, it stands the test of both time and hundreds of thousands of tourists clambering to the top every year. … Continue reading What’s in a name? Napoleon and St Helena Island
There’s been a bit of a break since my last post. 2018 has ended and 2019 has begun in between that time, so I’ll devote this post to ‘endings and beginnings.’ Let’s celebrate the great things we have done last year and give you a little taste of the amazing things ahead for the St Helena Community in 2019. Last year marked the … Continue reading Endings and beginnings – Part 1 ‘Amazing 2018.’
In light of the recent women’s movements, I’ve decided to jump on board. I’m on the hunt for the people who don’t feature in the history books – so I’m looking for the 10 women who lived in the 8 houses on St Helena Island in 1871. ¹ Why? Because our historical facts are written largely by men about men as they are the ones … Continue reading # St Helena Island Women campaign
Minjerribah is the indigenous name of Stradbroke Island in Quandamooka, or Moreton Bay, Queensland. I’ve heard it means ‘place of mosquitoes’ and there is many a night that will reveal in full force the appropriateness of that name. But I’ve also heard it means ‘place of the sun’ in the Jandai language and that’s totally appropriate too. Middens on the island indicate the presence of … Continue reading 1 night and 21,000 years on Stradbroke Island
This week’s fortune was to take a tour with an Aboriginal guide, Ben, in the Botanic Gardens. He spoke sincerely and passionately about our obligation to care for the land “When we take care of the land, the land takes care of us.” He also spoke of his pride in being a voice of all that had been before him; strong, determined people, their connection … Continue reading The oldest continuous culture in the world today
Eating possum and kangaroo would have been as far removed from Warder James Aird’s 22 years of life in Scotland as could possibly be imagined. On arrival in Brisbane in 1864 – as one of the men in ‘3 scottish men and a world of adventure,’ – James Aird found himself in a wild, strange frontier into which he unhesitatingly threw himself into. James had … Continue reading ‘Book of Past Scenes and My own experience Among Blacks In the Wild Bush of Australia’
There’s 2 islands in the world called St Helena. One is more famous than the other, but both are connected to a man named Napoleon. It’s the St Helena Island in Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia that is one of the focuses of this blog. The story says an indigenous man nick-named Napoleon was exiled to the island from Stradbroke Island as a punishment. He would … Continue reading The St Helena Community – 2 islands, 1 community
