Overland Corner Hotel - oldest pub on the Murray River

The Overland Corner Hotel (Roderick Eime 2021)

This classic colonial inn, reputedly the oldest surviving hotel to be built along the Murray River, has had a colourful past, hosting patrons ranging from bushrangers to ghosts.

Argyle Emporium - the haunted old Goulburn police station

Ghost Among the Books

Once upon a time these halls and walls echoed to the sounds of shackles and handcuffs accompanied by the cruel shouts of the jailers. Today it’s deathly quiet, the silence only interrupted by a few quiet footsteps, some muted conversations and the muffled turning of pages as eager fingers riffle through an intriguing volume.

Land's End: Eyre Highway to Head of Bight

The Eyre Highway from Ceduna to Head of Bight is so flat you can see the curvature of the Earth.

Words: Kris Madden

A fiery ball of yellow at the end of the road transforms the flat, A treeless, bluebush-studded landscape into an upside-down replica of the Aboriginal flag. We're driving from Ceduna to the Head of Bight along a section of the Eyre Highway, and I'm feeling hypnotised by the long, straight road, which is the only thing ahead of us as far as the eye can see.

Letters from America. A four-month trip to USA in 1958. (Work in Progress)

 

In 1958 my father, Mervin Eime, travelled with work colleagues on an 18-week business trip to the USA to investigate new products and tooling techniques for Pope Products, an Adelaide-based manufacturing firm producing, at the time, mainly irrigation equipment. At the age of 41, it was dad's first overseas trip - really thrown in the deep end. Married just five years, mum remembers waiting the lonely weeks for his regular correspondence. His style is dry and matter-of-fact as was the fashion of the time but deals with the more entertaining aspects in a wry and witty style. I will also include his photos and postcards as illustrations. As I am publishing in segments, be sure to come back for new instalments. - Roderick Eime Adelaide, August 2021.

The story behind the cannons in your local park

When we were kids, I’m sure you’ll remember climbing all over the old cannons in the park. Of course, as children, it’s hard to imagine the horror these weapons inflicted on the enemy.

The Secret Garage: Bob's (Amazing) Shed at Quirindi [video]

Now, I’ve seen some collections in my time, but this one takes the cake. 

Beauty and the Beast: Singapore's Haunted Gardens

Bukit Batok is a former quarry site now converted into a nature park featuring a memorial to Japanese soldiers who fell in the battle for Singapore in WWII. 

Fiona McIntosh talks about The Spy's Wife

Fiona McIntosh

I'm now past 80,000 words into this story for you.  It's been very slow over Christmas as I think all of us - not just me - needed a refreshing break from the grind that was 2020 and a chance to re-set.  I took a full three weeks off and while I felt busier than ever, it wasn't with storytelling.  It was all about family.

I have started back in with The Spy's Wife soon after the New Year heralded its arrival and now I'm working with commitment to get it finished and a first draft off to my editor.

I love its concept and I've started a little further back in the story than I might traditionally because I deliberately wanted to show the background of the two people who find themselves trapped in a situation that is not of their making but they both feel betrayed by it, angered by it and forced to fix it.  

Essentially it's the story of a man and woman from wildly different backgrounds finding each other and taking each other at face value. They fall in love only to discover that each is a sort of chameleon. I couldn't just fling you into that tense situation without first allowing you to share their lives before they know each other and then during that lovely time of falling in love.

So now at 80,000 words, I feel I still have a lot of story I want to share but only another 30,000 words or so in which to do that.  Ah well, all part of the fun of being a storyteller and I feel sure my editor will very quickly slash away a lot of words to give me more to play with.  

I know all of you can recognise the fellow in the middle of this picture - a rare moment of delight in his expression - but I wonder if you can guess who the gent is to his left in the image?  It may surprise you who he is, and I am hoping this man - or perhaps more likely, his son - will walk into the pages of my book that will form the major pivot point for the story.  

All material (c) Copyright Traveloscopy.com unless noted otherwise.

Around Australia Road Trips: 1995-2004

While on various assignments over the years, I have racked up hundreds of thousands of kilometres all across Australia, favouring backroads when I can and offroad when I have the appropriate vehicle.

Being something of a history nerd, I'm always attracted to little towns and villages off the main thoroughfares. Some have been bypassed by the major highways, some left to wither when the railway line is abandoned, while others might be derelict mining sites or were just never viable in the first place. 

This amazing country of ours is overflowing with stories, not just since white exploration and settlement over the last few hundred years, but also the indigenous history going back tens of thousands.

On this page, I have gathered some dusty images out of the 'shoebox' and linked to stories published back then. The people have moved on, shops and hotels closed and trains long stopped running.

Please enjoy - and I'd love you to share your own recollections of these times and places.

Please note that these stories most likely contain outdated information and pricing. If you spot something, please point it out.

John Cadoret: Just Walking - for 40 years

 

This is a true story. 

Driving west out of Deniliquin early yesterday, I came across this old chap shuffling along the edge of the road, struggling with his burden of heavy-looking bags and kit.

Heading in the same direction, I couldn't just drive by without enquiring whether I could offer him a lift. Thinking he may have broken down and left a car somewhere (which I hadn't noticed).

Done and Dusted in the Aussie Outback

Two thousand kilometres in the desert in a 40-year-old Corolla is not everyone’s idea of fun, but these chaps love it. Roderick Eime tags along for this far-flung frolic.

I’m sure it was the last thing they expected to see.