Alex The Astronaut will one day be called a Bloody Legend. Alex is a gifted story teller, sports women, academic and musician. All achieved in her youth and blazing a trail for others to follow. She is a Bloody Clever Australian. We all may be a little intimidated by the fact that Alex achieved a...
Blog When Australians think of our Olympic champions, the name Cathy is always mentioned, and we all know there is only one Cathy; Cathy Freeman. We all remember the joy of running flat out with the wind in our hair, but Cathy made that joy her purpose and ignited our minds to recognise Indigenous...
Blog In 1990, the title of Australian of the Year was awarded to Fred Hollows in recognition of his work treating avoidable blindness in some of the world’s poorest communities. Fred Hollows was born in New Zealand in 1929. After completing his studies and specialising as an ophthalmologist (eye...
Blog Paul Hogan is the quintessential Australian. He reflects how we see ourselves. He is a larrikin, cheeky, fantastic sense of humour, charismatic, gutsy and someone you would have in your corner if the chips were down. From humble beginnings as a rigger on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Hoge’s was...
Blog Kay Cottee became the first woman to sail solo, non-stop unassisted around the world. Kay was introduced to sailing as a baby, strapped in her crib to the mast of her fathers’ boat. She became a passionate sailor, and at age 33 made her dream come true. Between November 29 1987 and June 5...
Nancy Bird Walton | Our Spirit in the Sky At the age of 4 Nancy was balancing on a six-foot back fence with her arms out stretched and as her mother remembered, she called herself an ‘eppy plane’. Australia and the world were in awe of those amazing young men in their flying machines and little...
Sir Jack Brabham | A Knight’s Tale Sir Jack Brabham was a three-time Formula One World Champion Driver and two-time Formula One World Champion Constructor, becoming the first driver to win the title in a car of his own design and construction. ‘Black Jack’ Brabham had all the pre-requisites...
Sir Edward Weary Dunlop | KBE 1907 – 1993 Veteran of the Second World War, Edward Dunlop became well-known for his medical work with Australian prisoners of the Japanese and subsequent welfare work after the war. He was born on 12 July 1907 at Major’s Plain, Victoria. At 17 he became...
John Michael O’Keefe was born on 19 January 1935 in Sydney New South Wales. Johnny attended Christian Brothers’ College Waverley. During his journey he became an Australian music industry legend and in 1988 his name was included in the Australian Record Industry Association’s hall of...
Midget Farrelly was the ‘first man’ to win the first official surfing world championship at Sydney’s Manly Beach in 1964, and dominated the sport throughout the decade. Midget was a ‘water baby’, craftsman, leader and visionary. He grew up and lived in paradise on the Northern Beaches of...
Most driving Australians know the name Fox and the slogan ‘you are passing another Fox’. The fox being referred to is Lindsay Fox, founder of the trucking freight empire. Lindsay borrowed money to buy his first truck and turned that vision into a multi billion dollar business. Lindsay Edward Fox...
Mary was born in Belfast, Ireland, daughter of George Wilson, a civil engineer of Scottish ancestry, No other woman, with the exception of Anna Katharine Green, wrote so much crime fiction in the nineteenth century. Fortune was the first woman to write fiction centred on the detective, her...