This article traces the roots of modern cosmetic surgery to the medieval period. It suggests that the first forms of plastic surgery were performed by a fifteenth-century Sicilian family, the Firancas of Catania. The practice then fell into disuse,…
This illustrated article from The Argus provides an account of a ceremony in St Paul’s Cathedral (Melbourne) to mark the consecration of William Herbert Johnson as the Bishop of Ballarat in 1936. It describes the procession - consisting of the…
This print of a wood engraving of Ned Kelly in his final battle is based on a sketch 'drawn on the spot' by T. Carrington. The picture shows a Ned Kelly in his helmet firing his pistol. His plate body armour is hidden by an overcoat. The armour and…
This article from the Canberra Times discusses changing methods of sculpting designs into stone. It distinguishes between recent methods (in 1930) in which designs were modelled onto clay and then copied onto stone or marble by masons, and older…
A lengthy illustrated article by John Russell Parry about gargoyles in Melbourne that appeared in the Melbourne newspaper The Argus on August 10, 1929. The article provides the etymology of 'gargoyle', derived from Latin via Old French, and explains…
This article from The Canberra Times in 1941 provides an update on the building of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. Construction had begun in 1937, and the Memorial was set to be the largest stone building in the southern hemisphere. A…
A drawing by Fred Leist depicting an Australian soldier of 1915 shaking hands with a Crusader of 1189, with the cross of St George as the backdrop. Whilst the Australian soldier is shirtless and wearing shorts, the Crusader knight wears chain-mail,…
An image of the window and mosaic featured on the northern side of the Great Gate at the University of Western Australia, Crawley. The University commissioned artist Mervyn Napier Waller to design and produce the mosaic positioned above the window…