Fascinating People Fascinating Places

Wagga Wagga: World War I Stories

Wagga Wagga: World War 1 Stories

On commemorative occasion such as Anzac and Memorial Day, we inevitably reflect on the service of prior generations in The First World War as well as other conflicts. But while these service men and women fought bravely during the conflict, how did the war fit in with their broader lives? Its a topic that Historian Ian Hodges of The Australian Department of Veteran’s affairs has been exploring with regard to World War I for his new book He Belonged to Wagga. The conflict that saw Australia forge a national identity distinct from the broader British Empire and one that saw the creation of The Australian Imperial Force the nation’s first military force equipped for overseas conflict.

To show the affect of the war he focused on one particular city located about 300 miles inland from Australia. It’s somewhat off the beaten bath and a name few outside South Eastern Australia are probably familiar with. Is it pronounced Wagga Wagga?

Guest Expert: Ian Hodges of The Australian Department of Veteran’s Affairs

Picture: Dept of Lands, Sydney – cropped from old map “County of Wynyard, New South Wales, 1897” at the National Library of Australia, located here

Wagga Wagga in 1897

Public Domain

File:Wagga Wagga map 1897.jpg

Created: 1 January 1897

Music: English: Elgar; Enigma variations, Theme IX. Nimrod

Date 1 January 1947

Source https://archive.org/details/EdwardElgar-EnigmaVariations/01ThemeI.C.a.e..mp3

Author

John Barbirolli

Halle Orchestra, Public Domain

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Robespierre: The Reign of Terror

Robespierre: The Reign of Terror

On 21 January 1793, a gruesome scene unfolded at the place de la revolution in Paris. After attempting to address the crowd only to have his words drowned out by drums, King Louis XVI the King of France was decapitated by the Guillotine. Spectators rushed forward and soaked their handkerchiefs in his blood to create a macabre souvenir of the event. A critical figure in the demise of Louis XVI was the revolutionary Maximilien Robespierre. He had argued that giving the King a trial would undermine the Republic. His fate was already sealed. As he put it, Louis must perish because our country must live.

But just one year later, the incorruptible revolutionary, and reformer would meet the same fate on the very same spot.

In this episode, I examine the life or Maximilian Robespierre, his development from a precocious child into a lawyer, then a revolutionary and ultimately – in the eyes of many – a tyrant.

SPECIAL GUEST: 

Marisa Linton Professor Emerita at Kingston University in London.

I am a historian of the French Revolution, also eighteenth-century politics and the Enlightenment. I have written numerous books and articles on the politics of the French Revolution, including, Choosing Terror: Virtue, Friendship and Authenticity in the French Revolution (Oxford University Press, 2013), and, most recently, Terror: The French Revolution and its Demons, with Michel Biard (Polity Press, 2021). I also work as a historical consultant. I am currently working on a study of four leaders of the French Revolution – Maximilien Robespierre, Georges Danton, Louis-Antoine Saint-Just, and Camille Desmoulins.

Music: Pixabay

Picture: Portrait of Maximilien Robespierre, artist unknown. Public Domain

The Songhai Empire: Africa’s Forgotten Super State

On the periphery of the Malian city of Gao, close to the banks of the River Niger, sits an extraordinary pyramid-like structure. Standing 17 meters tall, and reportedly constructed with mud and wood shipped in from Mecca, some 7,000 kilometers away, it is known as the Tomb of Askia. And is believed to be the last resting place of Askia Mohamed I a man who ruled one of Africa’s largest yet less remembered superstates: The Songhai Empire. In this episode, I detail the key events in the meteoric rise and the spectacular demise of this extraordinary empire. And I talk to an expert, professor Mauro Nobili of the Univ of Illinois. His areas of expertise include Mali, Islam, and Arabic manuscripts in West Africa. His published works include Sultan, Caliph, and renewer of the faith Ahmad Lobbo, the Tārīkh al-fattāsh, and the making of an Islamic state in West Africa.

Guest speaker: Prof. Mauro Nobili University of Illinois Urbana Champaign

Guest Bio: I am a historian of pre-colonial and early-colonial West Africa, with a specific interest in the area of the modern Republic of Mali and the town of Timbuktu. My special focus is on Muslim societies of the region and their Arabic manuscript heritage. I conduct research in several collections of Arabic manuscripts from West Africa, stored in public or private libraries in Africa (Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Niger, Ghana, and Ivory Coast), Europe (Denmark and France), and North America (USA). I have worked and published on topics linked to Arabic calligraphies and script styles, Islamic eschatology, genealogies, and the West African chronicle tradition.

My current project is an original study of the Timbuktu chronicle known as the Tārīkh al-fattāsh. The chronicle’s complex genesis and authorship is still shrouded in mystery. Notwithstanding the efforts of several scholars, the major obstacle has been the limited access to the actual manuscripts of the chronicle. My research thus comprises an effort to collect all the available manuscript copies of the Tārīkh al-fattāsh, on the basis of which I am producing an innovative analysis of the text. My study is revealing that the Tārīkh al-fattāsh is a novel chronicle written in the 19th century, and not the effort of three generations of scholars who worked on it starting from the early 16th century and eventually interpolated in the 19th century, as previously advanced by most scholars. This 19th-century Tārīkh al-fattāsh was composed by a substantial rework of a 17th-century anonymous work. The manuscripts available allow for a new, comparative edition of the two texts. My work is re-instating the two works to their historical periods and, by throwing light on the political and ideological motivations that lie under their production, as well as the usage of the chronicle themselves, is contributing to improving our knowledge of the intellectual history of West Africa, from the post-medieval period to the immediate pre-colonial time.

Mauro’s selected works: Amazon books

The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Heroes Of A Thousand Battles by MusicLFiles
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/8099-heroes-of-a-thousand-battles
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist website: https://cemmusicproject.wixsite.com/musiclibraryfiles

Photo: The Tomb of Askia

Apartheid South Africa with Gabeba Baderoon

In the years after World War II, hundreds of millions of Africans experienced newfound independence after decades or in some cases centuries of Colonialism.  But in South Africa, the descendants of white settlers, and other European immigrants increased the subjugation of 90 percent of the populace through overtly racist policies under the umbrella term of Apartheid.

During the Apartheid era, non-whites couldn't vote, marry, go to school with, or live alongside whites. Many also lost citizenship rights in their own nation.

Gabeba Baderoon grew up in this era but as a young woman saw the end of Apartheid.  She is now an Associate Professor of  Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and African Studies at Penn State. Gabeba is also an award-winning poet. In this episode, I talk to Gabeba about South African society under apartheid both broadly and from her own personal experiences.

Gabeba Baderoon's work: Amazon profile

Music: Pixabay
Photo: An example Apartheid segregation photo 12345 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0

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Australian Penal Transportation (British Crime and Punishment Part Two)

On April 29, 1770, a pivotal event unfolded on the shores of Botany Bay, Australia, as two men attempted to thwart the arrival of unfamiliar and unwelcome visitors. Led by Captain James Cook of the British Royal Navy, these interlopers marked the first European landing in Eastern Australia. Little did they know that this momentous incident would have far-reaching consequences, not only for the native Australians but also for people residing 10,000 miles away in Britain.

With the notorious "bloody code" in full force, British citizens faced the death penalty for over 200 offenses, yet executing on such a massive scale proved logistically challenging. Enter Australia, offering a novel solution for the punishment of criminals.

In this compelling episode, we delve into the intriguing history of penal transportation with our guest, historian Brad Manera, Senior Historian and Curator of the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park, Sydney. Brad was instrumental in co-authoring Australia's UNESCO submission, resulting in the recognition of 11 penal transportation locations as World Heritage sites.

Join us as we explore the origins of Britain's Australian colonies and the profound impact of penal transportation on both sides of the globe.

Music: Pixabay

Picture: A Guard tower at Port Arthur Penal colony, Tasmania

Mundoo

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0

Port Arthur Guard tower.jpg

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The Bloody Code : British Crime and Punishment (Part One)

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Britons were subject to a penal system including up to 220 crimes punishable by death. These offences ranged from murder to theft, from arson to wearing blackface while poaching. Even young children, were subject to these draconian penalties. In this episode I explore the era of the so-called “bloody code” and explain how it developed, the level of enforcement, and the reasons for its demise.

In this documentary style episode I interview two experts on this era in British History.

Dr. Simon Devereaux Associate Professor (History) and Undergraduate Advisor at the University of Victoria

Creator of the website The Old Bailey Condemned, 1730-1837

The Visitations of Horace Cotton, Ordinary of Newgate, 1823-1838 (London Records Society, forthcoming)

Dr. John Walliss is senior lecturer in criminology in the School of Social Sciences, Liverpool Hope University, UK.

His works include: The Bloody Code in England and Wales, 1760–1830

https://lawcrimehistory.pubpub.org/pub/cb2hj558/release/1
https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/handle/10026.1/8937

Music and sound: Pixabay

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Rome’s 5 Craziest Emperors (Episode 2) Caligula (Shorts)

Caligula the Roman emperor has been held up as the archetype of a crazy ruler for the last 2,000 years. But was he as bad as the history books say he was? And is everything you’ve read about him true? In this episode I examine Caligula and explain why he went from hero to zero.

Morris Dancing – The Peculiar British Tradition

Morris dancing — a traditional type of British folk dance is synonymous with villages fairs and men dressed in white dancing with wooden sticks. But there are many more elements to “Morris” that the stereotypes we are familiar with. In this episode, I explore its origins, and learn how it has expanded around the globe.

Today’s guests:

Peter Austin, “Bagman” of The Morris Ring – The founding National Association of Morris and Sword Dance Clubs in Britain.

Cat Van’t Hof & Nat James of the Brandragon Morris in Melbourne, Australia.

To learn more about these groups see below:

https://themorrisring.org/

In 1934 the Cambridge Morris Men invited five other teams to join them in the formation of a national organisation, the result was that five of the revival clubs – Cambridge, Letchworth, Thaxted, East Surrey and Greensleeves – met at Thaxted in Essex on the 11th May that year to inaugurate The Morris Ring. Cambridge Morris Men describe the start of Morris in Cambridge during the winter of 1911/12 in the 1949 booklet 50 Years of Morris Dancing. Oxford were not at Thaxted, however they sent their apologies and were there in spirit, and agreed with the suggested constitution for the Ring.

Helmond Morris(link is external) was the first group to start outside of the UK – in 1935. They even danced during the dark years of World War II!

Home

Founded in 2001, we are Melbourne’s only North West Morris Side.

What is Morris Dancing? It is traditional English folk dancing! The North West style is done in formations of 4, 6 or 8 dancers – to live music. We wear heavy clogs which were worn in the factories of England during the time just after the Industrial Revolution. The dancing steps are quite simple, but the dancers create interesting visual patterns which comes from hours of practise. If you would like to try Morris dancing, please contact us and come along to a practise any time!

We also welcome new musicians to join us! Our current band has members who play the melodeon, the recorder, the drum and other percussion instruments.

Music from Pixabay

Photo: Morris dancing at Port Sunlight.jpg

Morris dancing at the 2011 Port Sunlight Festival, Wirral, England.

Reptonix free Creative Commons licensed photos

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0