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Nell and Harry Bros

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24.01.2022 I am not ashamed to admit that I am promoting my book, "The Bubbles of the Platypus" . The story is a work of fiction. However, it is based on fact, real people and real incidents, and I also believe that the reader is entitled to know which is which. The facts are these: In the first decade of the 20th century, Harry Stewart Bros and his young wife, Helen (Nell) Rosina, living in the Sydney suburb of Kogarah, answered a call from Harrys brother Bill. "Harry," he had written..., "come up and give me a hand on the farm ..." Bill had taken up a "selection" at Brinerville, a remote district in the upper reaches of the Bellinger River. What follows is a story of people - hard tough people. Nevertheless, they were gentle and caring - they lived a simple way of life - the dairy farming pioneers of the Bellinger River Valley. I have given myself a generous amount of literary free play - time, seasons, local geography - but for the sake of their narratives, thats what authors do. To buy, and read, "Bubbles" go to www.bubblesoftheplatypus.com

23.01.2022 The web site "Bubbles of the Platypus" is now complete. Interested readers are now able to buy the e-book of my novel. The format is PDF, and to buy "Bubbles", go to my web site - www.bubblesoftheplatypus.com. On the web site you can read the reviews, browse the gallery, and read excerpts from the book. If you buy the book, I would be interested in your opinion of how you enjoyed, or otherwise, "The Bubbles Of The Platypus."

23.01.2022 This photo was taken in the early twenties - its a picture of the river crossing east (towards Bellingen town) of the Bros property. Not sure who the people are, possibly Nell Bros, and maybe a lady from one of the Sky families. This photo is also part of the cover of my book, "The Bubbles of the Platypus." "Bubbles" is not available from Amazon Kindle at this time. Im looking for a more suitable platform to republish "Bubbles". Maybe an ebook? We will see, and keep watching this space!

22.01.2022 In the aftermath of a series of floods in early 1948, this is the state of the Dardanelles bridge. Arthur Sky looks ruefully at the washed-out approach to the bridge. Note the WW2 jeep, and the cream can sitting on the bridge. The photo was taken in the first week of the 1948 May school holidays. How do I know? Because I was the photographer!

20.01.2022 The forlorn remains of the once very important Dardanelles bridge. The bridge was the gateway to the upper Bellinger River valley - to the Brinerville properties of Bros, Sky, Jordans, Trotters, Fishers, and across the river from Fishers, the Rose family had a property. The topmost property was that of Charlie Bros, Harrys brother. In the photo below this one, Arthur Sky is standing on the bridge just to the right of this concrete block.

18.01.2022 This is an historic photo. Probably taken in the 1920s, its a photo of Fred Cleaver, an old Bellingen identity, and his bullock team. In the team, there are maybe 12, 14, or even 16 Bullocks. Look at the horns on the lead bullock!

17.01.2022 The Bros farm house as it is today, and unless something is done by the new owners - The National Parks and Wildlife Service - to save this fine old building, it will soon collapse, and a piece of Australias rural history will be gone forever.

17.01.2022 Attention all of the old-time Bellingen residents - your task, if you chose to accept it, is to identify any of the people in this photograph. The picture was probably taken in the late twenties, maybe early thirties - with a "Box Brownie", and the place is "The Flat" on the farm of Harry and Nell Bros, Brinerville, upper Bellinger River. The families that farmed the valley at that time included Bros, Sky, Jordan, Trotter and Rose. Other farmers down-river were Brook, Tyson, Cleaver, Ellem, and McCallister. This list is probably not all that accurate, Im depending on my not-so-good memory at this time. So, Bellingen residents, get out your magnifying glasses, and study this picture. Do you see anybody you know? To Mal Sky, Im sure there will be forebears of yours in this picture. Can you spot Syd or Arthur?

16.01.2022 Look for our press release - re my book "The Bubbles of the Platypus" in your country newspaper!

14.01.2022 The title of my book is "The Bubbles of the Platypus", and I expect many of our overseas facebook friends are wondering "what on earth is a platypus?" Well, what follows is a brief explanation of what is a platypus. Firstly, its a small furry animal, about 60 cms (24 inches) long, and weighs up to 2 kilos. It is a mammal, and nowhere on earth is there known such a combination of anatomical features: a fur covered body, feet that are both webbed and clawed, and a toothless ...muzzle that is shaped like a ducks bill. It has venomous hind-leg spurs, and scientists have still not discovered the exact reasons for these spurs. One possible explanation is that they are used to fight off other males in the breeding season. A strange little animal? Read on. The startling discovery that their reproductive and excretory processes shared a single passage. The platypus lays eggs! The animal is a mammal, but has a special category, it is a monotreme, literally - "one hole"! The platypus lives in the rivers that drain down to the sea on the eastern seaboard of Queensland, NSW, Victoria and Australias island state, Tasmania. The platypus suckles its young, although it has no teats, the milk drains down through two grooves in its fur where the young feed. This animal feeds on small crustaceans, worms, tadpoles and insect larvae. The animal has an extra sense - it tracks electricity. Its soft rubbery muzzle contains nerve receptors that detect electrical impulses from its prey. Under water, it tracks its prey totally blind and deaf! Its eyes and ears are sealed in a furrow of skin. The animal lives in a burrow, the entrance dug out beneath the level of the river bank. A platypus can dive quite deeply, but can only stay under water for about five minutes. No deaths from a platypus sting have been recorded, but stings from its spurs have been reported as being extremely painful, the affected limb quickly swelling to twice its size. Medical treatment concentrates on pain relief and the prevention of bacterial infection. Dont get stung, there is no antivenom available! See more

13.01.2022 ... in 1941 Alf Bros enlisted in the Australian infantry forces. He fought in the middle east, and along with the rest of the Australian army, was recalled by John Curtain, the then Prime Minister, to fight the Japanese in New Guinea on the infamous Kakoda Trail. Alf survived many battles in the middle east and New Guinea, but died from malaria after being bitten by a mosquito whilst fighting the Japanese on the Kakoda Trail. Alf died after the war had finished, never regaining his full health, and finally succumbed to the disease in 1947. His name is on the Wall of Remembrance at the Australian War Museum. To find out more of this fine young man, read my book "The Bubbles of the Platypus".

13.01.2022 From a young farm boy - a champion grower of cabbages and a youth who could run his fathers farm at the age of sixteen, a young man who could ride like the wind and shoot the eye out of a rabbit at 200 yards - to - in 1941 - an enlisted soldier ...

05.01.2022 The Nell and Harry Bros farm, Brinerville circa 1940. As Nell was fond of pointing out - "240 acres of wild bush and buggar all else!" The photo below was probably taken - with a "Box Brownie" around 1948. Brinerville, in the parishes of Dingle and Oakes, upper Bellinger River, was named after the Federal member of WW1 years. The road from Bellingen crossed the river 35 times between Thora and Brinerville. The Bellinger River, for the most part, is a placid and gentle stream..., but up there in the valley, it can rain like a bastard, and a thousand unnamed streams that flow into the river can turn the rivers moods to a spiteful and malevolence force. The Bellinger, in flood, can be as deadly as a white pointer shark! To find out more about this family - Nell and Harry Bros, their life, their children, their struggles to survive on this isolated farm, read my book, "The Bubbles of the Platypus". To buy the book, go to www.bubblesoftheplatypus.com See more

02.01.2022 "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers ..." (King Henry the V, act IV, scene 3). Come on, my band of brothers (and sisters), I need some reviews for my book, "The Bubbles of the Platypus". Go to www.bubblesoftheplatypus.com for extracts, photos and "buy now".

01.01.2022 Alf Bros, as an enlisted soldier, 1941. He enlisted in Bellingen, and did his preliminary military training at what was the then military training camp at Dubbo, NSW. It is now the Western Plains Zoo.

01.01.2022 Mrs Dorrie Brook ( from one of the original Bellingen dairy farming families) and Mr Fred Read (family friend) pose outside the "Vine House", a great old Bellingen landmark. Sadly, the "Vine House" is no longer with us, but thats progress - is it? - I suppose. The picture was probably taken in the late 1960s, and note the vine spreading up and over the pub roof!