Gunning & District Historical Society

  They Fail as Husbands and As Wives Ogden Nash, in his poem The Cuckoo , characterised  these birds as leading Bohemian lives – failing as husbands and as wives while cynically disparaging others' marriages.  He was much better as a poet than an ornithologist.  Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoos, this month's featured bird species, are very successful serial monogamist husbands and wives.  And, as we shall see, their skills improve just that bit more year by year.    Gladstone's Notebook Image courtesy Wayne Weather stone. This article is number 8 in a 12 part series.  Each month we look at one of the birds recorded in Gladstone Weatherstone's notebook between 1962 and 1981, see if anything is different today and, if so, try to explain why.  Gladstone was a dedicated and knowledgeable amateur naturalist who lived on Lyndfield Park near Gunning between 1941 and 1996.  Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo  On 24 August 1980, Gladstone wrote "First Hors...

Gunning Station from eastern end of No. 1 Platform, 1941. Photo:  Portal into the Past of Sydney & Beyond . Recently I came across some photos taken at the Gunning Railway Station from 1941 from a Facebook group Portal into the Past of Sydney & Beyond , so I decided to take myself off and see if it had changed much in 76 years. Gunning Station from eastern end of No. 1 Platform, 2017. Photo by Leslie Bush. There is something to be said for the power of a photograph. We take thousands of photos these days, but do we cherish them as they once were? To own or have access to a camera was a very rare treat. And how lucky we are that this was so. Gunning Station from western end, 1941. Photo:  Portal into the Past of Sydney & Beyond . There are some phenomenal images from bygone eras where they had to take their time, taking daring risks to make sure they got the shot just right. Gunning Station from western end, 2017. Photo by Lesli...