Help us find letters or objects connected to Ethel Bruce (1879 – 1967), the wife of the nation’s eighth Prime Minister Stanley Melbourne Bruce. Their story features in an exhibition opening at the National Archives in Canberra in December.

Ethel Bruce played an important part in supporting her husband’s political career, but little original material about her appears to have survived in Australian collections.

If a special item is uncovered, the National Archives will consider putting in on display during the exhibition Stanley Melbourne Bruce: Prime Minister & Statesman opening 11 December. Email us if you have something connected to Ethel Bruce.
 

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Power for the People, a display in Canberra that celebrates 60 years of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme, is now online as well.

An engineering wonder of the modern world, the scheme was designed to turn the rivers of the Snowy Mountains westward to irrigate the dry inland plains and to generate electrical power for Australia.

The display uses original documents and photographs from the Archives’ collection to tell the story of this extraordinary project. Listen to a public lecture, Power for the People, by author Siobhan McHugh.

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Snowy Mountains construction workers were renowned for working – and playing – hard. Gambling, a favourite pastime, caused heartache for both workers and the law.

The unwritten rules of play were that local workers controlled the games, gambling was limited to pay nights and men had to save money to send to their wives.

But not everyone loved the games. A group of  'disgusted miners' sent this letter to Sir William Hudson, Commissioner of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Authority, in January 1967. They are critical of the local police for turning a blind eye to gambling.

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This film clip on our Vrroom website highlights the role of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) in counter-espionage operations, intelligence gathering and security in Australia during the Cold War.

It shows espionage techniques used by Ivan Fedorovich Skripov, a Soviet diplomat in Canberra.

The Royal Commission on Espionage (1954–55) found that the embassy was used ‘for many years’ as a centre for controlling espionage in Australia.

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Decades after New Zealander Frederick Edward (Timothy) Jones went missing, part of his story has been traced through World War I records at the National Archives.

Using the National Archives' website Mapping our Anzacs, Pat Churchill of Melbourne was able to piece together bits of the puzzle of her missing great-uncle.

She discovered he had enlisted in Brisbane and served in the 5th Light Horse Regiment as well as the 2nd Field Ambulance in Egypt and France. You can read her account in the Mapping our Anzacs scrapbook.  According to Pat, Fred never re-established contact with his family in New Zealand.

Can you help Pat piece more of the puzzle together? If you can, please email us.

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'A spinster lady can, and often does, turn into something of a battleaxe with the passing years.’

Written by an officer of the Trade Commissioner Service to his director in March 1963, this was given as one of the reasons why women should not be appointed trade commissioners.

Documents such as this in our collection illustrate the path trodden by women seeking equality, particularly in the workplace. And, what did the author think of ageing male trade commissioners? His comment was, ‘A man usually mellows…’

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All Australian Government employees are again being urged to ‘keep the knowledge’ in an initiative to ensure their records management responsibilities are understood.

The Keep the Knowledge – make a record! training package, including a slideshow and presenter’s guide, online eLearning module, reference card and promotional posters, has been made available to government agencies. It emphasises emails and other types of digital records, and includes practical information and tips.

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One of the most important steps in managing your folders of digital photos is to back them up. You could write the files onto CDs or DVDs, copy them onto a new hard drive, then keep the disks you’ve made as a secondary back-up.

If you choose to use home-produced CDs and DVDs as one of your back-up methods, you must look after the disks in the same way you would look after photos or documents.

Keep them away from strong light, high temperature and humidity levels, and polluting gases. Store them in a rigid case for physical protection and only write on the disk with a disk-safe pen.

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Congratulations to last month's winners, Margaret McIntosh and Geoff Huntington, both from NSW, who correctly answered 'Strine'. They have each received a set of two beautifully illustrated lighthouse drawings.

The lighthouses, at Green Cape and Montague Island on the NSW south coast, date back to the 1880s.

The 8th and 15th correct entries received for this month's quirky quiz will each win a copy of the National Archives' publication Memory of a Nation.

Around I twirl as sheets and clothing unfurl. Uniquely Aussie, I will dehydrate your cozzie. What am I? 

Search here for a hint. Email us with your answer in the subject line and your postal address in the body of the email. View terms and conditions.

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