Category Archives: South Australia

A few words on the art of sieving

Posted on September 5, 2016 by

Archaeologists use various tools to survey and excavate sites. Some are very expensive and require specialist expertise – see Geophys at dawn for images of us working on Baker’s Flat with some of that particular kit. Some are much cheaper and easier to recognise … Continue reading →

Posted in Baker's Flat, Excavation, Field work, Kapunda, South Australia | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Baker’s Flat: a reenactment

Posted on August 13, 2016 by

In 1880, the Kapunda Herald gave an account of an incident on Baker’s Flat involving several of the Irish women living there and some unfortunate would-be fencers. It went something like this. Three men – William Grabert, Francis Pinn and Robert Hooper – were employed … Continue reading →

Posted in Baker's Flat, Kapunda, South Australia | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

The henhouse

Posted on July 7, 2016 by

‘Very poor people, in the past, were wont to keep their little stock of hens or ducks in a small pen made from an old box in the kitchen …’ (O Danachair 1964). This was a custom in Irish rural houses in the nineteenth and … Continue reading →

Posted in Folk traditions, Ireland, South Australia | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The excavation of Baker’s Flat – a tale of the Trench A dugout

Posted on July 4, 2016 by

From April through to the beginning of May, I led a trusty band of volunteers in the first excavation at Baker’s Flat. For me, this was an experience that engendered a wide range of emotions. At some stages I was filled with excitement, … Continue reading →

Posted in Baker's Flat, Excavation, Field work, Migration, South Australia | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Nollaig na mBan 2016

Posted on January 17, 2016 by

When I was growing up in Ireland, my only experience of Nollaig na mBan (Women’s Christmas) was through Seán Ó Ríordáin’s poem, which I remember learning in Irish for the Inter Cert when I was about twelve. I was sure there … Continue reading →

Posted in Folk traditions, Ireland, South Australia | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments