The year is 1834. Scotsman Campbell Drummond Riddell, treasurer of the new colony "Australia", begins construction of Lindesay House, the first major home built on the Darling Point peninsula in Sydney.

Together with his wife, Caroline, they enjoy commanding views of the glittering harbour from 17 acres of gardens, which sweep down to the shore. Four years later, they quietly celebrate the birth of their second son.

Following a week in Australia in which the words "heroes" and "heroism" bobbed on a tsunami of raw propaganda, a tribute is due to two unrecognised heroes. The first is Ray Jackson, who died on 23 April.

from Crikey …..

Blaming an Arab: Julie Bishop's guide to the War on Terror

Last night media watch gave us a lesson in ... Well I don't know what it was about...

Ruling classes around the world have their national myths. These attempt to tie working people to the capitalist class through the false idea of nationhood, itself a recent historical development.

by George Venturini

Anzac Day 25 April 2015: Gallipoli 100 years on

25 April 2015 marks the hundredth anniversary of the start of the British-led military invasion of Gallipoli on Turkey’s Dardanelle Peninsula, which resulted in over 200,000 dead and wounded in an eight-month period.

Australia has again declared war on its Indigenous people, reminiscent of the brutality that brought universal condemnation on apartheid South Africa. Aboriginal people are to be driven from homelands where their communities have lived for thousands of years. In Western Australia, where mining companies make billion dollar profits exploiting Aboriginal land, the state government says it can no longer afford to "support" the homelands.

The NSW government has signed the death warrant of a tiny NSW town, but its residents aren't going quietly. Thom Mitchell reports. 

Broad target of ‘al-Qaida compounds’ suggests 2013 policy change by Obama – requiring ‘near certainty’ that suspect is present – has not been implemented.