André Brett
@drdrehistorian.bsky.social
Historians wanna talk like they got something to say | NZ and Australian history, politics, trains, music, sport, higher ed | he/him | "Australian-adjacent person": Melburnian Kiwi in Perth
Pinned
André Brett
@drdrehistorian.bsky.social
· Nov 12
It seems an opportune time to do an intro thread, since I'm included in some quite different starter packs. My bio note about "NZ and Australian history, politics, trains, music, sport, higher ed" covers the topics I post about the most, and I do *not* stick consistently to any one of them 1/18
If I ever write a history of Melbourne's public transport (which is unlikely tbh), I would totally lift from this Clive Turnbull quote in titling the book: Electric Juggernauts and Grinding Buses
...modes of progress, neither too fast nor too slow, no horrible noises—except the occasional clanging of the gripman’s bell—no smells of petrol or crude oil! But the men with the pneumatic drills ripped up the old tracks, the clashing electric juggernauts and the grinding 'buses took their place"
November 10, 2025 at 11:45 AM
If I ever write a history of Melbourne's public transport (which is unlikely tbh), I would totally lift from this Clive Turnbull quote in titling the book: Electric Juggernauts and Grinding Buses
Reposted by André Brett
Currently doing some marking. A reminder to everyone involved in archives and collections: digitisation is not preservation. If I digitise a box of records and put the files on a USB stick I haven't preserved a thing. It's all about what you do with the files post-digitisation. #archives #digipres
November 10, 2025 at 5:35 AM
Two things on this. First, it makes perfect sense a flat city like Melbourne chose cable trams, despite them emerging in a hilly city: cable trams thrived in relatively flat cities with long, straight streets. Melbourne and Chicago joined San Francisco as having the largest networks for good reason
Tomorrow is the 140th anniversary of Melbourne's first cable tram.
It's been 85 years since the last cable tram ran, and they're largely forgotten now but they laid the foundations of today's extensive electric tram network.
Nice story by Ishkander Razak
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
It's been 85 years since the last cable tram ran, and they're largely forgotten now but they laid the foundations of today's extensive electric tram network.
Nice story by Ishkander Razak
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...
The public transport punt that changed Melbourne
Melbourne's history with trams goes back 140 years. The city got its first tram in 1885 and the fleet has grown to become the world's largest tram network.
www.abc.net.au
November 10, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Two things on this. First, it makes perfect sense a flat city like Melbourne chose cable trams, despite them emerging in a hilly city: cable trams thrived in relatively flat cities with long, straight streets. Melbourne and Chicago joined San Francisco as having the largest networks for good reason
Love to pay $37 for something I can read for free from the Federal Court's own website: www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Ju...
You can buy Justice Lee's judgment in Lehrmann v Network Ten Pty Ltd as a book.
That... doesn't feel right?
That... doesn't feel right?
November 10, 2025 at 3:43 AM
Love to pay $37 for something I can read for free from the Federal Court's own website: www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Ju...
You can't deny the Canberra Libs would at least get some name recognition if they chose this guy to be their new leader
(I suppose the fact their leadership is a revolving door means he'll get his opportunity eventually)
(I suppose the fact their leadership is a revolving door means he'll get his opportunity eventually)
Ed Cocks - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 10, 2025 at 3:23 AM
You can't deny the Canberra Libs would at least get some name recognition if they chose this guy to be their new leader
(I suppose the fact their leadership is a revolving door means he'll get his opportunity eventually)
(I suppose the fact their leadership is a revolving door means he'll get his opportunity eventually)
Reposted by André Brett
Mark Parton is the new leader of the Canberra Liberals, which means 44 per cent of the current party room members (4 out of 9) have now served as leader
November 10, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Mark Parton is the new leader of the Canberra Liberals, which means 44 per cent of the current party room members (4 out of 9) have now served as leader
Might be time to revise my ranking of the most dysfunctional oppositions in Australia
#BREAKING 🚨 Canberra Liberals leader Leanne Castley and deputy leader Jeremy Hanson have announced they have both resigned "to give the party the best possible chance of success in 2028"
"We will not be commenting publicly on the circumstances that have led to this decision"
"We will not be commenting publicly on the circumstances that have led to this decision"
November 10, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Might be time to revise my ranking of the most dysfunctional oppositions in Australia
Reposted by André Brett
Do the Canberra Liberals have any MLAs left who haven't had party leadership at this point?
#BREAKING 🚨 Canberra Liberals leader Leanne Castley and deputy leader Jeremy Hanson have announced they have both resigned "to give the party the best possible chance of success in 2028"
"We will not be commenting publicly on the circumstances that have led to this decision"
"We will not be commenting publicly on the circumstances that have led to this decision"
November 10, 2025 at 2:13 AM
Do the Canberra Liberals have any MLAs left who haven't had party leadership at this point?
Reposted by André Brett
Really powerful writing from @cathfeely.bsky.social - an interesting #FamilyHistory story, but so much more than that.
The interweaving of the personal & professional is complex, and makes this even more salient.
The interweaving of the personal & professional is complex, and makes this even more salient.
For Remembrance Sunday, a short reflection on the life and death of my great grandfather in the twenty years after his return. botheringmiancestors.substack.com/p/the-trench...
The Trenches, the Tram and the Trolley Bus
A twentieth-century story
botheringmiancestors.substack.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Really powerful writing from @cathfeely.bsky.social - an interesting #FamilyHistory story, but so much more than that.
The interweaving of the personal & professional is complex, and makes this even more salient.
The interweaving of the personal & professional is complex, and makes this even more salient.
John Laws is dead, so as well as remembering him for outrageous on-air statements and the cash-for-comment affair, let me take this opportunity to remind everyone that in 1976 he released an album of country music covers called You've Never Been Trucked Like This Before
It reached 69 on the charts
It reached 69 on the charts
November 9, 2025 at 9:56 AM
John Laws is dead, so as well as remembering him for outrageous on-air statements and the cash-for-comment affair, let me take this opportunity to remind everyone that in 1976 he released an album of country music covers called You've Never Been Trucked Like This Before
It reached 69 on the charts
It reached 69 on the charts
Anne Twomey is turning into a YouTube machine with her series on the dismissal of the Whitlam government—and now she's promising "a special video in a unique location" for the 50th anniversary on Tuesday. Constitutional and political history fans lesssgoooooo
Constitutional Clarion
This channel is about constitutional matters - largely Australian, but sometimes broader international constitutional issues. It is conducted by Anne Twomey, who is a Professor Emerita of the Univers...
www.youtube.com
November 9, 2025 at 5:26 AM
Anne Twomey is turning into a YouTube machine with her series on the dismissal of the Whitlam government—and now she's promising "a special video in a unique location" for the 50th anniversary on Tuesday. Constitutional and political history fans lesssgoooooo
Crazy that this happened again. Windies looked toast at 88/8 needing another 90 to win, then Romario Shepherd and Shamar Springer made sure of another tense ending, falling short by 9. Hard to believe Springer came in at tenth because he sure wasn’t batting like it! Cracking series, this.
And now basically the same thing in reverse! Heroic batting by Rovman Powell and Matthew Forde could not quite get the Windies over the line. Two days, two great finales in matches that halfway through the second innings looked like they were fizzing out
Superb T20I, that. Looked like the Windies were going to humiliate NZ, then Mitchell Santner played one of the knocks of his life—but couldn’t quite do it! Romario Shepherd’s fours off the last two balls of the Windies’ innings were all the difference in the end. Well deserved win for the visitors!
November 9, 2025 at 3:55 AM
Crazy that this happened again. Windies looked toast at 88/8 needing another 90 to win, then Romario Shepherd and Shamar Springer made sure of another tense ending, falling short by 9. Hard to believe Springer came in at tenth because he sure wasn’t batting like it! Cracking series, this.
Never mind where I grew up; nothing from there can beat Canberra's Bus Safe Rap: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV9_...
November 8, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Never mind where I grew up; nothing from there can beat Canberra's Bus Safe Rap: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV9_...
Latest update: Richo is currently being refused admission to hell, lest he do the numbers against the devil’s infernal reign
The former Labor powerbroker and political commentator dies aged 76.
Breaking: ALP heavyweight Graham 'Richo' Richardson dies, aged 76
The former Labor powerbroker and political commentator dies aged 76.
www.abc.net.au
November 8, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Latest update: Richo is currently being refused admission to hell, lest he do the numbers against the devil’s infernal reign
Look, this sucks. One misfortune of rugby lacking a World Cup until 1987 is Wales is yet to win one, despite NZ vs Wales being the unofficial World Cup for much of the 20th century
My Nan is old enough that any match vs Wales makes her nervous. We'd both be delighted to see a resurgent Welsh team
My Nan is old enough that any match vs Wales makes her nervous. We'd both be delighted to see a resurgent Welsh team
November 7, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Look, this sucks. One misfortune of rugby lacking a World Cup until 1987 is Wales is yet to win one, despite NZ vs Wales being the unofficial World Cup for much of the 20th century
My Nan is old enough that any match vs Wales makes her nervous. We'd both be delighted to see a resurgent Welsh team
My Nan is old enough that any match vs Wales makes her nervous. We'd both be delighted to see a resurgent Welsh team
My life has felt so empty but now I know why: I do not yet own this mug
a coffee mug replica of the NZ parliament's biscuit tin, for only 15 of the local-currency cowrie shells. Perfect for the political reformer in your life.
shop.parliament.govt.nz/products/bis...
shop.parliament.govt.nz/products/bis...
Biscuit Tin Mug
Bone China mug depicting the iconic "Biscuit Tin" - a tin purchased from department store DEKA in the 1990s, which is now used to draw Member's Bills from before they can be introduced to the House of...
shop.parliament.govt.nz
November 7, 2025 at 11:32 AM
My life has felt so empty but now I know why: I do not yet own this mug
Gonna tell future generations this is just what Chris Bowen looked like, anything else is Photoshopped
hey Bluesky whatever you’re doing to pick the thumbnails for videos……. Keep doing that Shit
November 7, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Gonna tell future generations this is just what Chris Bowen looked like, anything else is Photoshopped
Alexander Kerensky 🤝 some of the more forgettable lecturers and visiting speakers during my undergrad degree
"He later travelled to Melbourne, giving lectures at the University of Melbourne, which were poorly received."
"He later travelled to Melbourne, giving lectures at the University of Melbourne, which were poorly received."
Fun fact: several years after his Provisional Government was deposed by the Bolsheviks in 1917, former Russian prime minister Alexander Kerensky married Brisbane-born Nell Tritton and relocated briefly to peaceful, leafy Clayfield in Brisbane’s northern suburbs www.smh.com.au/world/alexan...
November 7, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Alexander Kerensky 🤝 some of the more forgettable lecturers and visiting speakers during my undergrad degree
"He later travelled to Melbourne, giving lectures at the University of Melbourne, which were poorly received."
"He later travelled to Melbourne, giving lectures at the University of Melbourne, which were poorly received."
My father and uncle happened to see 3 of the new DM class locomotives being unloaded at Lyttelton last weekend and they sent me these pics. I thought they’d interest other railway nerds too. The DMs will gradually replace decades-old locos and be the core of the South Island fleet for years to come
November 7, 2025 at 6:50 AM
My father and uncle happened to see 3 of the new DM class locomotives being unloaded at Lyttelton last weekend and they sent me these pics. I thought they’d interest other railway nerds too. The DMs will gradually replace decades-old locos and be the core of the South Island fleet for years to come
Come on man, you’ve got a job for life and you’re not even halfway to Tommy Playford’s record term as an Aus head of government (SA premier for over 26 years, 1938–65)
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr acknowledges that leadership of the Labor party will "need to transition to a new generation" but argues stability is vital as Labor governs without the Greens.
Barr says succession looms but his experience still needed
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr acknowledges that leadership of the Labor party will "need to transition to a new generation" but argues stability is vital as Labor governs without the Greens.
www.abc.net.au
November 7, 2025 at 12:33 AM
Come on man, you’ve got a job for life and you’re not even halfway to Tommy Playford’s record term as an Aus head of government (SA premier for over 26 years, 1938–65)
Curious if “4 Year Terms Australia” presents any quantifiable measures that 4yr terms lead to better governance than 3yr or if it’s more of the usual vibes-based analysis
NSW, SA, VIC, WA adopted 4yr terms in the 80s after decades of 3yr; if it leads to better governance it should be easy to prove
NSW, SA, VIC, WA adopted 4yr terms in the 80s after decades of 3yr; if it leads to better governance it should be easy to prove
I'm appearing (remotely) at JSCEM this morning, here's the batting order.
November 6, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Curious if “4 Year Terms Australia” presents any quantifiable measures that 4yr terms lead to better governance than 3yr or if it’s more of the usual vibes-based analysis
NSW, SA, VIC, WA adopted 4yr terms in the 80s after decades of 3yr; if it leads to better governance it should be easy to prove
NSW, SA, VIC, WA adopted 4yr terms in the 80s after decades of 3yr; if it leads to better governance it should be easy to prove
And now basically the same thing in reverse! Heroic batting by Rovman Powell and Matthew Forde could not quite get the Windies over the line. Two days, two great finales in matches that halfway through the second innings looked like they were fizzing out
Superb T20I, that. Looked like the Windies were going to humiliate NZ, then Mitchell Santner played one of the knocks of his life—but couldn’t quite do it! Romario Shepherd’s fours off the last two balls of the Windies’ innings were all the difference in the end. Well deserved win for the visitors!
November 6, 2025 at 9:48 AM
And now basically the same thing in reverse! Heroic batting by Rovman Powell and Matthew Forde could not quite get the Windies over the line. Two days, two great finales in matches that halfway through the second innings looked like they were fizzing out
If they're not rating bakeries then they shouldn't even bother, the people are crying out to know where they can get a Michelin-starred pie
Michelin reviewers to rate New Zealand restaurants for first time
They will dine at restaurants in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown for a New Zealand edition of the famous food guide.
www.rnz.co.nz
November 6, 2025 at 8:51 AM
If they're not rating bakeries then they shouldn't even bother, the people are crying out to know where they can get a Michelin-starred pie
Reposted by André Brett
Hoping this helps our colleagues across the industry
November 5, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Hoping this helps our colleagues across the industry
Centrist: Very sad to hear about _____. Growing up in suburban Melbourne in the eighties, their music taught me that it was OK to be weird
November 5, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Centrist: Very sad to hear about _____. Growing up in suburban Melbourne in the eighties, their music taught me that it was OK to be weird