Nooks and Crannies

NOOKS AND CRANNIES: QUIRKY TALES FROM SA'S PAST

Did you know that a high-ranking American army officer commandeered a small Mile End factory in 1942 to produce more than 100,000 cans of rabbit for the US military? Or that two brothers from Caltowie invented a cheap iron lung that saved countless lives during a 1937 polio outbreak?

Nooks & Crannies: Stories of South Australia, produced by the History Council of South Australia, is a vibrant collection of short stories celebrating the people, places and institutions that have shaped the state.

History Council president Prof Matthew Fitzpatrick says the 262-page volume is the result of an extraordinary collaboration, with nearly 60 writers and a large editorial team highlighting histories from right across the state, from the Barossa to Barmera, Robe to Rapid Bay.

"History council members were invited to contribute up to 600 words, resulting in quirky, fascinating, bite-sized essays spanning the full sweep of South Australian history," Prof Fitzpatrick says.

South Australian history highlights include:

• How the Salvation Army, in the earliest days of the colony, gave Aboriginal people equal status and often leadership roles in the corps, or church. At Port Victor (later Victor Harbor) the church was nicknamed the 'Black and White' corps in recognition of its diverse membership.
• How Adelaide's first dedicated hospital operated without light, fuel or soap, with patients clubbing together to buy a candle and dashing into nearby bush when "their bowels required evacuating".
• How an 1822 massacre on the Greek island of Chios helped shape Balaklava's migrant heritage.
• How the WEA was formed in 1914 to deliver "higher education for the working man", with a century of courses reflecting changing times, from "how to be a better hostess" and "getting to know your slide rule" to "car maintenance for women" and "tea leaf reading".
• How October's Labour Day public holiday was borne from the fight for an eight-hour working day, achieved in SA in 1873. Soon after, SA became the first colony to legalise trade unions.
• The charming tale of explorer Matthew Flinders' childhood flute, bought by his father for eight shillings for his 14th birthday in 1788 and carried on the Investigator voyage to circumnavigate Australia.

Nooks and Crannies is organised into ten themed sections including Aboriginal-settler relations, education, heritage, individuals of note, migration, regional communities and industry. Contributors include both emerging voices and established historians, from school students to renowned scholars.