Gary fills us in on Canberra history

Of course, I meant 1,999 metres…is Namadji that high?

Don’t know about 1800m but as a comparo Thredbo village is 1300-odd and thats essentially below the snowline. This far north you’d have to imagine that it was around the 1600 mark at a minimum.

Now THAT’S history – what with global warming etc, it’s probably more like 999 metres now.

I’d also add that, while odd facts aren’t the only thing required in discussing history, they’re often quite useful in building a coherent and interesting argument.

The more boring and obvious stuff comes alive once you throw in a bit of the weirdness.

At the same time, anything that prompts regular revivals of “The Legend of King O’Malley” can’t be all bad.

Although do people drinking in a faux-irish bar really want to know that the namesake of their pub was actually a shonky Texan who pretended to be Canadian for the purposes of running for election in Australia?

I’ve got news for Gazza – history is more than just a random assortment of trivia-night facts.