A dark time in Sydney
People from all walks of life are buried or were cremated at Rookwood. I am afraid amongst the good souls there are those who chose a different path in life. Today's blog is about one "hard" man of an earlier dark time in Sydney. NORMAN BRUHN Norman Leslie Bruhn was born in June 1894 in Geelong, Victoria, the middle child of ten of Oscar Johann Bruhn and Mary Anne nee McFarlane. Oscar was a baker and it would appear the household was a volatile one made worse by his heavy drinking and short temper. Oscar was born in the Goldfields area of Victoria where his family had relocated no doubt seeking their fortune like so many from the mid 1850's. Norman was not a keen student and aged 14 went to work in a local woollen mill, where his lower arm was drawn into a loom and fractured. A few years later he started his criminal career starting with a charge of offensive behaviour in July 1914 whilst harassing people, leading a group of youths. In September that year he ...