Butterfly,one of many, attracted to grapefruit tree containing green ant nests , head of one ant visible on right border . |
(Grapefruit. Buttefly. Vallis.)
Magnetic Island has long been described as Townsville's jewel in the crown . But right now it is showing obvious signs of having been battered by cyclonic weather, heavy rain , flooding and tidal surges. In fact, one resident said the island looks like a third world country in parts due to the damage.
At first glance, it looked like a Duck- billed Platypus- with hands !!!!
Shaking with excitement , the waterfront roundsman tottered out into the sun and examined the stunning find more closely.
Imagine his disappointmen when he found that it was not a rare link with Gondwanaland going back hundreds of millions of years , but an illustration from the back of a slim recipe book about Dutch cooking in Tasmania .
And the animal was indeed a dressed up platypus , wearing Dutch clogs and carrying a Dutch tulip!!!!!
The book was produced to mark the 350th anniversary in l992 of Dutch explorer and merchant Abel Janszoon Tasman , of the Dutch East Indies Company, first sighting of the north west coast of Tassie in l642 ; later spotted smoke on the south coast, probably from Aborigines.
During his seafaring he also confirmed Australia was an island continent and named New Zealand Staten Landt.
The Dutch ambassador to Australia, J. Cornelius, came from Canberra to Tasmania for the 350th anniversary . He said that if Abel had been offered the recipe book when he first landed, he would probably have stayed on in Tasmania and history would have taken a different course. Grannie Smith apples are included in some of the Dutch dishes , Tasmania known as the Apple Isle .
(Dutch.Tasmania. PLatypus.)
As a result of researching books and notebooks which once belonged to a marine engineer with a link to an American Marine in l942, found in a Townsville garage sale , our waterfront roundsman could get a job building Australian billionaire Clive Palmer's replica of the Titanic.
Why? Because the notebooks contain a wealth of diagrams and involved formulae related to ship construction and performance of various parts .
Ships construction , important measurements is the heading in a section which contains handwritten information that covers the thickness of steel needed in the framing of a vessel , its floors and other parts , vital for Titanic ll. As expected, rivets also get a mention .
Dealing with keels , it goes into considerable detail . In respect of the bilge keel , it must consist of two centre girders to resist rolling . A duct keel must be scalloped .
Laws of perfect gases is another subject covered in depth , including a number which Palmer could use in his election campaign on the stormy bounding main, seeing he is the skipper of the Trumpet of Patriots windjammer , inspired by Donald Trump who is fast turning America into the Wreck of the Hesperus .
Other topics include combustion, steam , turbines, nozzle velocity, air compressors , entropy and reversed Carnot.
(Titanic. Palmer. Trump.)