THE GREENING OF DARWIN AND HEAVEN WITH EPISTLES FROM A DYNAMIC DUO

 This  old  death  notice  referred  to  Darwin identities- Kerry Byrnes  and  George  Brown- both deeply involved in the  local gardening scene . In  the case   of  Byrnes  , he  and his  wife Sandra   also  ran the  lively   Darwin newspaper  , The  Star  ,  named after  the  Hong Kong paper of  the same name  , before  opening  Arnhem Nursery , Humpty Doo ; Kerry  also gave a  lively  gardening  talk over  the  ABC  .

Brown,  a former  curator of the     Darwin Botanical  Gardens  , later named after him , and  the city's lord mayor  from 1992-2002 , brought  back  Penang  Peach seedlings  from  Singapore  many moons   ago   and had   plants  named  after  him , including  the  Dwarf  George Brown Frangipani .  He was  renowned  for  using  colourful  language , as  was Kerry .  

On receipt of  the above  notice  tuther day  , Little Darwin  retrieved    a  cutting  from its  dessicated   files    about   Kerry and  Sandra   Byrnes  , The Star  and its  talented staff , which  included   George  the  oppressed  frog in  the ladies toilet , recently  mentioned  in  this  blog,   written  after  Kerry's  death. 

(Byrnes , Nursery , Darwin .)

MUTANT DALEKS INVADE LOTUS LAND

Vallis.

 (Daleks, Lotus, Queensland.)

HONG KONG BOOK FAIR

 The Hong Kong Maritime Museum is the venue  for the revived  former China in  Print Fair , held under the  auspices  of  Firsts  of  London , from  December  6-8 . It consists of a curated  group of international  dealers  offering  a  selection of rare books, manuscripts, photographs  and works on paper  relating to Asia and   beyond. 

One of the dealers  involved  is  Douglas Stewart Fine Books  , Melbourne. Its   offerings  include  a  range of   items  covering  China  , Hong  Kong , Taiwan. 

The  above , Opium Wars , by  William Chimmo ( 1826-1891),  a midshipman  aboard   HMS  Cornwallis ,  $6000  . 

Comprising  the illustrated logs of Royal Navy vessels involved , it is  a manuscript  in  ink on  recto and verso of [37] loose sheets, 320 x 220 mm.

There are  14 pen-and-ink drawings, two topographical views, and a pen-and-watercolour naval signals chart. 

The paper is   browned and with old water staining throughout,  text faded in sections (in some places severely), occasional chips and repairs; housed in a custom  clamshell  box.

It is described as  a highly significant and previously unpublished primary source document that sheds light on British naval activity in China during the First Opium War and its immediate aftermath. The war formally ended with the signing of the Anglo-Chinese Treaty of Nanjing on board HMS Cornwallis on 29 August 1842.

The bookshop  says Chimmo was born in Cork, Ireland in 1826. He entered the Royal Navy in 1841 as a midshipman, joining HMS Cornwallis, a 74-gun third rate ship of the line, in April 1841.

The Cornwallis sailed for China a short time later, where, as part the British fleet under the command of Sir William Parker, she took part in a number of engagements during the First Anglo-Chinese War (First Opium War) of 1839-42, including the Battles of Chapoo, Woosung and Chinkiang. 

During his China service, Chimmo was attached to four other naval vessels at different times - Modeste, Rose, Castor and Agincourt - but in February 1844 he rejoined the Cornwallis and ultimately returned to England on her in November 1844.

He would go on to complete a lengthy career in the navy, taking part in surveying missions in the Pacific and  Australia, on the west coast of America , and in the Arctic and Indian Oceans, before retiring with the rank of captain in 1873.

A dictionary of  the  Chinese language , in  three parts,  by  Robert Morrison   ( 1782-1834), described  as "notoriously rare," is  on  sale  for  $40,000.

(Books, Honkers, China.) 

CAPE YORK AWASH

 

Aurukun.   Aeronautical Correspondent  Abra. 

(Aurukun, Rain, Abra.)

BOUND FOR BOTANY BAY IN FIRST FLEET

Our excited  Shipping Reporter  discovered  another great nautical  offering from Douglas Stewart Fine Books, Melbourne - a  handwritten  letter  from  Midshipman Newton  Fowell , aboard the flagship of the First Fleet , HMS Sirius, off Rio de Janiero , on  August  6, 1787, the very day Captain Arthur Phillip  arrived   with  the ll vessels .  It is  listed   for  $150,000.  

 Written to  Fowell's   Honoured Father, it seems to  include a  request for a number of  things to be shipped to  him :

We are just now off Rio Janeiro [sic] on the Coast of Brazil South America from where a Packet is now under Weigh for Lisbon & have five Minutes time which I would not let slip to let you know I am very well & have great hopes of a Coms. [commission] every Day. I am of course very  happy and like the Officers very well. Capt. Philip [sic] has hoisted a broad Pendant [pennant] so I suppose he can here do anything with the Squad [Squadron] he Pleases. I am in want of a few things which I did not find in the Chest the first some Coarse Cloth for Towels & some Table Cloths fit for a Wardroom Mess. Leather for shoes and Cloth for Trousers.

The First Fleet would sail for Cape Town almost a month later, on  September 4 , and thence to New South Wales. HMS Supply was the first ship to arrive at Botany Bay on  January 18, 1788 ; three others arrived on the following day, and the remaining ships of the squadron, HMS Sirius among  them, dropped anchor on  January 20.

The  bookshop says Fowell , who joined the Royal Navy aboard HMS Ocean when he was  12 , he  the  subject of  a  favourable report  by  Captain Phillip   to  Lord  Nepean , is  known to have made several sketches at  Sydney Cove,  none of  which  survived.

 In a  second  letter  to his father , written from Batavia at  the end of July  in 1790, Fowell lamented the loss  of a  number of  precious curios  and sketches , including a plan of Botany Bay and Port Jackson  , and a very valuable collection of birds , in  the  wreck of  the  Sirius  at Norfolk Island , where  Fowell  bravely  offered  to  remain  aboard  the  doomed  vessel.  

After  the loss of the Sirius, Fowell, now a Second Lieutenant, was put in charge of a vessel  which made a  run back to  the  Sydney  penal settlement with  supplies. 

On the return trip from Java , Fowell, 22, died  from  fever on  August 25,1790.

(Fleet, Sirius, Letter.)

PIONEERING DRAG ARTISTE WOWED AUSSIE MINERS, KISSED UNCLE SAM

Yet again, Douglas Stewart Fine Books ,Melbourne , has  produced  latest acqusitions   lists  with   many items of  interest,  one  being  five carte de visites  of    English  comedian  and  female impersonator , Gilbert  Saroney , photographed  in Sydney in  l880 ,

He  spent  almost a year in Australia  and  , dressed as  an  old maid , was well received by  the Ballarat miners . Much later in his career, she developed into the film character called Giddy Gusher  .

She was a grotesque and talkative lady whose catchphrases included “I thought I’d die” and “Goodness, girls, was I embarrassed.” Saroney’s 15 Dec 1910 USA obituary called him “one of the first female impersonators of the old maid type. He was considered one of the funniest men in the show business.” 

The bookshop  says  Gilbert Saroney (Sarony / Saroni) is a very significant figure in the history of drag performance and crossdressing, being one of the first drag artistes to appear in  several  early American silent  films.

He  did a  cross dressing performance in a 1903 Thomas  Edison film   and also participated in what is probably the first gay kiss in cinema history in  the 1904 short film, Meet Me at the Fountain, directed by Sigmund Lubin. 

The carte de visites , priced at $3800, are from the collection of  Sydney actor, stage manager  and  playwright  Alfred  Dampier .

(Drag, USA, Bookshop).‘

Another  More

BOUNCING BABY WHALE

Frolicking  off  Magnetic  Island .   Vallis. .

 (Whale, Island, Vallis.)