THE LURE OF REEFS , BYGONE TOUR

Charles Darwin book published l910. Followed  by  weathered  l928 itinerary for  extensive Great Barrier  Reef tour  from  Townsville starting in June  which included  fishing , shell  and  orchid  collecting, dugong, turtle and  alligator  hunting , a  visit to  the  Dunk Island home of   author and naturalist Edmund James  Bamfield who wrote  Confessions of a  Beachcomber , game shooting , a  wonderful  exhibition  of   Aboriginal  and Torres Strait islander  dancing  on  Palm Island .

 

(Reefs. Tours. Coral.)

THE URGE TO TRAVEL

(Travel . Posters. Shipping.)

SPECTACULAR ART EXHIBITION

Part of  Notes for Palm Sunday by Christopher Bassi who has matrilineal link to Torres Strait  Islands.

 

Above display by Maljah Cathy Snow, born  Normanton in Gulf of Carpentaria. Maljah is her bush name which means lightning in her grandmother's dreaming. Her grandfather's  name  meant  floodwater, which inspired   her  to  create artworks  about water and  water  themes .  

 Small  sample of  impressive works in Cairns Art Gallery, part  of  Cairns  Indigenous  Art   Fair. 

(Art. Indigenous. Cairns.)

ORIENTAL TOUCH

 

Cairns Botanical Gardens  .

(Botanical. Cairns. Abra.)

ON THE TRACK OF AUSTRALIA'S BIGFOOT

A large footprint   found in  an  outback  rainforest  has raised the possibility that  the  hairy , grotesque  North  American  primate , Bigfoot , also  known as  Donald Trump, is related  to  Bluey, the  popular   Australian  Blue  Heeler   star   of    kids  television  .

This  shock  conclusion is  because of the colour  of  the footprint  , shown exclusively  above, taken by an  obvious  bumblefooted  photographer .

The  huge  footprint  was   found  in  a  Jurassic Park -like   secret  location in  North Queensland  by  a   wandering , shabbily-dressed   mushroom   picker  .

Through the  swirling  mist , the  now  very nervous discoverer ,  snapped  what  he  thought  looked  like a giant, hairy  monster, below ,in the distance ,  before  it  disappeared , with a  blood-curdling  scream. 

(Bigfoot. Footprint .Spoof.)

CLOSELY CROPPED TOP END PHOTOGRAPHER ENHANCED

 

Veteran photographer and graphic designer  Barry Ledwidge, 79, who should write his memoirs , is shown  in the  Darwin  Smith Street  Mall   recently  pointing out  where he  had  open  heart surgery .  Bazza  is  an  old  friend of  this  blog , so  we   retrieved  a   special   post , below, run in   2015,  to  flesh him out, as  it were , and  to  further  rock  our  readers. 

ACE PHOTOGRAPHERS CAPTURED NORTHERN TERRITORY CYCLONE DEVASTATION  AND  LIFESTYLE

Top  End photographers, Beat   Erismann , left, and  Barry Ledwidge , were present when  the massive  Cyclone Tracy smashed  Darwin on  Christmas  Eve 1974 and their record of the event is captured in the booklet below .

In the case of  Ledwidge  he has  had many rare adventures  , some  hair raising  and  shaving experiences,  in  his career . One such memorable occasion was  the time as a 17 -year- old photographic cadet at the Wagga Wagga Daily Advertiser,  he sat in a  darkened room  in a motel and watched in wonderment the Moon walk  with the editor , Geoff Dixon,  the man destined to become the Qantas chief.  

Dixon   later  sent  Barry  to Darwin  with  the Australian News  and  Information Bureau  where  Bazza   became a  famous newspaper  reporter, celebrity , rock sitter ,  official  photographer at Charles Darwin University  for 22 years .

Beat, 62, worked at  the Northern Territory News at the time of Cyclone Tracy and became a TV cameraman  freelancing  for Swiss television  for  25 years . He and Bazza have had a long and colourful  relationship.

One of the many unusual shots in the brochure shows Ledwidge sitting on a toilet seat in a ruined building photographing Prime Minister Gough Whitlam holding an open air  press conference .The  dramatic  photographs present  a unique view  of  the  natural  disaster .

 More of Barry's camera  magic is displayed in this booklet produced in connection with an exhibition at the Northern Centre  for Contemporary Art, Darwin .The cover photo is of Vivienne Paspaley, matriarch of  Paspaley Pearls.

NEXT:  Bazza  ,  Rocksitters and  solar  powered  cars.

(Ledwidge. Photography. Darwin  )

ESPLANADE EXTRAVAGANZA

 

Cairns special by Aeronautical  Correspondent  Abra. 

(Cairns. Esplanade. Abra.)