Sunday, November 3, 2024
ODD NORTHERN TERRITORY FOOTING
Saturday, November 2, 2024
SEARCH FOR REPORTER'S GRAVE
A move is afoot to try and locate the grave of Australian journalist Roger East who was killed when Indonesia invaded the Portuguese Timor capital , Dili , in l975. Furthermore, it has been suggested a monument should be raised honouring East on or before next year's 50th anniversary of the invasion.
There is already a small Roger East plaque which was arranged by his family in 2000.
The wide ranging discussions on the subject have included the suggestion that Australian actor Anthony LaPaglia be asked to play a leading part in the campaign .
He played East in the film, Balibo, about the five members of the Australian news team killed on October 16 , l975 , at the start of the incursion , based on Cover Up, the book by Shirley Shackleton , whose television reporter husband, Greg, was one of those murdered.
In the attempt to find the exact spot where East was supposedly buried after being shot and thrown into the sea on December 8, l975, it has even been suggested that a US Department of Defence organisation , based in Hawaii , which looks for the missing in action graves of 80,000 Americans, might become involved in a roundabout way .
This is because there is a site in Dili, not far from where East was possibly interred , which might contain the remains of Japanese, Australian and American airmen . Ground probing radar could be used in the hunt for East's remains.
One of those discussing the proposal is Darwin agronomist Robert Wesley-Smith , deeply involved in the East Timor struggle , who re- enacted Roger East being shot and thrown into the sea , below , on the 20th anniversary -
Wes , 82, has just produced a 44pp , illustrated booklet ,Timor Tales, about the long , bloody struggle , which includes articles he wrote over the years , some poems by Timorese , 1942 photos of Dili , a map used by Australian commandoes during WWll and even a photo of the brave universal declaration of independence in Dili , Roger East visible with a camera at the historic event . Wes produced an earlier E-book, 117 Days in Timor .
Recently Melbourne activist, John Waddingham , keeper of the East Timor clearing house archive , came to Darwin, went to Timor- Leste . He is due back in Darwin in the coming week and will stay with Wesley-Smith .
Human rights advocate and author , Pat Walsh , who wrote The Day Hope and History Rhymed in East Timor , plus other pieces on East Timor, went to Timor Leste this year and made inquiries , especially in relation to a possible burial site near a major government building .
A former priest , he lived in East Timor for 10 years and with the suport of the United Nations helped set up and run the ground breaking reconciliation commission .
It is hoped that Timor- Leste president , Jose Ramos- Horta , a Nobel Peace Laureate , will become involved in the Roger East proposal. The Australian Journalists' Association has been informed .
A veteran reporter with experience in several overseas troublespots , Roger East came to Darwin after Cyclone Tracy and met up with old reporter friend , Peter Blake ,they both having worked on the Hong Kong Star , a Darwin independent newspaper named after The Star .
East went to Timor to investigate what happened to the Balibo 5. His despatches about the worsening situation were flown back to Darwin by plane , where they were picked up by a woman at the airport , photocopied , and distributed to news outlets, including Australian Associated Press .
In a lighthearted covering note to one , he described himself as his mother's favourite son , who was being shot at from many angles.
A Balibo Five-Roger East Fellowship, an initiative of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance and Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA -was set up to promote journalism in Timor Leste .
(Timor,East,Hawaii.)
Friday, November 1, 2024
A LIFE IN ART
Cairns Art Gallery exhibition running through to December 8.
Margaret Olley: A Life in Art tells the story of Olley’s incredible life and enduring career through her greatest legacy – her art. The exhibition includes artwork from as early as 1938, painted at just 15 years of age, through to 2011, the year of her death.
Olley’s incredible career, enormous capacity for friendship and dedication to the art world, have made her one of Australia’s most loved and celebrated artists.
Extract : Her journey as an artist can be explored and contextualised through the diverse nature of the works in this exhibition, drawn exclusively from the collection at the Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre.
In 1964 she purchased 48 Duxford Street, Paddington ,Sydney– the property that became her famous home studio and now re-created at the Margaret Olley Art Centre in the Tweed Regional Gallery in Murwillumbah.
48 Duxford Street became an ecosystem of art and life. The home was filled with furnishings, textiles, vases, jugs, bowls, coffee pots and flowers – all collected as subject matter for painting.
The exhibition includes interiors and still lifes from Duxford Street as well as photographs by her artist friend Greg Weight, who photographed her home studio in the days following her death.
Thanks to our arty Aeronautical Correspondent , Abra , in Cairns, this post is a follow up to the recent one in Little Darwin which mentioned Olley's connection with Tully , Magnetic Island and Townsville .
SPIDERS OF PARADISE
Cairns Art Gallery exhibition by Maria Fernanda Cardosa .
Thursday, October 31, 2024
KAPOK BOMBARDMENT CONTINUES
EARLY SIGNS OF MANGO MADNESS
Hot and bothered Dinosaur under a tree . |
Conditions are becoming increasing torrid across a large part of the nation as the build up to the Wet is very evident and there is another warning about the changing Australian climate.
Broome and the Kimberley region of Western Australia have experienced heatwaves ,the troughs being drawn down into adjoining states and the Northern Territory .
In Darwin , the steamy weather of late , after a quick shower, was described by a local as like walking into a wall of water. Fans and airconditioners are working overtime.
Down in the rural area mossies are out and about, adding to the discomfiture .
In large parts of North Queensland temperatures are rising . In Townsville , our Shipping Reporter is looking more bug-eyed than usual , showing clear signs of going troppo, again .
This he blames on a neurotic bird which has moved in near where he lives and stridently bleats for hours , sometimes starting at 3am , disrupting the waterfront roundsman's much needed beauty sleep and increasing the need for cosmetic surgery to improve, if possible, his wrinkled kisser .
The Shipping Reporter says he hopes to find a pre-loved bazooka at a garage sale or market with which to bombard and dislodge the infuriating bird .