As our waterfront roundsman is confined to his sloop , unable to disport himself in Molly Malone's Irish Pub because of the pandemic , he is attempting to get his nautical library shipshape , in Bristol fashion .
First volumes pulled out, dusted off and extensively perused were the official Australian Navy books published during WWll under the title H.M.A.S., the first and last editions displayed below .
Much to his delight , he discovered that a Miss Una Woods , of the Naval Historical Record Section , had been intimately involved in production of all the four books in the series , each with a specially designed dustjacket , filled with many and varied stories , illustrations , photos and jokes .
Darwin items in the first volume , published by the Australia War Memorial ,Canberra, l942, particularly attracted the reporter's attention , especially where it described the sinking of the destroyer USS Peary , all guns blazing, with the loss of 80 lives . This accorded with the eye witness account recently run in this blog by the late Les Penhall of the bombing of Darwin by the Japanese on February 19, l942.
One of the vessels attacked during that raid , despite displaying the Red Cross sign , was the hospital ship Manunda (9115 tons ) , above , resulting in the death of 12 and wounding of 58. A former passenger ship ,it was able to head south , and was drawn by Frank Norton , official Royal Australian Navy and RAAF artist , a marine painter , teacher and gallery director.
Near the back of the book was the above illustrated yarn about a boozy rooster, named Rupert, who entertained a Darwin naval establishment . He strutted up and down the canteen counter taking a sip out of "every pot " in sight . One morning , after a heavy night of drinking, bleary-eyed Rupert snuck up on a cat drinking from a saucer of milk and bit it on the tail , causing it to screech and " hit the horizon", never to return . The story went on to say there was a rumour that Rupert and a Jap bomb arrived at the same spot .
UPCOMING : More rum stories from the books involving Darwin and other ports of call , including an extensive list of secret wartime identities .
