AUSTRALIAN BOOK BONANZA

 A  recent  Eureka ! find was this boxed two volume set  edited and signed by Charles Stitz, a retired  lawyer and  Albury ,NSW,  bookseller .

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By Peter Simon

The books were  a  presentation to Dear Lindsay  from a  person identified   as "Auntie Edna", an obvious lover of  books, a  handwritten inscription in one  quotes  John Muir,1838-1914:  "  Handle a book as a bee does a flower ,extract  its  sweetness  but do not  damage it ."  

The volume on the left displays the steel-engraved  armorial bookplate which  incorporated  the  family crest  of  Bernard Gore Brett (1901-l996)  , whose  grandfather arrived in Melbourne in 1853 and the next year was appointed the  First  Deputy  Sheriff, at Beechworth, later made Sheriff and gold receiver. 

He was  present at the capture of Ned  Kelly and in office at the time of  the execution . Bernard   Gore built up  a  massive  collection of  Australiana .

The ot her  volume  sports  the armorial bookplate of Dr  John Orde Poynton (1906-2001) who came from a family who back in England used to buy  up large amounts of books , art   and  prints  for very little.  An ancestor is said to  have contributed  books to  the  early Harvard University library in America . 

It was only natural  therefore  that  John Poyton inherited  a deep interest in  books and   collectthg  . While at  Cambridge  he read economics under  John Maynard  Keynes and studied   bibliography  under Keyne's younger brother , Geoffrey ;  obtaining a medical degree, he went to sea as a ship's doctor on  various  liners and  travelled  far  and  wide .

He lobbed  in  Malaya in l936  where he  became  involved in the health system and did research on tropical diseases  While there  he   collected  Chinese  art  and  antiquities .

With  the  outbreak of   war  , in the British  Army , he  was  sent  to  Australia in l940 to give lectures on tropical diseases .  Captured   by  the Japanese in the fall of Singapore, he  spent  more than three years in  Changi  prison in which the Changi  Gaol Literary Society was  started  by  Sergeant  David Griffin  of  the  AIF, later Lord Mayor of Sydney  and  a  lawyer.

 After the war,  Dr Poynton  came  to  Australia , made a pile investing   and  built up a  massive, highly  valuable  collection  of  books and  prints,  much of  which  was  given to  the   Melbourne University,   along  with large   financial   bequests .

BRITISH HONG KONG VIEW OF AUSTRALIA

 Old   playing  cards   stripped  Jack  and  Oz   naked .

Featuring crossed  Australian  and British flags, the  above  illustrated  pack of   cards  presented  a land in which there were Aborigines , lots of  cattle, crocodiles ,  koalas, kangaroos , hedgehogs, several deserts, Ayer's Rock ,perhaps cacti , and  a   bland  looking  Tasmania   which  only boasted not one  but  two  apples  , it   known  as   the  Apple  Isle .

Another Hong Kong  designed and   produced  pack , above,   highlighted in  greater detail   Beautiful  Tasmania  , inserted in a giant apple , and    its  noisy, snarling    Tasmanian   Devils . Jovial  Jokers  and a court jester Ace of  Spades  were  also  included  in  the   plastic  coated  pack  of  54  cards.   

 

FRAGRANT FRANGI LANDING

Vallis.

AUSTRALIA ( ALMOST ) RULED THE WAVES

Waterlogged   matchbook   throws   light   on  the  Port Line, a passenger and cargo  shipping company,   which  served  Australia  and  New  Zealand  .  Initially formed  in 1914 as the Commonwealth and Dominion line , an amalgamation  of four shipping  companies, which operated routes to Australia and New Zealand, it operated  in  one form  or  another  until  1982. 

House flag of the Port Line ..

The  company's  large  fleet. 

Its many offices  and agents  included one in Townsville, and one of its fleet was  Port Townsville , where this  link with the line was found by our Shipping Reporter. 

CHOPPERS OVERHEAD

Chinooks, Townsville 

PULLING THE WOOL OVER AMERICA

 Next  to  LIttle  Darwin's  pet headless bulldog  is another  recently added oddity - a flag-waving  seemingly headless   wooden  sheep   bearing  the  name  of   the    American  Wool.  Co. 

The  critter was  found  tucked away  in a  Townsville  garage  sale  by  our  Shipping Reporter  who  discovered the American Woolen Company was established in  l899 ,which by l920 owned 60 mills ,  one the largest in the world. 

One  mill had  a  four-sided clocktower  which  was  a foot shorter than London's  Big  Ben  tower .

The  company- like Australian wool growers  -  thrived  during  the  cold   Korean War   which  created  a  big  demand  for warm   woollen clothing . However,  at  the end of the  war  and the loss of government   contracts , the  company was  taken  over. 

SKY SCRAPER

Special  from  Aeronautical  Correspondent   Abra.

ROUND THE RUGGED ROCKS ,THE RAGGED RASCAL RAN , WITH ROYAL RITZY RUGS

Lock up  your  bedsheets , duvet and doona covers  - creative  new age   clothesline  snafflers  are  roaming   about  eager  to  grab  material  to  rip  up  and    turn  into  a  wide  range  of  attractive   rag   rugs  .  

A  small sample of  creations  made  by  Rita ,  a  renowned  rampaging   rag  rugger .                                    

BOOKS , TUCKER AND REDS

Markets  are  many  and  their  offerings  diverse  in   North  Australia . At  a  recent  monthly  market  in  Townsville   a  stall  grabbed  this  book and ephemera  addicted  blogger's  attention   through  its  sign... ANTI - CAPITALIST  COMMUNITY  HUB .

Apart from sporting a range of interesting books , all priced,  it  offered   free  food to overcome poverty  ,  a  variety  on  display . Rummaging  through  the  books, several were found  dealing  with "the  Red " influence  in  early  North Queensland.

A standout  was  the Motorcycle Diaries of  Marxist revolutionary Ernesto Che  Guevera , an account of  his  l952  travels, he then a medical student,  through Latin America   on  a  l939  Norton motorbike ,  which became known as  Das  Kapito   Meets  Easy   Rider.

Also noticed was  an old  volume  dealing  with Polish  born , German naturalised   Rosa  Luxemburg , a  key figure in the revolutionary  socialist movement , a   Marxist  and  anti-war  activist  in  WWl. 

Socialist  writers  were represented  as  well  as raconteur and author Bill  Harney  who spent much  time in the Northern Territory  and  ran  Ayer's Rock settlement - Uluru.   He also lived at a place called Two Fellah  Creek, across   Darwin  Harbour .   Maori   legends   were  covered. 

EDITOR WANTED IN LEAFY NORTH

TROPICAL SKY

Cairns .  Abra  photo.

HOLY PHILLUMENY !

 Shipping  Reporter  corners  fag  end   market.

At a secret Townsville location ,  our  waterfront  scavenger could not believe his luck when he  stumbled  upon  a  large , admittedly fairly soiled, collection of  old  matchbooks, also known as matchcovers, issued in Britain , the  USA  and  Canada , carrying adverts  for  cigarettes,  tobacco,  cigars , whisky,  nightclubs ,  shipping ,  insurance  companies and many other  businesses  and  products . 

A surprise  inclusion   features  the  above   drawing  ,a  play  on a  renowned  one  by   WWl   humourist  and  cartoonist  Bruce  Bairnsfather which had appeared in The Bystander . Wounded  during the  war,  Bairnsfather  became famous for  his  many  cartoons  depicting Old Bill and  his  pals ,Bert and   Alf,  in the trenches. 

They contributed to the British war effort  and  were compiled  into  a book  Life in the Trenches  and another , Fragments  From  France  1914.

In WWll , Bairnsfather was made official photographer to  the  American troops  in  Europe and  contributed  to Stars and Stripes and Yank . He  also   drew  what  was  called   nose  art  on  aircraft.

The Shipping Reporter   said  there were many other  surprises in the  collection, including   a  comment by  literary legend   Rudyard Kipling about the difference between  a woman  and  a  fag,   which seems  to  indicate  he  was   hooked   on  nicotine .  

The first matchbook, containing a quantity of matches  and a coarse striking  surface on the exterior , each match torn away before use , is  said   to have been  produced in  the USA in the l890s. A matchbook  handed out at a dinner for pioneer American aviator Charles Lindbergh in  June  1927, was bought  by  a rich   phillumenist   for  US$6000.

Unfortuntely , no  links with  famous  aviators or other persons of  note were detected in  the above   mixed  lot , each one   carefully removed from  a  packet   and  cleaned up somewhat .  However , the Bermuda Club may have had  some  notable entrepreneurs, tax  dodgers, aspirants to  high office in  US  politics,   top America's Cup   yachtsmen  in  its   membership.

It is hard  to  believe anybody would   board  the  London to Edinburgh    Coronation  Express  in  its   dirty , rundown  state. 

Beneath  the accumulated  grime , adverts were  sighted for  Ardath State Express , Toefani ,Churchman's and Barney's cigarettes , imported  Miss India cigars which were  probably puffed on  by  Kipling  due to his connections  with  India  , the Curzon Cinema, Garter Club , Schweppes  , cognac , R.E.Jones  English chain of  hotels and  restaurants  bearing the  drawing of man dressed like an American  Pilgrim , the  Sun  Life  Building  in  Montreal, Canada.  

NOISY JAPANESE NEWCOMERS

 Little Darwin's resident arty owls looking with askance at latest odd  acquisitions  by a blog member , a  braying donkey and  a  cackling  chook , both   made  in  Japan . 

NEW YORK , NEW YORK

 Boxed, made in Canada   metal  souvenir , with ribbon ,  for  the  One World Observatory atop  New  York's  World  Trade  Centre with   a 360 degree  panoramic view of  the  city.  Found  in a mixed  batch  of   bits  and  pieces  in  Queenland, thought to have been obtained  long  before the attack on  the   Centre .

UNDER FIRE LITERARY OUTPUT , INCLUDING HUMOUR , FROM THE BLOODSOAKED TRENCHES

Deceased  estate  First  World  War  publications 

The  above  extraordinary  1916  publication ,170pp , minus covers , foxed , well  illustrated with photographs and  cartoons, was put together in a dug-out  overlooking  Anzac Cove,  Gallipoli, in  the  closing  weeks  of   l915.

It was meant to have been a New Year Magazine for the troops, but was delayed  by  the  evacuation .   The  missing  cover  was  as  follows .  

Several cover  designs were considered , four  others  included in the magazine  .

 

It contains lighthearted classified  advertisements , some  full  page , a  farcical  one   for  the  German  munitions  manufacturer, KRUPP.

The  magazine   bears  the trade imprint  of  the Townsville  booksellers and  newsagents  T. W. Willmett  and  Sons  Limited. 

 

The above  volume, 128pp plus covers  , is mainly pictorial , has many   drawings and some cartoons. A  full page  cartoon  shows  a Scottish soldier  and  an  Australian in  freezing  conditions on  the  battlefield . The Scot asks  the   Aussie - " Frozen Bill "-  what  he   is   going  to  do  after  the war  .The  reply : Spend two years  in  Central  Australia  thawing  out .   

NORTH QUEENSLAND RAMBLE

 

Abra.

ANTIQUE AND ART FAIR MELBOURNE

An interesting item  in  the  Douglas Stewart  Fine  Books , Melbourne ,  offerings  at  the  fair  which runs for four days from  April 18 in  the  Malvern  Town  Hall , is the  No.1 ,l932 , 96pp,  edition  of   Ink , produced  in   Sydney  by  the  Society of Women  Writers   of  New South  Wales ,containing  two  original  woodcuts  by   Margaret  Preston, $4400

It is described as  an  extraordinary gathering of women writers and artists who are listed on the vibrant cover, including May Gibbs, Katherine Susannah Prichard, M. Barnard Eldershaw, Mary Gilmore, Ethel Turner, Dulcie Deamer, Gladys Owen, Amy Mack, Margaret Preston, Thea Proctor, Zora Cross, Esther Paterson, Pixie O’Harris, Myra Morris, Ella Dwyer, and others, complemented by male compatriots including Kenneth Slessor, Unk White, Harry Julius, Will Mahoney, A. G. Stephens et al.

Provenance : Walter Stone, eminent bibliophile, with a signed letter to him from Helen Frizell, former literary editor of the Sydney Morning Herald, thanking him for lending her the book, noting ‘It was infinitely more interesting than Ink 2, I’m afraid’, along with a newspaper cutting from the paper on Oct. 5, 1977, where Frizell reviewed Ink No. 2, the second issue published by the Society 45 years after Ink No. 1

Another object of interest in the bookshop list , price reserved ,  is  the following  oval  portrait  miniature ,75 x 60mm , of  Robert, Lord  Hobart , 4th  Earl of Buckinghamshire (1760-1816) , painted  by  Henry Bone , enamel painter  to  the Prince of  Wales .

Early in his career he served in the British army during the American Revolutionary War. From 1784 he served as aide-de-camp to successive Lord Lieutenants of Ireland.

 He sat in both Irish and English Houses of Commons, from 1787 and 1788 respectively, and was appointed to the Privy Council in 1793. He gained valuable experience in colonial service during the period he served as Governor of Madras between 1793-98. After his recall in 1798 he entered the House of Lords after inheriting the Hobart title from his uncle. From 1801 to 1804 Hobart served as Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, displaying ‘a better grasp of the local or colonial conditions, and a more active spirit than did some of his successors'.

The bookshop outlines  his significant connection to Australian settler history. In 1803, under instructions from Philip Gidley King, Governor of New South Wales, the recent settlement in Van Diemen’s Land at Risdon Cove on the River Derwent had been named “Hobart” in honour of Lord Hobart, the incumbent Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. 

When the settlement was abandoned a short time later, David Collins, the first Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen’s Land (then under the jurisdiction of New South Wales) appropriated the name for the new settlement at Sullivan’s Cove, which he called “Hobart Town”. This name first appears in a General Order issued on 15 June, 1804. Hobart was proclaimed a city in 1842 and became the capital of the state of Tasmania at  Federation in 1901. 

TIME MACHINES

 Variety of odd timepieces . On the left , a P&O  shipping  keyring ; centre,  made in China Camry  paperweight ; on right , strange Singapore  made wristlet watch  featuring  the   late  Queen , the  dark hands  on  which  give  the impression that  a seagull  bombarded  Her  Majesty  and  was  flogged and deported  to  Van Diemen's  Land  as  a  result.  None of  the  watches  work-part of  Litle  Darwin's  bower  bird   collection . 

A TOUCH OF JURASSIC PARK

View  from  Rowes  Bay  lookout , Townsville. Dinosaur drinking, Magnetic  Island  in  background .

 

THIRSTY WASP

Sipping soda  on  a  Euphorbia. Vallis pix.

HAROLD HOLT SURFACES IN QUEENSLAND

 Shipping  Reporter  makes startling  find  in  Townsville

In his relentless search for nautical memorabilia  and  other oddities, our waterfront roundsman  found  Harold Holt  in   the  form of  a  very weathered  silver  plated  giftware  teaspoon,  together with  another one  for Sir   Winston  Churchill  (1874-l965) .

While Churchill  had been  instantly identifiable ,   the  Shipping Reporter thought the  other  person  might be another British PM-  perhaps Neville Chamberlain, famous  for  waving  the  Munich   October  1 1938  accord  signed  by  Hitler , said  to  guarantee  peace  in  our  time .

However , examination with a  magnifying  glass revealed   it was a battered  and scratched , yet  smiling  Harold  Holt , sporting  a stiff  dickey shirt front with a white tie for evening wear . He   mysteriously  disappeared  on  December   17 , l967, while  swimming  off  Cheviot Beach,Portsea, Victoria .

Three times Walkley Award winner  and former  Northern Territory News  reporter  Keith Willey covered the disappearance  for  the  Sydney Sun  newspaper.

Holt  was  officially declared  dead, many world leaders attended his funeral . Over the years there were  wild conspiracy  theories about his  disappearance   which  included  suicide  and  that the US CIA knocked him off  because he was  about  to  withdraw  Australian  troops  from  Vietnam .

It was even claimed that Holt had been a longtime  Chinese  spy  !!!!!!!and  that   Chinese   frogmen  bundled him into a submarine and  spirited him away.  His wife, Zara, rejected   this  suggestion as  ridiculous , saying  he  did   not  like  Chinese  food . 

Harold Holt was commemorated in various ways - the American navy  named a ship after him  and  his name was  bestowed upon  an Australian    swimming  pool .   

SLIM DUSTY SPECIAL

Sleeve of Slim Dusty Golden Anniversary Album  plus unopened  clear  packet  containing a postcard  of  Slim Dusty  posing  with   a  guitar circa l948 . Offered  at  Kempsey , New South Wales, on January 25, 2001, first day of  issue  of  an Australian  stamp  featuring  Slim  in  the Australia Post   Australian  Legends  series. Unused  45  cent  stamp.  

AMERICAN POSTCARD COLLECTORS

 Townsville  discovery by  our  drifting  Shipping  Reporter who has long  been  interested  in  postcards 

ISLAND TRANSPORT HISTORY / MUSEUM VOLUNTEERS NEEDED / ROYAL VISITOR

Bus named   Nippy Nell  once supplied  scenic tours of  Magnetic Island -a  postcard  produced  by  Murray Views  ,Gympie, Queensland .

Right now  the  Magnetic Museum, one of the island's attractions,  open five days a  week ,  at  Picnic Bay  , is  in need   of  volunteers.  Included  in its latest , always interesting  exhibitions ,  in  a  section dealing with  notable  visitors  ,   Julian  Assange   of  Wikileaks  fame  is  one  of   them . 

Another notable  was  Prince Leonard  Casley who set up the self proclaimed micronation   of  Hutt  River in Western Australia  and  refused to  pay  taxes. The WA Supreme Court ordered him to pay $2.7million in back  taxes; he eventually abdicated ,   appointed a  son the new ruler  , the principality was     dissolved  , and  Prince  Leonard  died   aged  93.