From deep inside dusty files bounced this l985 first day cover marking the reopening of the Lawn Tennis Museum , Wimbledon. It was sent to former Townsville schoolteacher Verne Jack , a keen sportsman ,who when he lived on Magnetic Island , ran cane toad races, fed wallabies , had a vegetable stall .
Upon his death in 2019, the Townsville Bulletin decribed him as a great North Queensland character who even kissed cane toads . He encouraged children to capture toads , which he bought and auctioned at races held at the Arcadia Village Hotel , proceeds going to the local surf club .
Those races are still staged and have been going for 40 years. It must be said that not everyone was happy about the noxious pests,imported from Hawaii, a threat to native wildlife, being promoted on the island.
During his time as a Townsville teacher , Jack encouraged many children to become involved in a wide range of sports, including softball and swimming . He went to Wimbledon and is even said to have attended international golfing events .
On Magnetic Island he was involved in many communty events and regularly fed wild rock wallabies , there being a memorial to him in this respect.
He revealed that when he was a schoolboy he was caught in a police raid on an SP betting shop and was named and listed as Verne Jack, student . Modern day children were lucky , he pointed out, not named in court reports .
Apart from running a vegetable stall on the island , Verne also occasionally sold odd items of interest from his collections - one being the postal cover for the "Can-Tiki" first beer can boat expedition from Darwin to Singapore in 1977.
The daring 2500 mile voyage , in rough seas, was made by the former Darwin Reconstruction Commission chairman and ALP ex- Brisbane Mayor , Clem Jones, Darwin used car dealer Lutz Frankenfeld ,originator of the Darwin Beer Can Regatta , and Sydney yachtsman Paul Harding . The signatures of all three are on the Singapore stamped envelope.
