FLOATING DIMENSIONS

 

Townsville.   Vallis  series.

BILLY BLUEGUM AT WAR

Photographed in a  Cairo  studio , this  postcard  of  a  young Australian  soldier , W.Woodrof , known as Billy Bluegum,  the buckle on his  belt said to be from a Turkish soldier , was  dated  15/3/1917. It was  sent  by a member of the Light Horse Regiment  to  his  wife  and  children  in  Port  Adelaide.  

Billy Bluegum was a  creation of  artist Norman Lindsay  .The Australian War Memorial  has  a Lindsay pen and ink drawing  headed   National defence which shows   a   plump  Koala  in uniform  with  a  slouch hat  and  rifle .

Information   supplied  by the Australian War Memorial   provides interesting details about  Lindsay  and  Billy  Bluegum. 

Norman Lindsay was born at Creswick, Victoria, in 1879. As a child Lindsay was confined to the indoors due to a blood disorder. To keep himself occupied, he taught himself to draw by copying illustrations from periodicals and by drawing about the home from  life.

Later working for The Bulletin, Lindsay often depicted the activities of a koala bear who was commonly known to readers as Billy Bluegum. Over two tumultuous decades, Billy's adventures reflected the social and political turmoil of a country suffering the birth pains of nationhood and later plunging into the First World War.

Later Billy Bluegum became one of the leading protagonists in The Magic Pudding, a well known children's classic both written and illustrated by Lindsay  in  1918.

IMPORTANT  FOOTNOTE : Journalist Kim Lockwood repeatedly  points out to this blog  that  cuddly  Koalas are  not  blankety  blank  bears- they  are  blessed  marsupials !!!

AN END TO LOTUS EATING

Egret  ponders  pond  of  dried  lotus ,   Vallis.

 

WONDERS OF THE CACTUS WORLD INCLUDE APPARENT PINEAPPLE PLANTATION

 

Cairns .

AMERICAN CONTRIBUTION TO OZ OPERA

Carte de visite photographs of  two  American opera singers   who arrived in Australia  in  1861 with the company run by  Irish  impresario  William Saurin Lyster  are included  in the  forthcoming  sale of  Douglas Stewart Fine Books, Melbourne . 

From a well connected  family, Lyster had been a sickly lad and was sent on a voyage to Australia to improve his health when he was   13 , which obviously worked  because he went on  to have  an  adventurous life  that  included  time  as a planter in Calcutta ,a volunteer in the Kaffir War  , a soldier of    fortune  and  an  entrepreneur.

 Prima  donna   Madame Lucy Escott (1827-1895) , a soprano ,  popular  in  America , more so in Europe and  the United Kingdom, is   shown  here.   

  

The  other  snap  , below, is of  tenor  Henry Squires (1825-l907)  who with  Escott performed  throughout  Australasia in  the l860s. The bookshop says the   Australian music historian Harold Love commented: ‘Between them, aided by Lyster’s promotional flair, Escott and Squires created an audience for opera capable, on occasions at least, of packing the 3300 seat Royal, and came as close as anyone apart from( Dame Nellie )  Melba has ever done in Australia to making it a form of mass entertainment.’ (La Trobe Journal, no. 16, October, 1975).    

Both studies  were  taken in  Dalton's Royal Photographic Galllery ,Sydney.  It seems  the National  Portrait  Gallery, Canberra, has two hand-painted  copies , from  Squires's  personal  photo  album.

Squires , a  great stage performer ,  married  Escott in 1870 ; they  moved  to  Paris . Upon her death in l895, he  burned her diaries  and returned to  America.      

(Americans, Opera , Irish).

FAMOUS BRITISH ARTIST HELPED FLAGELLATE AUSTRALIA , THE WORLD

Rescued from a  South Australian  tip, a  battered , disintegrating , soiled 1904  copy  of   Phil May in Australia  ,  being a  collection of his outstanding  and  distinctive black and white  drawings,  which  appeared in The   Bulletin ,Sydney , was  sent to this  blog , some illustrations   salvaged   and  run  below . . 

Although  May, born Leeds,1864   was only in Australia from 1886-8, working for  The Bulletin , he   produced  more  than  900  drawings, some  with  pungent  comments.  

His important contribution to  cartooning was acknowledged in the l950s  by the influential  Melbourne Art Training Institute  which offered    a course in   commercial art . Its  brochure  said there was no better  way to point out  the  faults of   the  world and humanity than by cartooning.

The  world, it  declared , was at the  feet of the man or woman who could  flagellate  it  with  fun . 

 If you were such an aspiring person , let  the Institute put into your hand  that pen or brush  which, under the guidance of experts, may ultimately become the   whip  to  flagellate  the  follies of  the  present-day world .

That " kindly whip ", it continued,  had    been  wielded  by  such masters as  Phil May , David  Low , Norman Lindsay  and  Ted  Scorfield.

May's  Australian wide ranging cartoons  covered the political scene ,   Henry Parkes , above , the bushy father of federation,  a popular subject, sporting events , republicans, the plight of Aborigines,  the  impact of  civilisation  on the  Pacific islands, wowsers , salvationists , the attitude to Chinese , visions  of  Colombo  on  a  mail   boat   trip  back  to  Britain. 

May covered the  settling  of  Australian  in  a  circa 1900 drawing  depicting   the  centenary of the arrival of  the  first  fleet  in Sydney in 1788 . 

It was  captioned "Poor Pfella Me!"  ... Whomever Australia is for, it  is  not  for the Australian  Aboriginal . It portrayed John Bull,on a plinth named Australia 1788-1888,   delivering  the boot to an Aborigine derisively  named King Billy ; others in the group  represent  Germany , China , America  and  France. 

Another  related  drawing  had  the caption :  A Curiosity in Her Own Counry .

May  commented   on  the  Pacific   with powerful   drawings   such as   the following  showing the  "Angel of Civilisation " pouring  rum on  islanders. 

Another   covered  the situation in  the  New  Hebrides where greed and the gospel were  in  play .  

It is evident   that  May enjoyed himself in Australia , which  provided  him with a lot  of laughs , inspiration and   entertainment . It  is said that  during  his  last  few months in the country he was the life and soul  of  the Melbourne art  circle .

However , back in London , in Fleet Street , at the height of his fame because of his  Australian  output , he reportedly  said he  was  the  most miserable  man  in town . 

Randwick races and  Republicans .

FOOT  AND FACE NOTE. The extremely grubby   title  page of the  collection  featured  a striking   drawing  of   a   toothless,  wrinkled ,  old , but still able to  laugh  , codger ,   said  to  be  how  May  would  look  in  his  dotage  , certainly not a flattering oil  painting .  He was only 39 when  he  died .

(Cartoons, May, Flagellation ).

NESTING OR RESTING ?

 

Vallis bird watch, Anderson Botanic Gardens ,Townsville .

AUSSIE COWBOY BIGGER THAN THE LONE RANGER AND CROCODILE DUNDEE IN USA

 

 Once a  cadet reporter on  the Cairns Post , Colin  Dangaard  went on to become  a prominent  showbiz  journalist in  America  who  branched out   into  selling   saddles  and  associated  horse  riding  gear in  a big way . He is  shown  here  on  a  rearing  horse  with   his dog,  Ringo , joining  in the  fun .    

By Peter Simon 

I  first met   Colin  when  I moved  down  from Darwin's Northern Territory News  in l962  to work as a  reporter on the  Cairns  Post .  In those  days  , he rode  a  motorbike  and  his family had a cattle station at Coen on Cape York Peninsula .

At the time, under the  heading THE DEAR DEPARTED  , there was  a  list of   the many scribes who had worked on The Post over the years- with comments  like  Bang!,  which  indicated  they had been  fired .   

There  were  also  doctored  cuttings from the syndicated American  Chic Young  Dagwood comic  strip made to   show  the Cairns Post  editor, Reg Sutton, strangling  a   reporter ,  identified  as  a "Pommie bastard ."

The  said  illegitimate  was  Phil Wilson , who had worked on the  paper.He  left because he was fed up  with the way  it  treated  news, and  used to sling off  at  The Post  on air  when he  went to  a  commercial  radio station and compiled  news  bulletins .

Young  Colin Dangaard  , who had the urge to  write romance  short stories on the side , left  the paper and  turned up  in New Zealand , where he worked for the Rotorua  Post, based  in Taupo. 

From  there, he  made contact , before heading for Fiji, with a  reference from the New Zealand  prime minister , Keith Holyoake ,  and  arranged for me  to  take  up  a  job on  the Rotorua Post . 

Over the years  , he sent me letters  about his travels ,which included a yacht trip fom South Africa  to America , where  he worked on the Miami Herald, one of the first computer  produced papers. 

America, he wrote, was an amazing place. Car thieves were  so  well organised there   you could order a  replacement  front panel for a Cadillac  and the crooks would  go out and steal the panel  or the entire car  for you.

He became a syndicated  columnist covering Hollywood  and  showbiz  and interviewed the  stars on television. Australian  journalist Peter Blake , who worked in New York,  described  Dangaard  as "really  big time." 

At one stage  Dangaard  lived at  Malibu and  Larry Hagman, J.R.Ewing in the  Dallas  television series , was his nextdoor neighbour . 

  

While  back in Australia  in the late l970s , on assignment  for  Rupert Murdoch ,  covering  the   making  of the    film  The Man  From Snowy River , Colin  saw   Australian made  saddles  on the set  and  made the  brilliant deduction that they  would be  popular in America. According to the online  Legend of Colin Dangaard:

“A light went on in my head. I felt that movie was going to be a hit, so I went up to Brisbane and placed my first saddle order with Syd Hill and Sons. Len Hill laughed and said I was crazy, that so many people had tried just that, and they all failed. And so too would I.

" Len had seen me on television, interviewing movie stars, and suggested I should stay right there! But I had faith in the success of the movie, and I planned to release the saddles along with the release of the movie. I had also grown tired of the false world that is Hollywood.”

 Colin was right. The movie would become the most widely viewed horse movie in history, right behind BLACK BEAUTY. Colin had a new career that was instantly successful, within a year generating millions of dollars in sales of Australian saddles – the first new saddle successfully introduced to America in 300 years.

 

The thriving business  included selling silver-studded , fancy, hand-tooled  leather  saddles  and  whips to  rich  customers. 

The following play on Time  magazine  shows    Colin Dangaard billed as the  Wizard of the  Aussie  Saddle  . It surfaced  after  the  traumatic  four year  illness of  his wife , her last moments emotionally described . The  saddle business  was  neglected during  that  period . Picking  himself up , Colin , now in his 80s , threw  himself  back into  riding  the  range on  his  Aussie saddles .

.

(Dangaard, Saddles, Cairns ). 

DARWIN BOYO'S TOWNSVILLE BOOK LUNCH

Next week.

 

CHINESE TEMPLE URN / MIDDEN DISCOVERY

This  blog's  recent  post  which contained   a  postcard  interior  view  of  Darwin's  Chinese  temple, found in  a  Townsville  market by our Shipping Reporter  ,  resulted in  an  interesting response  from  Darwin resident  Bob White.  

 

He  first  sent   photos  of  a  Chinese   urn which may have  come from the  Darwin  temple   when it was  closed  down   and  looted  during  WWll . It had been given to him by his father  who had been in the  Darwin Defence  Force   during  the war .

It was  suggested that it came from the  Darwin temple  or  even  the  one  set up in  Pine Creek during the   goldrush  which was  demolished. 

Bob showed the  urn , which featutures  dragons and what looks like a rising sun , to  Darwin's Chung Wah Society,  who confirmed there  is  Chinese writing on the base .

It could have been  a joss stick holder which would have been filled with sand. 

Bob also  sent  another    interesting   email  with a photo   of   a   stone   grinding stone  he had been given  which   had been  found  in  an  ancient  Aboriginal shell  midden   near  Port  Keats  in  the   Northern Territory ..   

MOON SPLASHES DOWN

 

Exclusive photos  by Vallis in low orbit.

MAJOR TIMOR-LESTE EVENTS IN DARWIN

 There was  a  wide ranging  weekend  display  of  Timorese  culture   and history  which  included   some of  the large  collection of  East Timor freedom struggle  T-shirts  built up by  Darwin agronomist and activist  Robert  Wesley-Smith who  was  in  attendance  . 

Shown above inspecting the T-shirts at the Portuguese and  Timorese Social Club is Lurdes Pires, a prominent member of the Darwin Timorese   community. 

 A filmmaker, she   was a  director of  the 2022  Circle of Silence  ,based on the  Walkley Award   winning   book   by Shirley Shackleton which   investigated the murder of the  Australian based  news  team at Balibo   during  the Indonesian   invasion  of  Portuguese  East Timor  and the subsequent  cover  up .

Shackleton's  husband, Greg, a Channel 7 reporter , was  one of the   five  murdered. 

Pires knew  Australian journalist Roger East , in Darwin , when he was employed  by  the   Darwin  Reconstruction Commission , set up by the Whitlam Government  after  Cyclone  Tracy,  at first headed by Sir Leslie Thiess , from which  East  resigned , went to Timor to help the  Fretilin resistance  movement,   and  was  shot  and  thrown  into the   sea  at Dili .

Wesley-Smith  subsequently re-enacted  that event in  Darwin, taking the part  of  East .   

The display included photographs , Timorese   textiles , artwork    and even  Wes's  pumpkin  which won first prize at the  recent Darwin  Show . It was   rolled  out of  the way under a  table covered   with  Timor  books  .

On Sunday night , Wes  attended a Timor- Leste  Government sponsored  function  held in the Convention Centre .   He  took along   the Order of Timor - Leste sash  and  medal   he   and  his  twin brothers, Martin and Peter ,   had each  been  awarded  in  Dili  for  supporting  Timor in the long  battle . Wes  also  has  a  Princess Grace Kelly  medal  awarded  for  helping   refugees   from   East  Timor . 

There had been a proposal to  display the celebrity   pumpkin  at  the  event , but it  seems the  bouncing  melon  failed to  turn up . However, a local bishop and  a cardinal who flew in  from Timor- Leste  with other officials  attended .  

From his extensive  files  , oft mentioned in this blog  and followed up , Wesley-Smith  produced two  poems about the long  East Timor  struggle for freedom .

One deplored  Australia's stance in  the East Timor battle and was composed by  another  of his brothers, the  late  Jerry  Wesley-Smith in 1992. 

The  other , written by Wes in l978 ,  a  parody  of  the   American  national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner  , was scathing  of  the USA  supplying Indonesia  with  Bronco  ground attack  aircraft which  were  used  against Timorese  freedom  fighters. 

UPCOMING: Fascinating  plans for a distinctive  musical   about  Darwin's involvement in  the  East  Timor struggle  which might include  some of the late  Martin Wesley-Smith's cutting edge electronic music  making techniques.

(Timor,Darwin,Musical.)

PETE STEEDMAN'S FABULOUS LAST RIDE

Next month's Melbourne celebration of  the "outrageous life "of the  late and great activist,  Pete  Steedman , is likely to be bigger than Ben-Hur . Already  there have  been  200 respondents  to  the  curiously  worded  invitation  to  attend  the  event  in  the  Trades Hall   on September  7

Friends, villians  and  foes  would  be  welcome  to attend the  farewell, said the  RSVP.   

It seems   former  Prime Minister Julia  Gillard  will  contribute , possibly via a video.

Another   former  prominent  Australian  politician, international policymaker and  academic,  Gareth Evans, has  also  been  mentioned  as a likely  participant.   The  number  of  potential  speakers  is  growing.  Serious  Pete shown  below .

The following  press release  , composed   by   Max  Dumais , a longtime friend  of  Pete's , with  him  at  the  end  of  his  days, highlighted his   colourful   life  and   many  achievements.   

Former Federal MP from the 1980’s and student leader and activist from the 1960’s, Pete Steedman, has terminal cancer at the Olivia Newton John Cancer Centre in the Austin hospital in Melbourne.

Steedman has lived through more significant careers than most. As revealed through the release of  Cabinet documents, discussions were held to charge him with sedition by Billy McMahon’s government (over opposition to the Vietnam War .)

Apart from his signatory role in student journalism, he took his career overseas to Asia and Europe. On the way, he was instrumental in exposing the torture of women in the prison camps on Crete by the Greek Junta, and found himself being followed all the way to Romania.

In Asia he was involved in the troubles in the Punjab and with separatist movements in Kashmir.

Arriving in London, he took part in the Oz Trials, the longest running obscenity trial in British history. He soon found himself involved in the opening of the dialogue over the troubles in Northern Ireland. He played an active role in disallowing the second British television channel to be allocated to Lord Harlech.

In another activist campaign, he organised brothel owners of Soho into a resident action group which contributed to the abandonment of plans by property developers to demolish Piccadilly Circus.

While Business Manager at Time Out, an information and political magazine, he was approached by MI6 concerning the case of a British Commando executed with his hands tied and a bullet in this head in Saigon. The significance was Pete’s connection with him during his trip through Asia and the Commando’s involvement in the heroin trade from Asia to America which was facilitated by Senior NCOs of the US Forces, using the CIA through Air America, the largest private airline.

Returning to Australia, he took up a position with a middle level printing and publishing company producing such papers as Nation Review, Digger and Australia’s Rolling Stone as well a number of University and local Ethnic publications.

On Christmas Eve 1974, following Cyclone Tracy destroying Darwin and its community, Pete was invited to manage and edit a Community Newspaper as part of the revival of civil society. He was subsequently recruited to write a definitive report on the disaster for the Federal Government, which was completed in October 1975.

Leaving Darwin and following the 1975 election, he worked as an apparatchik and edited the Labor Star for seven years. He worked closely with Victorian State Secretary Bob Hogg who changed the culture within the Victorian ALP and enabled an historical electoral success in 1982.

He became a Federal member in the First Hawke Labor Parliament.

Upon leaving parliament, he organized and founded AUSMUSIC, which championed and promoted the cause of live Australian music including a three-hour national live concert emanating and televised from every mainland State capital. It involved all of the top Australian artists of the time.

Given a track record in finding acceptable solutions, Pete chaired the Industry transition task force established by the Victorian government to close down 30% of the Hard Wood industry and to ensure sustainability of that industry.  

At the same time, he was tasked to chair the Victorian Firearms Consultative Committee which managed to bring together judiciary, law enforcement and gun owners’ associations to form policy for the sector. This led on to a national involvement as Chair of the Commonwealth Consultative Committee on Firearms which survived until Tony Abbott became Prime Minister.

The farewell  will be followed by a month long exhibition of  items from his   fabulous  files  and  large  book  collection  in  the  adjoining  gallery .

It is not known if the display  will include his valuable collection of old  Australian car numberplates, an early Tasmanian  one the subject of some controversy .

If the original Gerald Carr  drawing of  Fabula  , the curvaceous , whip  wielding  private secretary of  the  thinly disguised   Prime  Minister  of  Australia , who confronted  devious  Tricky  Dicky   of   the  USA  for  her  boss ,  is  included  in  the  exhibition  it will certainly   attract   much attention.   

She featured in a well-read comic strip in Broadside, a ground breaking publication  Steedman  edited  in  l969 in  Melbourne . Fabula was similar to the  sexy French science  fiction strip  Barbarella.

A  more   modestly  attired and lady- like  posed  version  of   Fabula   than  the  shocking   original  one   is  shown   above .

WISE WEATHER WATCHERS

Picnicking  beneath a  flowering  rain  orchid, some of our resident  owls  brace themselves  for  a  downpour. 

SHIPPING REPORTER FLOATING ABOUT

Our waterfront roundsman spent the weekend relentlessly searching for  nautical  treasures,  mermaids, assorted  oddities  and  other  collectables  in  Townsville   during   the   weekend .

One item he was pleased to find at the Mundingburra State School  monthly market, in a collection of  postcards  described as  Oriental , was   the  above  interior  view  of   Darwin's  Chinese Temple. 

Our  Shipping  Reporter says he  was  actually present in Darwin in  the l960s when  the  Chinese "Joss House " , which  had  been  closed  and  looted during  WWll , reopened in an impressive ceremony in which gods were installed along  with  new imported  temple  fittings.

 Filled  with  great expectations, he  bravely attended the   Book  Fair inside the Willows supermarket where   eager   bookies were  lined  up early  in droves, some  with shopping  trollies , others with backpacks  and   assorted  other  containers.

He  said  the throng  surged forward like the Spanish armada  when  it  opened . 

The  vast  array  of  books  included many which appeared    to  be  in  mint  condition, mainly  novels . 

However, our jostled  man managed  to  snatch  three non-fiction volumes   about the  Royal Navy's   aircraft carrier Ark Royal which sank the Bismarck  and was itself sunk by a German U-boat soon after ; the biography of rich, flamboyant , womaniser   botanist  Sir  Joseph Banks , who sailed with Captain Cook ;  the history of telecommunications across  Australia , in which   Darwin  and  the  Northern Territory  were  well  covered .

There  were  other  temptations  sighted  in the melee  , but  the   Shipping  Reporter  , mindful of  a Townsville Bulletin   report warning of  a whooping  cough  outbreak , decided  to  make a strategic  retreat from the crowd  before   being   hit  by  a   stray   torpedo  or  a  nasty  virus .  

On  close  examination of   his  buys  at home he  was  surprised  to  discover  that  the Sir Joseph Banks  book    had  once  belonged to  someone who  had  the same  surname as the watery  scribe .  A  missing  link? 

The  well- illustrated  telecommunications  volume  had previously belonged  to a person  with  the  same  surname  as that  of   a  former  Townsville  resident  who had  a  pre-loved  coffin  in   his   loungeroom , in which he  used  to  cavort , a  bit  like  Ray  Martin .  

Still keen to  unearth more treasures , the Shipping Reporter  went on  an  op  shop  trip  and   turned up  the two volume   Donald  Bradman  Albums   and  The  History of  the  South  Australian  Cricket  Association  .

While  no  mermaids were  found , he  did  spot a  few  more seahorse wall hangings at   Mundingburra.     

 (Shipping, Townsville, Postcards .)

A BRILLIANT READ

 A gem forwarded   from a   Darwin   gent  who  should  write  his  interesting memoirs. The  hard to read  title on  the  first  book is The English Patient . 

(Books,Librarian ,Titles.)

TRUMP TO BECOME BALI BEACH BUM ?

 There are  growing reports   that  a luxury condominium in the   Trump Bali International  Resort and Golfcourse  is  being prepared  as  a  bolt hole  for  Donald  Trump  when  he  is  soundly  defeated in the   presidential  election. God  defend  America  and beyond  if  he  is  not ! 

Bali officials are   shocked at the suggestion  that  an  angry, rejected   Donald   Trump , as unpopular as  B.O. Plenty in the  Dick Tracy comic , is to    take  up  permanent   residence  on  the  island .  

A   worried  Bali  tourist  official  today  likened   Trump's  presence  on the   resort as  being  like the daily arrival of  a  Qantas  jumbo jet   full  of  Aussie    footballers  on  an  end  of  season romp.    

The condominium  which is the   centre of the speculation  is the subject of much  activity . Boxes    marked TOP  SECRET, return  to  WHITE HOUSE for refund deposit  , have  been carried  in  by   cussing  underpaid  Uber  drivers, some  Russian .

Out  of  one  split   box  fell a  pin up  photograph  of  the late  Queen Elizabeth ll , which is    hard  to  understand   why  he  has  it  , unless Trump keeps  an  album  of  every woman  he   toasted  (repeat toasted).

He  committed  a  protocol  gaffe with the Queen  by  walking in front of  her  while  being shown  through  a  large  guard  of  honour .

It is understood that on that occasion , he thanked Her Majesty  for the  82- gun  salute  and offered to make  her  an honorary  life member of the National  Rifle  Association. 

(Spoof,Trump,Bali.)

AN AVALANCHE OF NEWS

 A  torrent of   interesting emails from   Darwin  agronomist and activist  Robert Wesley-Smith  in  recent  days  confirms  our  belief  that local and wider  media  outlets  should make  regular  contact  with  him , even get Rural  Rebel  Rob  to  write  a  lively, well - read   column , which  he  once  did .

Apart from him  recently   taking   out  first prize in the  giant pumpkin contest at the Darwin Show , he is booked this weekend to participate in Darwin events   which  will   highlight aspects of   the  struggle for freedom in East Timor  in  which  he  and  twin brothers ,  Martin and Peter  , were involved.

It will include  discussing the  clandestine  Radio Maubere  which was set up in Darwin to  make contact with freedom fighters in  East Timor, Wesley-Smith  playing  a  part .

On display will  be   30  of   his protest T-shirts  produced  during the  struggle , a  photo  of  some of  them  shown   below ,   sent  in an  email  .  The unique collection  deserves to be  in a  national  institution ; one disintegrated   while  being washed  and  ironed  for the  display .  

Wes  was recently visited   by  Suzan Clear   from   Sydney  who is  researching  the  late   Martin  Wesley-Smith  and  his  electronic  music .  It seems she  studied under  Martin when he was  at the  Sydney Conservatorium of Music   and  is  preparing  a   paper  for  a  Ph. D .  

Another  surprising  email   received  by  this blog  covered  the l988  construction of  an Eco-tent  community on Elcho Island in l988 , component parts barged in from Darwin, with extensive photos and  details  from  Wes's  own   diary, which included a note about a Darwin Chorale performance of The Crucifixion at  Easter . 

Yet  another  email covered  his  attempt to possibly donate some of his  $500  win  for the  champion melon  to  the  Kamala Harris  election  kitty . It seems the  fact that he is not  an  American , his  kind offer of  some Aussie dollars cannot be accepted.  

Meanwhile , Wes, 81, is  warily zooming about   the  rural  area  on his new E-bike  because  of   the  recent  loss  of  his  car  driver's licence , and firing off  emails   about  other  concerning  local and   national issues   and  the  monstrous   Gaza   bloodbath  which   must   stop.