MINI DRAGON

Vallis.

 

COMING IN ON A WING , A PRAYER AND YET ANOTHER SET OF TEASPOONS

 Model of a  Second World War RAF Handley Page  Halifax Bomber , with  a  ubiquitous set of  teaspoons in the background, discovered by  the treasure  hunting  Shipping Reporter in a  Townsville op shop .   

A REGAL ARRIVAL

From a lofty vantage point , a recently arrived Torresian Imperial Pigeon surveying Townsville  on  a  windy day. 

ACROBATIC RAINBOW

 Described as  a colourful  aerialist, the  Rainbow Bee-Eater  zooms around   like  a Japanese  Zero  fighter plane chasing  fleeing insects , its body contorted by G-forces in  the  pursuit,  like  the  one  snapped  below  by  Vallis .  

MAN OF MANY TALENTS AND SHAPES

 Due to our Shipping Reporter  rummaging about the  tropics, Little Darwin has  become aware of  the amazing   Austrian  born  artist, architect , radical  thinker , writer  and  environmentalist , Friedrich Stowasser , aka   Friedensreich   Hundertwasser , 1928-2000. 

In a mountain of postcards bought by our waterfront  scavenger, he found the above  1972 German art card Exodus into space, by FH . 

During  his  action packed life ,which ended when he dropped  dead aboard the Queen Elizabeth ll cruise ship in the Pacific ,  he designed  coins, stamps, flags,posters railed against the massive amount of ticky tacky,look alike   accommodation  in  the  world .  

He  particularly deplored  the common use of  straight  lines  in  architecture. 

Something  of  a globetrotter-America, Europe , Africa - he exhibited  far and wide. He  moved to New Zealand in the l970s  and lived there  for  most of  the rest of  his life. Apart from designing  a proposed new  flag   for  New Zealand  based on a  Maori motif  , he also drew  up  one  for Australia  in which Uluru  held up the world  from  down  under.

On one of his  NZ properties  he  built  the  Bottle  House  which had  solar power ,  a waterwheel  and a  water purification  plant.  For a bit of variety, he bought  the  Garden of Eden  in  Venice. 

In l980 , he went to Washington  and supported  activist Ralph Nader  oppose nuclear proliferation. 

In  1999 , he  designed an extraordinary  public  toilet block,  above,  a veritable work of art  both  outside and within, which put the Kiwi town of Kawakawa on the  world tourism map . A  glimpse of  the  tiled interior, which received  rave  write  ups,  gives  the  impression  that  a  lot  of  fluids  of  some  kind were  bottled in  Kiwiland.

New Zealand's  spectacular  Hundertwasser  Art Centre, Whangarei , is shown below .  

TOP END PEARLS OF WISDOM CONTRIBUTION TO AI DEBATE

Darwin  influencer , Richard  Creswick , who is playing a leading part in preparations  for  this  year's  major 50th anniverary of  Cyclone  Tracy, took  time  out from his busy schedule  to  write an   interesting , well- researched  contribution  to  the  growing  discussion  on   artificial  intelligence. 

It  was  run  in  John Menadue's online  Public  Policy Journal , Pearls and   Irritations  , headed  Drafting the first laws to govern AI .  

Richard , a  former   member of   Australia's most intelligent news  service, the Australian Broadcasting  Corporation , is  a  member of  Darwin's  learned  Friday Club ,  swings  a golf club like a robot  and   freely admits  that  a  book   he    found  in  a   cafe  influenced   his  interest  in  the  subject of  AI .

That  book , in a  a free  swap rack ,  was  a  collection of   short  stories by science fiction writer Isaac Assimov, which  is mentioned in  his erudite contribution  on  a  most  important  global  subject. 

In part , Creswick refers to Assimov's  Three Laws of  Robotics  :

*A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm;

*A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the first law;

*A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the first or second law.

Readers  are urged  to  log  onto  John Menadue's  commendable  Pearls and   Irritations   and  read  Creswick's  thought provoking  contribution  in  full . 

(Assimov,Creswick,Robots).

UP SMART CREEKS WITH A VARIETY OF WELL- USED , ENCRUSTED PADDLES

 

Horseshoe Bay,  Magnetic Island. 

Stuffed on Seafood , Nelly Bay, Magnetic Island. 

Darwin reminders of great bygone yachting adventures ,some in Indonesia. Creswick Collection. 

DOWN TO THE SEA IN WRECKED PEGS

Nautical notice  board after striking Great Barrier Reef

  

Mundingburra Market,Townsville. Shipping Reporter.   

TWIGGY WITH GRAND DESIGN FOR A HOME AMONG THE GUMTREES

Vallis.

 

LUCKY SHIPPING REPORTER SURVIVES RAINFOREST CRASH LANDING

 Further proof that our  waterfront  roundsman is losing his facullties  due  to senile  decay and   the  grave  global shortage of  monkey gland injections  is  his   failure  to  instantly  snap up a  highly desirable object   at  the   monthly  market   in  the  leafy  grounds of the  Mundingburra   State    School ,Townsville .

Due to his deteriorating  eyesight , he  thought  it   was a   nondescript     souvenir   of  Melbourne's  Moomba  Festival, so  just took  a  photo  of the object.

With the help of a  magnifying  glass,  he  later  examined the  photo    and let out a  salty  oath as if  being masticated by hungry  Moby Dick  when he discovered it  was a  sandwich tray  for   the   MacRobertson  Trophy  London to Melbourne Air Race ,  described as the world's greatest , part of  Melbourne's  1934 centenary celebrations . 

 Here  is the snap of the  highly desirable  tray, with a small chip,  in all its glory, still  bearing  the  paltry  ten bucks  price  sticker.

On the left  is  an outline   of  the  United Kingdom ; there   are several  planes  depicted  heading  for   Australia  and  the years  1934-l935. 

There were  five compulsory stops along the way- Baghdad, Allahabad, Singapore, Darwin , in the Northern Territory, and Charleville, Queensland  .

The  wealthy Australian  confectionery  manufacturer  Sir  Macpherson  Robertson  put  up  15,000  pounds first prize   for the   18,222 km race , which started in October  1934 , watched by 60,000,   a  gold  medal  given  to  each pilot  who completed  the  flight within 16 days .

First off  was the Comet Black Magic  flown by Scottish pilot  Jim Mollison and his pioneering aviatrix wife,  Amy Johnson . Early leaders, they were forced  to retire in Allahabad due to engine trouble .

How could the Shipping Reporter possibly have  failed  to instantly realise the   importance of  this  link  with  Australia's  aviation history ? 

Belatedly  realising  its desirability ,  he hitched a lift back to the  market  , but all the dealers   had  packed   up  and  gone  home  , gnash,  gnash .

The   big   question   he asked  himself  over and over : Will  it still  be    available  in  a  month ? Of course,  some  other  smarter person may have  snapped it up   soon  after  the  myopic   Shipping  Reporter  took   the  candid  camera  snap.

Imagine his   delight when  he tottered  along to  the  market  after  an anxious   month    and   found   the  tray  still   for  sale !!!    

 Along  the way  he  managed  to  buy a large bundle of postcards , some of which  are a monty to  appear in  this blog ,  two  war  books , one  The Origins of the Second  World War,   by A.J.P. Taylor, with its extensive new Second Thoughts  introduction , and   took several  photos of  interesting other  items , some with a  nautical touch,   on display . 

BOMBED AUSSIE NURSE RESURFACES

                                                                             

As part of the ongoing struggle  to  cull and   attempt to get order into Little Darwin's collection of  files , books, oddities  and ephemera , built up  over more than half a  century  , it  was disturbing  to  discover  that  photo  albums  relating  to  a  woman described in a newspaper  article  as  the "most bomb chased  Australian nurse of WWll"  had been  been  attacked  by  borers. 

The albums, bought in an Adelaide antique shop ,compiled over more than 30 years by Marjorie Congreve , pictured above, dating from the early 1930s in Western  Australia, were wrapped  in plastic and sealed, but parts had been riddled.

There are photographs taken in 1934 of the children's ward at Perth Hospital decorated  for Christmas , Miss Congreve  a  nurse there.  The nursery rhyme decorations  included  butterflies, moths  and  insects  for Walk Into  My Parlour , said the  Spider to  the Fly, with a  large cobweb  and spider ; Miss  Muffet , sitting on her  tuffet,  presented  as  a  nurse ; The Old woman Who lived  in  a  Shoe with a  cat .

Nurse Congreve went off to England  and  appears to have nursed the children of well to do people.  One album starts off with numerous professionally taken  snapshots of  various parts of England -Cambridge, Wales , Stratford- on -A von , with  interposed groups  of  people and  scenes , some captioned , Marjorie named ; snowstorm scenes ; Monmouth Oak , Somerset under which the  plans for the Battle of Sedgemoor  were planned , pit for  bear- baiting nearby .

There is extensive coverage of  Middleton Park 1941-1943 where   military patients  were treated, some Polish  airmen , included  several snaps  of Congreve ; two photos of  children evacuated from London hospital  which received a  direct  hit  during the blitz. Extensive coverage of  Norley Bank  for children  during the war ,  with names  of staff , two  full plate   l944 Christmas party , many names , two American doctors visitors .

Invitation , Congreve's name  at  top ,   February 10,1944   from   Earl and Countess   Spencer to  marriage  of their daughter  Anne  to Lieutenant   Christopher  Wake-Walker , Westminister  Abbey , with   newspaper  cuttings  of  princesses  Margaret   and  Elizabeth , one  with pic , who  attended .

Many interior and exterior shots taken of  a  mother craft  centre with names, village scenes  . Crossing the  equator King Neptune  ceremony aboard  ship   on   way home to  Australia in  1945. 

An extensive section at the back of an album covers the  period  l940  to l945 . It   includes  wide ranging views  of   Western Australia , Darwin  : party with flying doctor plane named   Dunbar Hooper ll  , Fitzroy Crossing ; interior of   Servicemen's Club Darwin ; dust storms ; 1942 bomb crater at Broome, Perth-Darwin Air Service truck in background ; Australian Inland Mission premises ; man believed to be colourful Northern Territory  flying doctor   Clyde Fenton ; civilians   looking at  the two-man midget  submarine ( below)  caught in Sydney Harbour in  l943 ; 1945 Peace Parade ; a Perth air raid shelter ; woman  posing  with  beehive .

EXCLUSIVE : DONALD TRUMP'S KOOKY MY KITCHEN RULES COOKERY BOOK

SING SING : In a desperate  bid to soften  his  godawful image  , recycled   felon   Donald  Trump  has whipped up  a  weird   cookbook  which includes  1001 WAYS TO COOK  A  (HOT) DOG , which will be sold on the election  trail .  It is   specifically aimed  at  the squillion of  illegal border crossers who are munching  through  the  pets  of  America .  Fox  (Stews)  News tips  the book  will   have  astronomical sales.   

The book will also  probably sell  well with  some of those fried brain  Republicans  who voted  for Trump in  the  past .  

It  has a  special   section  headed    HOW  TO  COOK  KAMALA'S  GOOSE  without  removing   the   feathers.  One  recipe  is called TWEETIE PIE , in which  Trump, wearing an apron and wielding a  cleaver and  mallet  , looking all the world like Count Yorga, demonstrates  how  to  convert  flocks of canaries  and  Bald Eagles- the  threatened  national emblem of the USA - into  tasty KFC  tucker  for Mexican  tiny  tots.  

(Spoof,Trump, Hotdogs).

 

POTTERING ABOUT THE GARDEN

Strolling  White Ibis . Vallis.
  

 

SKATING THROUGH EARLY PORTRAITS WITH A BIGAMIST AND AN IMITATION FRENCH FUNAMBULIST WHO EXPLODED

 Sporting a sash  bearing the name  A LITTLE COLONIAL, this unusual  1909  photograph of  a young girl named   Lena  , wearing roller  skates  and dressed for  a pageant,  has a handwritten  Christmas-New Year  message from  a  resident in  the West  Australian  goldfields   town  of   Boulder.  

Priced at $750 , it is  one of    50  portrait  photographs,  taken  in Australia    between  l850 to 1940 , on offer by  that  stirling  organisation,  Douglas Stewart Fine Books , Melbourne.   

Background information supplied by the  bookshop says roller skating was a popular recreation in Australia in the Federation era and  in 1909 it came to Boulder  in earnest, with the opening of  the Glide Away  rink.

Another offering  is  the above   group of  women wearing ice skates, with a painted  alpine  backdrop, snapped by a street photographer employed by the Leicagraph   Company, Sydney, circa  1940 ; already reserved . 

The women would have been  enjoying an outing at one of the city's skating rinks , either the Glaciarium in Railway Square, which opened in  1907  and closed in l955, or the  Ice Palais, located in the  Hall of Industries  at the Sydney Showgrounds , which operated  between  1938  and  l951.

There is  an  1886  Sydney  almost "mug shot " carte de visite of George Elliott  Alvaro, an American of  African and Portuguese heritage,  by trade a  cook, described as  a convicted fraudster, bigamist and  violent  offender . 

Yet  another ripper offering  consists of  four tinted studio  prints  of the above  famous funambulist - tightrope walker- Henry L'Estrange ,1842-1894. Born in Melbourne ,  he  became  known as   The   Australian Blondin ,  after  French tightrope  walker and acrobat , Charles Blondin ,who crossed the  Niagara Falls many times  on  a  thin rope .

Moving to Sydney in  l876, L'Estrange  erected a large canvas enclosure in the Domain  and  did regular   performances .   

His opening night on January 26 , 1877 attracted a reported crowd of 2000-3000 . Newspaper reports commented that his performance was so like that of the original Blondin that people could be forgiven for thinking they had seen the world-renowned tightrope walker.

With his rope suspended 40 feet (12 metres) above the ground, L’Estrange walked backwards and forwards, walked in armour, walked covered in a sack, used and sat on a chair, cooked and rode a bicycle, all on the rope. His show also included a fireworks display for the public’s entertainment.

L’Estrange performed in the Domain from January through to April 1877, but not without incident. On  February 7, 1877, as L’Estrange neared the end of his wire act, sparks from the fireworks going off around him fell into the nearby store of gunpowder and fireworks, igniting them. The store’s shed was demolished, a surrounding fence knocked down, part of L’Estrange’s performance tent caught fire, and two young boys were injured.

He also performed the "sensational feat " of crossing Middle Harbour on  a  tightrope . L'Estrange  performed in Queensland  and went overseas to Singapore , England  and  America .  

BALINESE DANCERS

 

Entertainment  at  the  new ICON Mall , part of the  mega  shopping centre,  Sanur . Photos  by Tram .

ISLAND KNEES UP

 It  seems  Bush  Stone- Curlews are thriving  on   Magnetic Island .  A  noted  bird watcher informed this  blog that  62   of  the cute  ground dwelling birds  were  recently counted  in  one  street   at  Nelly Bay . Over the years  , many  snaps of   island Curlews  have    been run in  Little Darwin  , two   shown   below  ,one highlighting their  legs which caused them to be also named  Bush Thick - Knees , even   Broken Knee  Birds in  some  parts of  the  Northern Territory .

Our  arty  Aeronautical  Correspondent  , Abra,  aware of  Little Darwin's  long interest in Curlews, kindly  bought in  Cairns  a  Curlew  tea towel made by  Brisbane  based artist and illustrator Ingrid Bartkowiak, which now adorns our cluttered  den  as a  wall  hanging. 

    

OPERATION WHIRLYBIRD

Vallis.

 

MAKING WAVES ON SEVERAL FRONTS

 One of the many interesting  vessels which  converged on Magnetic Island for  the Sealink Yacht Week was   the  above  smart craft  , Kayle,  owned by the  Making Waves Foundation , of Sydney,   which empowers individuals, some with   disabilities, with   opportunities   to  boost  their  skills  and confidence    through  sailing   in  various  places , including  to   Hobart, Tasmania . .  

PYTHON SIGHTINGS INCREASE

 Two  fairly large  pythons have been   seen  sliding   about  Townsville   in recent weeks . The latest encounter , above ,  was  in  Anderson Botanic  Gardens, Mundingburra. It  reared up  out of the grass,much to the surprise of   an  approaching   lady   walking  a  large  dog.  A nearby council  worker  indicated  the  friendly snake,  a  few metres long ,  is  frequently seen  in  the  area, and enjoys a  rent  free  shed .

A  similar sized  snake  was   spotted  on a  busy road  more than a week ago,  not far  from the latest  sighting , and  tried to  bite  a  brave,  concerned   Darwin  man  who  pulled  it  off  the  road   to prevent it  being  run  over .

Two  much smaller pythons , including one  in  a letterbox, were recently reported  in  this  blog. 

 Photo  of  cute  snake at the  top of this  post  supplied by  visiting Top  End  snake  charmer ,Craig.

(Pythons,Townsville, Bite.)  

STIRRING NEWS FROM THIRSTY TOWN WITH ITALIAN AND AMERICAN LINKS : THE PUB WITH NO SPOONS ?

 A raid  on  the   unsuspecting  North Queensland  sugar  town  of   Ingham  by a   Little Darwin  squad  keen to feed the  local turtles in the wetlands   and  search  for  books , ephemera   and  assorted  oddities in  local  op shops  and  other  places of interest    resulted  in  a   mixed  bag .  

Their  finds , would you  believe,  included  souvenir tea  spoons  which seem  to  be   greater  in  number  than  cane toads   in  the North . 

The  spoons  included   two from  New Zealand - Auckland Harbour Bridge and the  inter- island  ferry  terminal port of   Picton .The   Auckland Bridge  was expanded from four to eight lanes by adding designed and  prefabricated in Japan  parts in 1969 , resulting  in the structures  becoming known  as   the Nippon  Clipons .

Several spoons  were   from  Queensland -Mount Isa Mines and   Roma .  One  spoon  , for  Port Arthur, Tasmania , highlighted   Australia's  convict  history . Founded in 1830, it "housed"12,500  convicts before closing in  l877.  

During WW ll ,  the  Day Dawn Hotel  in   Ingham  was drunk dry by  American troops passing through , which inspired  local poet Dan Sheahan to write A Pub Without Beer. It was later  turned into the   popular song   The Pub With No Beer by Gordon Parsons and  sung  by  Slim  Dusty .

The  Day Dawn Hotel is  now  Lee's Hotel . Wonder if any of these  spoons  were  pinched  -souvenired- from  that  important   historic watering  hole  over   the  years  ?  

One of  the interesting  books  found in Ingham  was A Woman of  Independence , by Kirsty Sword Gusmao, which tells of her  involvement  in  the  struggle for East Timor independence . 

Unforunately , our team could  not feed the  resident  Krefft's  short -necked  turtles  because there is now a ban on going down to  the wetland edges , apparently  to  prevent  a  crocodile  rising  up  and  reducing your  footwear to  a tasty   thong   with  no   toes. 

Locals reported it  has been a  poor  sugarcane  season  and there  is  industrial strife  at  the mill . Surely  Ingham  is   not   a  looming   town   with  no   sucre ?  

(Spoons, Turtles ,Beer.) 

SKY WALKING

 

Vallis.

NEW ZEALAND QUAKE FELT IN AUSTRALIA

 

A loud crash  within  the   house   caused the  writer of  this post to leap out of  bed. The cause of the  seismic  shock  was  found to  be the above   large  framed  panoramic print  of  Dunedin  1888 , in  the  NZ  South Island  , by  Irish  architect  and  painter  George O'Brien . Foxed, mounted,framed  and under   glass  which had    smashed  into   many   pieces , removal  of  the shards   resulted  in  a  cut   finger . 

O'Brien , born  Dromoland Castle , County Clare, in l821, was the fifth son of Admiral Robert O'Brien, who was  a  younger son  of   Sir Lucius  O'Brien,3rd Baronet. 

George O'Brien was  a  first cousin  of  William Smith O'Brien (1803-1864) who was deported to Tasmania for his part in the l848 Young Ireland  uprising , and a  cousin to James FitzGerald , a one time superintendent  of  the  Canterbury Province  in  New  Zealand  .

At a  very young age , George O'Brien , whose  parents had both died,  was  in  Melbourne  , where he  married, and  became involved  with  the Victorian Fine Arts Society,  producing   several  watercolours of  Saint Kilda   and other nearby  places . 

It seems he was attracted   to NZ by the  Otago goldrush  where he worked as  a  civil engineer  . Some of his watercolours were included in  the  1865 NZ Industrial   Exhibition . 

When his wife died in l879, he  had five daughters to raise , so embarked on a  career as  a professional artist . Wikipedia   states   he  was   versatile  and  energetic  and travelled  around southern New Zealand.  However, he   had   "  bohemian  habits, " was  a heavy drinker  and  immensely fat.

 His  eldest daughter  married  and removed  her  younger siblings. O'Brien continued lodging with a sailor and his wife  in a poor part of the city . .After a year in Auckland, he returned to Dunedin  where he died  in  August  1888, his residual collection inherited by his landlady. He was buried in  an unmarked  grave.  

TROPICAL WATER FOLLIES

 

Vallis.

HIGHLY COMPETITIVE WARTIME R&R BARS

 The latest acquisitions  offerings  from Douglas Stewart  Fine Books, Melbourne , includes a collection of  business cards  for bars and   nightclubs  frequented by U.S. Servicemen  in the  Wanchai red -light district  of  Hong  Kong during the Vietnam War .

Our eagle-eyed Shipping Reporter -obsessed with mermaids- pointed out that  one  dive  was the  naughty  Mermaid Bar . The  Rainbow Bar even  invoked  God to  get  you  grogging on. It said that while alcohol was a great enemy of  man, God  had  said to love your enemy. 

The bookshop says that during the Vietnam War, Hong Kong – along with Sydney, Taipei, Bangkok and Manila – was one of the main destinations for American servicemen on R&R. Between 1965 and 1970 it hosted on average 200,000 U.S. military and naval personnel annually, a huge source of revenue for the British colony that also generated employment in the local service and entertainment industries for thousands of Hong Kong residents.

 However, the obvious economic benefits that flowed from the R&R program were counterbalanced by the concomitant social problems of prostitution, violence and organised crime.

This collection of business cards, most printed on both sides , priced  at $1000, provides a snapshot of the nightlife in the red-light district of Wanchai that was available to GI’s on leave. The main entertainment zone was centred around Lockhart Road, and all of these cards are for bars and nightclubs that were located in this notorious precinct.

Most of the cards include a promotional free-drink offer for U.S. servicemen, and they frequently advertise music and dancing (and to a lesser extent, dining). Some, however – such as “Hong Kong Play Girl Bar”, “Bunny Club”, “Hong Kong Play Boy Club”, “Crazy Horse”, or the “Mermaid Bar” – are blatant in their use of sex as the major drawcard for potential customers.

 More

SPLASH DOWN

 

Magpie Geese landing, Anderson Botanic Gardens, Townsville .