This blog's recent yarn about the book on the legendary Mayse Young OAM, who owned and operated pubs in Darwin , Katherine and Pine Creek in the Northern Territory, drew a beaut response from Darwin resident Bob White .
His message said the post brought back old memories of Mayse and her husband Joe, called both Bogga and Bogger Young , Bogga in the above gravestone , who also owned a small cattle station near Pine Creek on the old Stuart Highway.
After the war , White's father , the outback postman, also built the bush track that became the Kakadu Highway . His dad used pack horses and delivered mail and supplies to the Moline Mine and other small shows and stations out that way to JIm Jim .
He operated mainly out of Jimmy Ah Toy's store , near the pub, in Pine Creek which was the post office and a popular gathering spot . Ah Toy was the unofficial mayor and his large family helped run the store and other enterprises ,including a bakery .
A local policeman of note , with a long outback career, in later years was arrested in Darwin, after a drinking session , for taking and not paying for a steak from a store , resulting in him being nicknamed T-Bone Tom .
Bogger Young , a miner, who married Mayse in 1933, was a renowned practical joker . It was said he placed a chunk of meat under the seat of a car in which a newly married couple were passing through . He also played a trick on another constable who used to regularly go about Pine Creek picking up shiny stones, bring them into the pub and ask Bogger if he thought they contained gold.
Naturally , one day he was informed that he could be on another Eldorado ,and should stake out a claim . However, police officers were not allowed to make claims to prevent the force from being depleted by a goldrush.
The jubilant officer's wife is thought to have applied for a miner's right . When senior officers in Darwin police headquarters became aware of this , they followed up and notified the officer that he had had undoubtedly had his leg pulled by Bogger . Thereafter , the policeman made sure the pub closed on time every night .
Bogger decided to play up to the pub customers by loudly asking the young Chinese what sort of gin he wanted - warning... a double entendre coming .
There was Oxygin, Nitrogin and "cosy Gin", who lived down the back, what would he like ? Patrons listening were probably choking on their drinks.
The young fellow, overawed by the range, said he would go back to the mine and ask his uncle, who was later spotted walking along the railway line . On arrival, he politely asked Bogger for a bottle of gin .
Off Blogger went into his spiel about gins . This resulted in the learned Chinaman supposedly saying..."And Bogger , there are three types of tirds , Custirds, Mustirds and you , you Australian Bastird!"
Unfortunately , there was no CCTV in those days to capture this classic utterance for posterity . After delivering the fabulous punchline , the uncle left and ran back down the railway line , possibly to slake his thirst with a Dutch case gin , there being many empty ones on the goldfield.
(Chinese . Pub. Gold.)