GIRLS : BEWARE LOTHARIOS BEARING WATERMELONS

A  girl's  delight

The  innocent  act  of  giving  your   girlfriend  a  nice  watermelon  is now  under  threat   due  to  the discovery of  an exotic  virus in the Northern Territory   which could  wipe  out  a multi  million  dollar   industry.



 Biosecurity  officers  have been checking all farms in the Darwin, Katherine and Ti Tree  area, north of  Alice Springs .  The disease  could also wipe out other melons and  cucumbers.      Back   in   the    1920s  , when  the  above   tune  was   sung   by  young   Stella   Lamond ,  from  a  theatrical  family ,   watermelons   and   Fox Trots   helped   win  the  heart  of  many  an  Australian  girl.     Stella   married   Max  Reddy  and  was   the mother  of  singer  and  feminist  icon  , Helen  Reddy , Queen of   70s  Pop ,   famous  for  her  “I  Am Woman,"    whose   half sister   is   actress     Toni    Lamond .  Our  tattered  sheet  music , looking as if suffering  from the dreaded Freckled Banana Disease already ravaging the Territory, was found  in  North  Queensland , where   melon producers are  scared that  the Territory  virus  will  spread  south.