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With a crew of jolly tars , part of the Westminster system tied up in Townsville.
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During this short election campaign it is doubtful if North
Queensland has seen so many
big spending drunken sailors since the
wild days when a waterfront area of Cairns , known as the Barbary Coast , with many pubs, rocked to the roar of roistering matelots . Money flowed thick and fast .
Liverpool Irishmen off the many ships
in port and wharfies
often clashed . Any police party
venturing into the area had to
be at least four strong . One of the many characters there was a lanky damsel , with long , straight , grey hair , who wore a dark blue wrap around
, a floppy white hat and fashionable white
sandshoes , resulting in her becoming known
to one and all as Sandshoe Annie . She would sidle up to a sailor and say, “ Buy me a
drink , love . ” Failure to take up her
kind request would result in a
broadside as she could swear like a trooper .
In the ports of Cairns and Townsville today the
Mission to Seamen must be rushed off
its feet catering
for all the intoxicated Newman
government sailors rushing about trying to seduce
voters with promises of grand schemes amounting to billions of dollars if they sell off the family silver . By contrast , the ALP seems to be a bunch of thrifty Cloncurry sea cadets on CWA lemonade . NEXT : Promises, promises and more promises as LNP bounces another cheque in a waterfront dive and Premier Newman inspires new Monty Python dead parrot skit .
