Little Darwin is again under great stress . Stories galore continue to flood in from left right and centre, forgotten treasures are being rediscovered during stressful attempts to get den files in some kind of order , packages and photos arrive from OS and nationally . Books in op shops and garage sales demand to be bought . And an indication that a member of staff is well and truly into his dotage is the fact that he is nibbling black looking medication from a leading Chinese herbalist in Kuching .
At a quiet afternoon birthday tea party provided by the Germanic Queen of the Jungle, invaded by a hungry Kookaburra, the above rusty sign attached to an aviary attracted our attention. It showed a woman seated at a desk against a May l945 calendar and a candlestick telephone nearby , with the rude message : Not Now , I'm Busy...BUGGER OFF !!!
Taken aback, we asked the Queen from whence she had obtained this crudity . In some ways, the reply was not so surprising ...Darwin , capital of the Northern Territory . Bought some moons ago from a weird place like Jurassic Park , which had dinosaurs roaming outside, a dragon , the interior filled with oddities, chunky imported furniture and objects from distant lands , a wide variety of garden materials in bays . The Queen regretted not having bought a whole swag of oddities from there.
We instantly recognised this place as Finlay's -Tom Finlay a Victorian born stonemason - prominent attraction south of Darwin , which has since been greatly reduced , operating from a different site .
We instantly recognised this place as Finlay's -Tom Finlay a Victorian born stonemason - prominent attraction south of Darwin , which has since been greatly reduced , operating from a different site .
ANOTHER TERRITORY ODDITY
An enthusiastic researcher and collector friend obtained a postcard from surveyor and road builder Len Beadell who built the 1500 km Gunbarrel Highway across Central Australia in the late l950s. The postcard, which included one of his many outback drawings , was posted from Alice Springs in l968 and depicted the Kulgera Roadhouse . Given us for a quick read on top of the stack already gathering dust , is Beadell's book, Too Long in the Bush .
An enthusiastic researcher and collector friend obtained a postcard from surveyor and road builder Len Beadell who built the 1500 km Gunbarrel Highway across Central Australia in the late l950s. The postcard, which included one of his many outback drawings , was posted from Alice Springs in l968 and depicted the Kulgera Roadhouse . Given us for a quick read on top of the stack already gathering dust , is Beadell's book, Too Long in the Bush .
