Kerry (right), flexing fingers in martial arts fashion , with reporter Peter Simon , who wrote this post , at a Friday Club gathering in Darwin , regularly attended by journalists , academics and politicians .
Apart from starting Arnhem Nursery, at Humpty Doo , with his wife Sandra , Kerry delivered a weekly gardening radio talk for Darwin ABC , his daughter Charlotte filling in for him recently. A small printing business Kerry and Sandra were involved with in earlier years produced gardening magazines.
Cyclone Tracy unexpectedly furthered their involvement in gardening . While cleaning up their damaged house in the devastated city , Kerry and Sandra used a solvent to remove damaged tiles from the floor. A spark from a washing machine ignited the inflammable fumes and caused an explosion ; both were burned, Sandra more extensively.
Cyclone Tracy unexpectedly furthered their involvement in gardening . While cleaning up their damaged house in the devastated city , Kerry and Sandra used a solvent to remove damaged tiles from the floor. A spark from a washing machine ignited the inflammable fumes and caused an explosion ; both were burned, Sandra more extensively.
Kerry grabbed Sandra , put her in a car , drove to hospital , his feet sticking to the pedals along the way .
One of those who came to Darwin from Melbourne after the cyclone to help provide information to the thousands of people who had been evacuated to various parts of Australia was journalist Pete Steedman , a university activist and editor of the Victorian Labor newspaper, later a federal politician .
Calling at the printery from time to time to have a newspaper published , Steedman noticed that there were many journalists on the premises . These included the former crusading editor of the NT News Jim Bowditch and pulp fiction author and journalist Gene Janes, who together brought out Northnews, a subscription business and politics publication , printed on the premises .
With experience in web-offset publishing in Melbourne, Steedman suggested the printery should produce a newspaper , give the Murdoch owned Northern Territory News a run for its money .
Thus the Darwin Star was born , named after the Hong Kong Star , where genial journalist Peter Blake , of the Blake media dynasty , had worked.
He had been involved in Sydney's highly successful Kings Cross Whisper which blossomed into a large money making venture, diversifying into production of gardening and fishing publications , even bawdy records .
Thus the Darwin Star was born , named after the Hong Kong Star , where genial journalist Peter Blake , of the Blake media dynasty , had worked.
He had been involved in Sydney's highly successful Kings Cross Whisper which blossomed into a large money making venture, diversifying into production of gardening and fishing publications , even bawdy records .
While Peter Blake was not the founding editor of the Darwin Star , he was the behind the scenes brains for the daring venture and did eventually take over as editor . A great all round newspaperman , with a capacity to write brilliant headings and humorous copy , he later went to America where he worked on the New York Post , was there the day of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre .
Sandra Byrnes recalled that when Peter Blake left the paper to go to America he told her to hang onto the holiday pay he was due because it might come in handy on a later rainy day .
However, no sooner had he lobbed in America , he , having been a Darwin bookie , lost his shirt at the racetrack and sent an SOS for his pay.
EARLY ADVENTURES
However, no sooner had he lobbed in America , he , having been a Darwin bookie , lost his shirt at the racetrack and sent an SOS for his pay.
The Darwin Star included gardening in its coverage . The lively paper did indeed challenge the NT News. From its premises were also produced two satirical publications , Troppo and the Fannie Bay Whisper , old photographs from the Kings Cross Whisper included , with zany captions .
Over the years , a colourful and talented crew passed through The Star . There was journalist , ex US Navy, Toni Kelly, daughter of a US admiral , who had been at Guantanamo during the Cuban crisis ; another American , journalist, author and environmentalist ,Barbara James ; journalist Peter Murphy, a former Adelaide police roundsman , who went on to become press adviser to NT Chief Minister Paul Everingham , who once asked Kerry Byrnes why the Star disliked his government ; hard working editor John Loizou , highly respected in South Vietnam , who received an unexpected call from a high ranking Darwin official applauding the paper for putting pressure on the Everingham government ; Loizou started the South East Asian Times , which after his death was continued online by his partner, Cri , who ran a bespoke Darwin café .
The Star was so successful that South Australian trucking magnate Allan Scott, with newspaper and television interests, bought the paper and announced he intended to turn it into a daily in direct opposition to Murdoch . He installed an expensive press and war was declared .
The Star was so successful that South Australian trucking magnate Allan Scott, with newspaper and television interests, bought the paper and announced he intended to turn it into a daily in direct opposition to Murdoch . He installed an expensive press and war was declared .
A so called independent free newspaper was prepared on the NT News premises ; businesses were offered extremely low advertising rates if they signed up immediately. Scott was run out of town in double quick time , the expensive press at The Star ending up in the hands of Murdoch . Scott became a major shareholder in the Bank of Adelaide and was reported as being prepared to spend up to $20million buying Herald and Weekly Times' holdings in the Adelaide Advertiser.
Meanwhile, Kerry and Sandra had started Arnhem Nursery , made contacts with nurserymen in South East Asia , North Queensland and elsewhere.
EARLY ADVENTURES
Kerry was involved in oil search operations near Alice Springs in younger days . After moving to Darwin , he worked as a used car salesman for a short time then got a job as an oil rigger for an American company . He and Sandra moved to Singapore . It seems the work took Kerry to Indonesia . The Americans impressed him by the way they went about drilling . They planned everything down to the finest detail , arranged all the necessary equipment and then got cracking .
This attitude was reflected in the way Kerry carried out projects at Arnhem Nursery . One of his prized tools was a bobcat which he handled with great dexterity . He fancied himself as a mechanic. However , I remember an incident when he could not get a leaf blower to work and some tool pusher expressions were used .
I took it to the dealers and the guy there took one look at the machine and announced it had a wasp's nest up the spout preventing it from firing into life . Kerry was somewhat taken aback when I told him the simple answer to the problem .
Because of Sandra's interest in pottery , the annual pottery fair has been held for nearly 20 years in Arnhem Nursery , where a tiny tree grown by Peter Blake , who had a green thumb and loved growing things in containers , especially bean sprouts, is now a large spreading tree . The pottery fair will be held this weekend .
While Kerry had many successes in life , he remembered with fondness and pride the time of the Darwin Star before it was bought out . He admitted to be a jack of all trades at the paper but failed at the removal of frogs under the seat in the ladies toilet , which resulted in screaming when one reached up and touched a sitter .
He explained his failure in this respect due to the fact that he not only dashed about delivering papers but worked hard at running about the city collecting money from advertisers to meet the substantial weekly pay packets.
His skill as a Taekwondo exponent was no good dealing with frogs, it being difficult and dangerous to kick the porcelain with your boot . In fact , The Star's frog situation got a run in a satirical publication .
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Kerry became a friend of the former Darwin Australian newspaper correspondent and author Nicolas Rothwell and greened his apartment with shrubbery . He was also involved in renovating the eco-tourist resort at Seven Spirit Bay, the upgrade of an old pub down the track and extensive plantings on a large pastoral property .
Earlier this year , he told me of a plan to use the art of former NT Aboriginal politician Alison Anderson , now living in North Queensland , on large planter boxes . And just recently , limping, after an accident at the nursery , he called on Darwin agronomist Rob Wesley-Smith to collect elephant ear seeds for a project he had in mind.
