While Sam Neill provided much interesting information about Cooktown ,North Queensland , where HMS Endeavour was patched up after hitting the reef, he missed a saucy modern angle in respect of Magnetic Island , unearthed by Little Darwin at a garage sale on the island .
Captain Cook's compass went haywire off what is now Magnetic Island , which he named Magnetical Isle . Botanist Joseph Banks may have done a bit of sketching of the mysterious island's flora and fauna .
At the beaut garage sale , the above framed cover of a purported pulp fiction novel by James Rowe, grabbed our attention and was eagerly snapped up . It has joined the clutter in our den . Books bought at the sale included a history of puppets,from the Belgian Gardens Maggimayd Doll Hospital , Townsville, the illustrated golden age of art deco in fashion ( unfortunately, art deco bookends had already been sold ), the people and places of Charters Towers and historic buildings of Norfolk Island .
There was an interesting offering of books about Western Australia, Rottnest Island in particular . Should have bought that model lighthouse and book on world lighthouses ; a worn display of ship flags and their meanings would have also looked good on the wall , near the encased display of nautical knots.
