ISLAND FLOTSAM AND JETSAM SURPRISES AMATEUR DETECTIVE / JUNK COLLECTOR

 Our  Shipping  Reporter applied the  Sherlock  Holmes  forensic  approach  to  the   battered   pianola   rolls  which surfaced at  a  garage sale on  Magnetic Island  and   came   up   with  some  elementary but very  surprising   deductions   .

With the aid of  a  magnifying glass , he closely examined  each of  the  six  nibbled  and  taped  rolls , did   some  follow up  research  online and  in  books.

Attached  to  one  roll was  a  tattered   trade  sticker  for  Winkworth and  Son, Sydney.  Charles Robert  Winkworth came to Australia from  Essex, England, when  he  was  17. He became involved  with  an early music shop in  Sydney  and eventually set up his own  business  in  Annandale  , which  flourished . 

At  one stage  he was  the  mayor of Annandale .  He died in 1933, aged  67, a  set of  stairs  apparently  named   after  him .  The tunes played on the above rolls  were by  E. Murn , on the left ,  and  L. Pardey , on the  right . 

They were two  prominent  musicians ,  the  so  called   Katoomba  Girls,  sisters  Edith   and  Laurel  Pardey  , who  developed a   huge  repertoire  of   waltzes  and  foxtrots  in  the  l920-30s.

Edith married  Frank Baker  Murn , Director of Posts  and Telegraph , NSW,  who  also  wrote  poetry and  lyrics  for  pianola  rolls .  Some of  the  pianola  rolls  listed   her  by   her  married   name,  E. Murn . Laurel  wowed  people by driving  a  flash  Chrysler 770 coupe .

Another   prominent   woman   in   the Australian   pianola   roll  world , Lettie  Keyes , teamed up with  Eileen Foley in  the early 1930s  and they played on  radio and  for  Radio Luxembourg . Before the outbreak of  WWll, they  were  also  the  musical directors for  SS Kanimbla which sailed about  Australia .    

Our waterfront roundsman said   that when he  was researching the Kanimbla , he unexpectedly came across  a  picture of  Sydney Harbour  which  included  waterfront  buildings  in  the  background   at   Kirribilli , where he  had   lived  in  a  flat  in  one  building  , with a harbour view, when  he was  a  snotty-nosed  boy.  His mother had received  a  shock   the   night  of  the June  1942  attack  by  Japanese  midget submarines  on Sydney  Harbour .

The Japanese failed to destroy  the heavy cruiser USS Chicago , but killed  21 men when the converted ferry  HMAS  Kuttabul , providing accommodation  at  Garden Island , was  torpedoed .   

In the aftermath of the attack ,which shocked the  nation, coming after the devastating attack on Darwin , the Shipping Reporter said he was taken by his  uncle to see  a   submarine  put  on public  display . 

Meanwhile, back at the motley pianola rolls , our reporter   detected  that  the above  Broadway word roll of   Charmaine! , a waltz , said to have been played by Kaplan and  Rawlings  of the Anglo-American Player Roll Company   has   a  colourful  background . 

It involved Lennard  Luscombe , brought up as a musical genius in Melbourne  by his ambitious mother. About 1916 , he made some of the earliest pianola roll recordings  using brown wrapping paper ,usually cut by hand  with  a  penknife. 

Off to America  he went in 1917 where he became the musical director at the Century Theatre, New York , and  visited  pianola roll  companies  there .

In  1921 , back home in Melbourne , he  founded the  Anglo-American Player Roll Company and was its  sole artist , who used  pseudonyms such as Dan Rawlings, Art Kaplan (see Charmaine! above )  and  Earl Lester  to make out  he  had  a  string of artists.

Our sunstruck  Shipping  Reporter  hopes  to  pick  up  a  pianola  player  at a garage  sale  in  the near  future .