TWIGGY FORREST MISSES GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE AKUBRA BUY OF THE CENTURY

 The day after it was announced   WA  billionaire  Twiggy Forrest  and his wife had bought the famous  Australian  Akubra   hat  making business  , Little  Darwin  snapped up  a  bizarre   Akubra  relic  which  surely  deserves  to  be  in  a  chapeaux   museum , or swapped  for at  least   half  share  in  a  major  iron ore  deposit .  

It  is  in the form   of a   framed, under glass ,  dead  imitation   Akubra  hat , inserted  in  a  decorated  tombstone , somehow linked  to  a   mining disaster , possibly the  Mount Mulligan  coal mine explosion of l921 which killed  75   miners , and  even  the  American  Civil  War . 

The  rare  object  was   found in  the Magnetic Island  tip shop, often frequented  by   Little Darwin  inmates , including  our  Shipping Reporter.

In small , faded  writing on the back  was   Murray Hill, 38 Chisholm Trail, Oak Valley, Queensland ,  a telephone number , and  $75, plus another  mention of the  Mining  Disaster . 

Australia's biggest  shooting  competition , the 24th Chisholm Trail  , which included  the  Duel Downunder, was  held  between September 25 to October  1, at Millmerran ,Queensland, organised  by  the  Sporting Shooters Associaion  of  Australia .

The Chisholm Trail derives its name from the one used in the  post- Civil War era  to drive cattle overland from ranches in Texas to Kansas railheads.