KAPOK BOMBARDMENT CONTINUES

The combination of  warmer  temperatures and  gusty  wind  is causing  more kapok  tree  seed  pods  to  explode  and  shower  far  and  wide .  Large numbers of small  grey  moths have been noticed fluttering about cycad cones. 

EARLY SIGNS OF MANGO MADNESS

Hot and bothered Dinosaur  under  a  tree .

Conditions are becoming increasing  torrid  across a large part of the nation  as  the  build up to the  Wet  is  very evident  and  there  is  another warning  about  the  changing  Australian  climate.

Broome  and  the   Kimberley region  of   Western Australia  have  experienced  heatwaves ,the  troughs   being  drawn down  into  adjoining  states  and  the  Northern  Territory .

In  Darwin ,  the  steamy  weather  of   late  , after  a  quick shower, was described by a  local as like walking into a wall of water. Fans and  airconditioners  are  working  overtime.

Down in  the  rural area  mossies   are  out  and  about, adding to  the  discomfiture . 

In   large  parts  of   North  Queensland  temperatures  are  rising . In  Townsville , our  Shipping Reporter   is   looking  more bug-eyed than usual , showing  clear  signs  of   going  troppo, again . 

This he  blames on a  neurotic bird  which  has  moved in  near  where  he  lives  and  stridently  bleats for  hours , sometimes  starting  at   3am , disrupting the  waterfront  roundsman's much  needed  beauty  sleep and increasing  the  need for cosmetic  surgery to  improve, if possible, his   wrinkled  kisser . 

The Shipping Reporter says he  hopes to find  a  pre-loved  bazooka  at  a garage  sale  or  market  with  which  to   bombard   and   dislodge  the  infuriating   bird .

WATERLILY LANDING PAD

Vallis.

 

CLANDESTINE BROADCASTS SPECIAL

Shortwave , a  development showing  of  a   new alternative  music composition by  Melbourne-based sound artist Ian Moorhead, inspired by shortwave radio transmissions and coded and clandestine  messages, received and transmitted from northern Australia, will  be played in Darwin  on  November 15  at  3pm  in  the   Brown's  Mart  Studio .

 It will include the following : 

·  Radio Maubere - an East Timorese radio station that sent covert information to Australian activists in and around Darwin following the Indonesian invasion of Portuguese  East Timor in 1975.

· JN-25 - Japanese radio messages containing Kana Morse code intercepted by special wireless units based in northern Australia during WW2.

·  Cherry Ripe - a mysterious numbers station  that transmitted  out of Humpty Doo in the Northern Territory for a period up  until  2009.

As part of his research for the  unusual project , Moorehead recently visited Darwin  and conferred with  agronomist  and  activist  Robert  Wesley-Smith who was deeply involved  in the East Timor  struggle  , as were his twin brothers, Peter  and  Martin , all three subsequently decorated  by  the Timor  Leste  Government in Dili. 

 As a result of  Moorhead's  production,  Robert Wesley-Smith  has sent out  several  photographs  related to the   clandestine  Darwin   radios  used  to      contact    East Timor, including the  100ft high  tower  for one  on  a  rural property at  the 17-mile, owned  by  union  activist, the late Brian Manning.  

Each  of the four concrete  footings of  the tower contained a message, some by  local  Timorese,   relating  to  the   fight  for  freedom, one  below.      

  

FRONTLINE DEFENCE EMBALMED

The  above zany full  page  drawing  of  the  Australian early warning system, Darwin Station, appeared  in  another  lively  edition of  the  l969  Broadside  magazine  produced  in  Melbourne .

It showed  a puzzled Chinese soldier with a burp gun and hand grenades, during an invasion, peering in at a soldier snoring at his desk in front of a radar screen, unaware of warning beeps, a panic button nearby.

There is a 1932 nude calendar , with the compliments of Alf Resco , butcher and embalmer. There were instructions to insert a 5 cent piece in the radar . When making tea, the radar had to be turned off because the  jug  caused interference. Instructions for running the vital station were issued by Commanding Officer,   Basil Sweetlips. 

Also seen through the window was a ground to air missile - like the Blood Hound ones now flanking the entrance to the RAAF base at Darwin airport - with a wind up key, a  Blood Nose .

VORACIOUS CATERPILLAR

Sara.

STATE OF NIRVANA

Vallis.

 

UP CLOSE TO ADMIRABLE PETER BURLEIGH AND ASSORTED SEA DOGS IN THE MULGA

  

Captured reminiscing  on  Magnetic  Island , looking through a  rare  bound in volume  of  the  l969 Melbourne  magazine Broadside , edited by the late  Pete  Steedman,  is  talented  wordsmith and  illustrator, Peter   Burleigh. 

Burleigh contributed much  to  Broadsde which had a strong political content and challenged the national journal , The Bulletin . Later  on , after many  adventures overseas , some almost death defying with Steedman,  he   wrote  the  rollicking  Bulldust  Diary  for  Little  Darwin .

This illustrated  gem  was composed  as  he  drove  about  Australia   listening  to  dashboard Talking  Books  tapes , including  sailing  aboard  His  Majesty’s Ship  Surprise in 1815, fighting  the  perfidious Bonaparte.

A great fan of  maritime  yarns  , once owning a yacht  in France,  he wrote that  Pat Mickey O’Brien  had written  20 of them (including Master & Commander) about a Captain and his friend Stephen, a surgeon-spy. Brilliant. The best books about the English Navy  I’ve never read – or  listened  to, he said.

One of the   great  drawings   he produced  for  Little Darwin  while  engaged   in  long  running   naval  battles  in  the  Aussie outback  was  the   fabulous   one   we  rerun  below   because  of   its  sheer   brilliance. (See earlier  CRUCIFIED   KENTUCKY  FRIED  CHICKEN  Burleigh  post.)    

(Burleigh, Steedman, Napoleon .)

INSIDE A CREATIVE , INSPIRING ISLAND

The   Magnetic  Island  Museum is  busily sending out  its  2025  calenders,  entitled Looking Inside , containing interior  views  of old houses , hotels , the wreck of  the City of  Adelaide, some advertising   and  the  Argonauts eatery  at   Horseshoe Bay - a  floating  nosh  venture   brought  up  from  Victoria  which  caught  fire . 

Meanwhile ,  a  Museum volunteer  is well  advanced  transcribing , typing up and placing in chronological order  the many   letters  of  the   former  island  resident  and  pioneer  oyster  farmer  , reef  protector,  the  late Keith  Bryson , described  as   the  hermit  of  White  Lady  Bay . 

During a  discussion  with the  Museum  president , Zanita Davies, she  told  this blog of the island's long  history  of  people  involved  in arts and  literature  . She  recalled  that  the  artist  Margaret Olley  had visited the island with   another  renowned  artist , Donald  Friend.

Olley had stated that the vibrant  colours of  the  island , especially the bougainvilleas , had  made  a   big  impression  on  her .  As a  young girl ,Olley  had  lived on a cane farm at Tully and was a boarder at Townsville's  St Anne's Church of England convent,  where  she  was  influenced by an artistic nun. 

Recently Magnetic Island  artist Steve Crowe  who , with his artist wife, Sharon, run Pandanas Art Space ,  at  Horseshoe Bay , a studio gallery offering vibrant  North Queensland  views,  won  another  Townsville  art  prize ;  earlier in  the  year he won a  Cloncurry award with a striking landscape . 

Their daughter, Nicole, a writer and communications  expert ,  has  just signed  a  contract  with a  British  publisher for  a crime  novel  set  in the tropics.  NEWS TIP FOR MEDIA : Talented  family  feature  article here and  other  interesting follow up yarns  involving  James  Cook University, Papua New  Guinea , etc., etc., etc.  

(Island, Art, Novel.)

FLIGHTY TREASURE

 After  seeing  odd   items on   the British  Antiques Roadshow  being valued at  astronomical amounts, Little Darwin  is  seriously  considering   flying  the above   highly desirable ,  rare ,  rusty  artwork   , from  Darwin , to  London  in  the  hope  that  it  will  be  declared   worth  a  king's  ransom  , in  which case it will be flogged  off  presto, the  proceeds  lodged  in  a  Swiss  bank account . 

The  unique  object  was   apparently awarded  to the winner of  a  l985  car rally  which  involved the  Darwin Aero Club and  the Darwin Press Club.

It once had  pride of place in the Darwin garden of  the late journalist , Neil Dibbs . When Neil was a reporter in London he  used to  scour  the  banks of  the Thames  with  a  metal detector  looking  for valuable  Roman  and  British  coins. 

It was joking  said  that  he also went  looking for the weapon wielded  by Jack  the  Ripper . 

In  the Northern  Territory , where he became a  newspaper editor, ministerial press secretary and member of  the  influential  Friday Club,  he took part in  digs , that's him on the  right,  at  the old  mining  centre of  Pine Creek,  with a  display  of  Dutch case  gin  bottles  and   chinese  jars .

The scruffy person with him on the dig is believed to be a member of the Little  Darwin team .

(Plane , Darwin, Dibbs.) 

CHEEKY BRISBANE BRIDGES BARE ALL

Little  Darwin  philatelic  expose' . 

Sun faded and  foxed  first day  cover at  top  for  official  opening of  Gateway Bridge , May 14, l986, followed  by  bleached  l985 view of  Story  Bridge , venue  for the weekend's nude  mass  photograph by American Spencer Tunick , which obviously distracted voters from re-electing the Sunshine State's bronzed Queensland  Labor government .

 The postal history items displayed here were found in Townsville , the  ALP  losing   three  seats  based  there  in  the  election, a bummer of a  result ,an  indication  of  severe   Barrier  Reef  coral  bleaching . 

(Bridges, Nudes,Townsville.)

CRUCIFIED KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN

 Part of  a   rescrambled , memorable   account of  an  epic outback  car  safari,  by  Peter Burleigh , which  includes  his cartoon of  a  soon to  be plucked chook, apparently  contemplating   what   came   first : The  chicken  or  the  egg ,  or  will  I  be  reborn  as  Eggs Benedict ? 

 

In scenes reminiscent of How the West was Won and Dug Up , Bulldust Diary columnist / illustrator , Peter Burleigh, acting as head scout,  in 2012 led a  trusting  pack of pilgrims out of Kununurra, Western Australia, deep into  dangerous UFO and dingo country.  He  wrote :

 My wife, Judi , flies in to Kununurra to join  me for a week’s travel to Broome. In Canberra the night before she left it was two degrees below zero. She arrives wearing polar knickers.

 Other ladies arrive, too, until our party numbers 17 souls, including: two ex-magistrates; two current aldermen; a gynaecologist ; a dental nurse; a retired mining engineer; an executive information technology placement consultant ; a veterinarian nurse ; someone’s daughter and her boyfriend; a retired interior designer ; a demolition contractor ; a Canadian undertaker ; an American real estate manipulator and your finger- licking Bulldust Diarist. 

This hand-picked group of retards will either do well together or re-create the wreck of the Batavia. Someone’s daughter and her boyfriend will fly out to Darwin in the morning, so attrition is striking early. Tonight the local Speedway does a good impression of a future NATO air raid on Damascus.

Petrolheads from all over the place have poured into town, exhausts rumbling, beer cans tumbling. The Speedway lights flash around the horizon and the thumps, bangs and screams of fireworks echo through the town, speaking of great destruction and bloodshed.

But we ignore all that as we are in the Coles Supermarket, provisioning for our trip to the Bungle Bungles. Those who are reading this series of travelogues may already be using the term “Bunglers” to describe me and my fellow travellers, but I assure you the Bungle Bungles is the name of a pile of rocks in the desert.

On our way to the Bungle Bungles turnoff we pass through Turkey Creek, another of the glum little refuelling outposts along the never-ending highway. You have to leave your driving licence or credit card at the cash register before they’ll switch on the fuel pumps. People have been filling up and running away without paying. Fuel in both forms is expensive: diesel is $2.00 per litre; a steak sandwich $9.50, which brings me to chicken.

What a debt we owe to the humble chicken. How many of them have died and will die to keep us sandwiched, roasted, saladed and breakfasted? Yet we make jokes about them, call them cowardly, burn, boil and roast them. If we ever need another religion based on an example of sacrifice, my vote is for the chicken. I hope a talented poet will write a “Chicken Odyssey” some day.

The prehistoric quality of the road out to the bunch of Bungles is legendary, but in fact proves to be the easy part. Once we reach Broome we plan to leave the surfaced highway and return northeast to Kununurra along the Gibb River Road, as infamous a track as ever forded the River Styx.“The life expectancy of your car (being a non-Toyota) will be about 40 minutes,” gleefully sneers one  local. Another advises: “Lookin’ at that country is as exciting as watching yer verandah warp.”

Meanwhile, they’re right about the track to the Bungles. It takes 2.5 hours to travel 52km. You turn off a perfectly good sealed highway onto a dirt track which soon becomes a Big Dipper with added potholes, rocks, corrugations and multiple river crossings. To get to the National Park you must pass through private property and only a few weeks ago, before the State Government stopped him, the landowner was levying a $20 “transit fee” on every car which went through.

If you want to see what the Bungles look like, find them on the internet. I can’t describe them as well as a photo can. They’re spectacularly old; they say 300 million years, although why it isn’t a more specific 305 million or 417 million isn’t clear. They are domes of black-and-red striped rock, formed by millennia of floodwaters and before that the tides of the fabled inland sea covering Central Australia. 

Look, it’s easier if you simply come over to my place and check out my photos. Why the legendary”‘slide evening” has fallen out of fashion I don’t know.

We walk for kilometres around these colourful knobs. The walks seem much longer than Chairman Mao’s. All of us now have legs more muscular than Superman’s. Time moves incredibly slowly here, and in summer the superheated air and sunlight are heavy enough to cause their own erosion. It’s mid-winter now yet the days are around 33 degrees. The rains have receded, leaving a few small pools crowded with doomed fish. The silence is deep. You feel privileged to be here.

We find a kind of weird “crop circle” in the grass which may be the landing place of an alien spacecraft. It’s dominated by the black-and-pink cliffs of the Bungles. We decide to camp on it, confident we can out-weird any alien who comes along. 

We circle the wagons around a campfire and cook our modest eye fillet steaks. Wine appears from hiding places and by morning there is a large pile of empty cans and bottles. The volume of alcohol consumed each night proves just how hard and tough life is out here.

We wake to an anguished cry of “Dingoes stole my Helga’s!” Dingoes have not carried away any child or drunken compatriot but a loaf of bread is missing and bags of Muesli lie in the dirt, ripped open / disembowelled / missing / molested. The word goes out: be alert, not alarmed. The second night passes without incident (what goes on in your tent stays in your tent).

[Astute Little Darwin readers will notice that Burleigh's rendition of the swashbuckling dingo is obviously influenced by the tapes he plays in his car about scurvy seadogs roaming the bounding main. Heavy consumption of his ship's daily ration of Mad Dog Morgan's Blood could  explain the incorrect spelling of  muesli ] 

(Burleigh, Kentucky,Dingo.)

LOTUS FASHIONISTA

Vallis.

 

PUZZLING LANGUAGE

 

AMERICANS GET ANOTHER CHANCE TO DEBAG TUBBY FASCIST AT THE ELECTION

Believed to be a  Second  World War  drawing   depicting  American  troops soon  after they lobbed  in England  declaring  they  would soon  have  the  pants  off  Hitler ,   shown on the   Antiques  Roadshow . The  person  with  the   stick  from  which the   Fuehrer's  pants  fluttered  was   thought to  represent  a   New  York  cop .

Meanwhile , Kamala  Harris is engaged  in  a monumental  wrassle  with Trump , who  looks like a   flabby  version  of  the  fancy , perfumed  American  professional  mat  man , the  late   Gorgeous  George  Wagner ,who was derided  when  he  performed in Sydney .  

Her  campaign  has just been boosted  by Trump's former White House  Chief of Staff ,  Marine general  John F. Kelly , saying  Trump  fits the fascist definition , would govern  like a  dictator and had no understanding  of  the Constitution  or  the  concept  of  rule  of  law. 

He also  was  quoted as saying  Trump had  made  admiring statements  about  Hitler.  

(Trump,Hitler,Gorgeous.)

EXCLUSIVE : HAIR - RAISING POLITICAL PLAN ROCKS FORELOCK TUGGERS

CANBERRA :  In  a shock  announcement , Senator Lidia  Thorpe today announced she intends  forming a  powerful new  Australian political   movement   called  the  Short  Back  and  Sides  Party .

Furthermore  , the controversial senator , who could be  thrown into the  Tower of London  for undermining  the monarchy,  has  told  award  winning  political  reporter  Argus  Tuft  she intends  having  her  hair shaved off   by  Costa Georgiadis , hirsute presenter of  the  popular ABC  Gardening  Australia television  show ,  at   the  official launch of  the  party, which  will  be  held  in  and around   Sydney's   Archibald  Fountain , during  next month's Guy Fawkes  Day celebrations. 

It is understood  Costa , above , will be  insured   for  $50million  against any  injury to his person  and  fungal  features  during  the dangerous clip , which  has been dubbed  Operation Nude Nut .

The ghosts of Sydney's long gone , naughty  King's Cross Whisper  , Peter Blake  in   particular , contributed  to   the  writing  of  this  unruly  mullet . 

(Thorpe, Monarchy, Nude .)

BRITISH TABLOIDS WARNING ; DITTO OZ MURDOCH PAPERS AND SKY TELEVISION

 

CHALLENGE TO YOUTH FLASHBACK

                                     

Battered  copy of  l937-1938  edition of  The Boy's Own  Annual , containing  the speech by  Stanley Baldwin , his last as British  Prime Minister ,  to a  gathering   of 10,000 young men and women , between the  ages of  12 and 16, from every  Dominion and Colony , in  May  1937 at  the Great Empire Rally of  Youth in the  Royal Albert   Hall.  Earl   Baldwin  said  to  be  " an  old reader " of  the  Boy's Own  Paper.  Annual  found  in Townsville  tour.

CAPE YORK PENINSULA REFLECTIONS

 

Archer River. Pix by  Aeronautical  Correspondent  Abra. 

HEADGEAR FOR ALL OCCASIONS

Spotted at Townsville's Mundingburra  Market  by  the  hatless, thinly- thatched , roaming  Shipping Reporter. At  another happy hunting ground ,he   picked up  an  interesting  2013 edition of  Frankie   magazine , published six times a year  by  Morrison Media , Burleigh Heads, dealing with  design , art  ,photography , fashion , travel, music, craft , home and life, which   contained an  illustrated  article on  the  history of  hats.  

AMERICAN AIR ACES AND FIVE CENT CIGAR

l970  booklet produced by  Kookaburra Publications,  in  Dandenong, Victoria, on  sale at  Mundingburra monthly  market, Townsville . At one stage it  was said  America  badly  needed  a  good  five  cent   ceegar , perhaps the one in  a   nearby  ashtray   ?  Puffed  up  flight of   fancy  by  Shipping  Reporter.

EXCLUSIVE : TRUMP'S ILL-FATED STAR MISSING AT FABULOUS ART SHOW

 Hollywood's  Walk  of  Fame  featured in  Artscape 2024 , a  splendiferous   exhibition of  art and film  by students  at  Pimlico State High School, Townsville .

Near a large HOLLYWOOD   sign , replicas of  some of the terrazzo and   brass  stars  of   the  2752  filmstars  inserted   along the  Hollywood   Walk  of Fame were  displayed  about the  school paths.  Guests invited to  the  official opening and awards  were  encouraged to dress to the   theme  : Classic Hollywood ( black , white  and  silver.) 

Our Shipping Reporter , looking   like  something out  of  The  Curse  of  the Mummies, went along  to  the most  impressive   exhibition  of   talent at the school which included  a vast array of photos, drawings, lino cuts , many figurines  and  movies. 

As he lurched about , he  noticed the  stars  of   Bette  Davis, Doris Day, Judy Garland,  Grace Kelly, Ginger Rogers , Jimmy Stewart,  Greta Garbo,  Marilyn Monroe,  Rita Hayworth  , Audrey Hepburn,  Marlon  Brando , Mae  West  and  Buster Keaton.

Our waterfront roundsman said he was disappointed that Donald Trump's star had not  been  included  underfoot , because he would dearly  have  liked the opportunity to   add to  its  long history of  mistreatment , perhaps  draw a moustache  on  it  similar to  the  one  sported  by  Mona Lisa ,  and  throw  a  bucket  of  tar  and  a   bag  of  KFC  feathers  on  top .   

 An arty hamburger on display , which depicted  a  pig  between  buns , could  easily  have passed  for  Donald Trump .

Wikipedia  says Trump's star was included  in the Walk of Fame due to  his  work  and  ownership of the Miss Universe pageant. It has been vandalized many times, shown above  under repair in July 2018.   During the 2016 presidential election, a man named James Otis, who claimed to be an heir to the Otis Elevator company fortune, used a sledgehammer and a pickaxe to destroy all of the star's brass inlays. He readily admitted to the vandalism and was arrested and sentenced to three years' probation.

The star was repaired and served as a site of pro-Trump demonstrations until it was destroyed a second time in July 2018 by a man named Austin Clay. Clay later surrendered himself to the police and was bailed out by James Otis. Clay was sentenced to one day in jail, three years of probation, and 20 days of community service. 

He also was ordered to attend psychological counseling and pay restitution of $9,404.46 to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce ^] On December 18, 2018, the star was defaced with swastikas and other graffiti drawn in permanent marker, ^[ and it was again vandalized with a pickaxe on October 2, 2020.

(Trump, Missing, Star.)

DUSTY EASY RIDER

Darwin agronomist  Robert Wesley-Smith- aka Rural Rebel Rob- displaying  motorbike  racing trophies  he  won in  the Northern Territory. When the  ABC recently  asked for information about  early motorbike  adventures in  Darwin,  Wes   wrote  an  acount  of  how  in  l969 he was in a group, mainly mounted on 250cc  Yamahs  DT  1's, which made a quick  return trip from  Darwin   to  the  Nourlangie safari camp  , run by The Great White Hunter , Alexander Allan  Stewart, part of celebrations  to mark  100 years of  settlement.

 

His  gripping story  was  read over  the airwaves . It  detailed a  wild  ride through  much dust   , coping with  poor  air filters  and rough roads  which  took a   toll on  bikes.  A member of  the  party wrote to Yamaha  and   received  five  motors  and   new   filters  for  nix.  

Wes  got involved in motorbike  scramble races and motorcross events  and  won  the  first  three  NT  championships.

FAMOUS PHOTOGRAPHER IN PORT

 Postcard view of Circular  Quay   by  pioneering photographer, filmmaker , author and adventurer Captain Frank Hurley, with Orient liner SS Oriana ,known as the Queen of the Sea, alongside , dated  February 1, l962.  Hurley, born  Sydney 1885, ran away from home at 13, bought  a Kodak Box Brownie when he was  17, taught himself photography and started making  postcards .

 An  official AIF photographer in  WW1 , with the rank of captain,he made six trips to  Antarctica , flew with Ross Smith , explored the Torres Strait and New Guinea ,served with the AIF in the Middle East , died  l962. National Library has large Hurley photographic collection . Postcard in batch bought by our Shipping Reporter from a vendor with fond memories of Darwin at  Townsville's   Mundingburra   monthly  market .

WINSTON CHURCHILL ON DEMON GROG

 Sir Winston Churchill was once asked about his position on whisky. Here's how he  answered:

"If you mean whisky, the devil's brew, the poison scourge, the bloody monster that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home, creates misery and poverty, yea, literally takes the bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean that evil drink that topples men and women from the pinnacles of righteous and gracious living into the bottomless pit of degradation, shame, despair, helplessness and hopelessness, then, my friend, I am opposed to it with every fibre of my being."

"However, if by whisky you mean the oil of conversation, the philosophic wine, the elixir of life, the ale that is consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their hearts and the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean good cheer, the stimulating sip that puts a little spring in the step of an elderly gentleman on a frosty morning; if you mean that drink that enables man to magnify his joy, and to forget life's great tragedies and heartbreaks and sorrow; if you mean that drink the sale of which pours into our treasuries untold millions of pounds each year, that provides tender care for our little crippled children, our blind, our deaf, our dumb, our pitifully aged and infirm, to build the finest highways, hospitals, universities, and community colleges in this nation... then my friend, I am absolutely, unequivocally in favour of it..!!!"

"This is my position, and as always, I refuse to compromise on matters of principle!!!"

The  above outpouring  sent   from  a  resident in  thirsty  Darwin   who  added   a  comment   about  Winston :  His vocabulary and command of the English language is unparalleled!  I only wish we had representatives, politicians  and statesmen of  his calibre  around  today. 

(Churchill,Whisky,Darwin.)

ART APPRECIATION ACROSS THE NATION

While Sydney  is  experiencing  the   start of  the   large international  public art exhibition , Sculpture by the Sea , on the Bondi to Tamarama Walkway, artists from the Townsville  Tafe  College  at   Pimlico  gathered   around  pools  at  Anderson  Botanic  Gardens  to  capture a  new  showing of   lilies, some Lotus,   clusters  of  birdlife  and   many dragonflies. 

The  gardens cover 25 hectares . 

Vallis photos.

(Art ,Sydney, Townsville .)

A LONELY LITTLE PINEAPPLE IN A PETUNIA PATCH BRINGS BACK OLD SING SONG

 Modern version of 1940s hit  song  about  a sad  Petunia in  an onion patch .  Followed by a ripped  North  Queensland Pineapple Newsflash, under  a  pile of pineapples, after closure of the lively Charters Towers newspaper , announcing local news is now in the Townsville Bulletin. Photos by obviously  juiced  up   Vallis. 

DUTCH BOOK FEST

Australia  will  be  represented at  this   weekend's  Amsterdam  International  Antiquarian  Book  Fair  by  Douglas  Stewart  Fine Books, Melbourne, its focus on early voyages  and  travel,especially in the Far East and includes rare works printed in China, Japan, Goa  and  the Philippines. 

(Books,Amsterdam,Melbourne.)

TAIPAN MAN IN PIT OF DEATH

An unusual item  unearthed  in Townsville was  the above 45 rpm  Capricorn Record  which  featured Ram Chandra , the  Taipan  Man , autographed by  him  in 1979, and  the massive 1974  Australia  Day  flooding  of  Brisbane caused by  Cyclone Wanda .

Born Edward Royce Ramsamy at Lawrence, near Grafton , NSW, in May 1921, he joined  up in the l940s with Nazim Shah  in the  Carnival of Eastern Wonders  on the show circuit, later changing his name to Ram Chandra , specialising in handling and displaying venomous and non venomous snakes in his Pit of Death .

Through his interest in and knowledge gained about deadly Taipans, he helped the Commonwealth Serum Laboratory develop  an antivenene  for the usually fatal Taipan bite . The antivenene  saved the life of Bruce  Stringer , a Cairns schoolboy,  and Chandra was awarded the British Empire Medal  in  the l975 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Chandra was himself bitten by a  taipan . Married in Mackay, Queensland , his family consisted  of  eight children and  three more that were adopted . He died in Mackay on July 1,l998.

On the record , the vocals  are  both  by  Lyall Sutcliffe  backed by  The Wagon Wheels .  Sutcliffe and  his brother  Geoff  were longtime  buskers  who travelled  far and wide. In 2014  they  performed in a western  Queensland tour , aged  78 and 80 respectively , their  musical  minded  parents  living  to  101 and  99 .

In September 2014 , the popular record shop called  Capricorn Records , at Warrnambool, Victoria , run by Michael Fitzgerald , closed after 35 years of trading . 

(Taipan, Chandra ,Cyclone.)