SHOCK , HORROR : AMERICA CLEAR -FELLED BY LYING LUMBERJACK APEING HATCHET WIELDING HONEST GEORGE WASHINGTON

 

(Horror, America , Washington.)

UNCLE SAM ADMITTED TO SANITORIUM AFTER ZIPPITY- DO0 - DAH ELECTION

Appalled  by  Donald Trump  winning the  American  election, that  much  loved  fine   old  finger  pointing and  licking  Yanky  symbol ,   Uncle Sam ,  babbling  to  himself , stripped of his battered  straw-boater and  garish clothing  bought in  a  Bronx op shop,  has  been   rushed   to   an  upgraded   dark  celebrity  padded  cell  in  Disney Land  for  urgent  shock  treatment .  

An  anonymous deeply  concerned  Mayo  Clinic  doctor   told  Little  Darwin   Uncle  Sam  is  in  a  catatonic state ,  above,    ghastly  in appearance ... similar to  a  repulsive  Halloween mask   designed  in   the  USA  , made  in Mexico , smuggled  across the border , which  went  astray  and  warped  on  a  delivery  flight  to   Australia.      

(Trump,  Halloween , Mexico.)     

COMMERCIAL ART IN THE NORTH

 Aspiring  Townsville  artist   Walter  E. Badcoe  signed up for   the   Melbourne Australian  Art  Training  Centre   commercial  course  circa  l950s  and  was   soon  doing  well , reporting  that  in  his spare  time  he  had  made nearly 1000 pounds  producing  catalogues ,  covers   and  advertisements.

The  above  sample   for  Magnetic  Island  displays his  name on  the  bow of  the   launch .   Described as a  student , Badcoe's  following cover  design    on  fishing  won  an  Australian  Writers  and  Artists'  Federation  competition.

(Badcoe, Art , Townsville.)

BRITISH NEW GUINEA EXPEDITION 1904

 A collection of  51 photographs taken on the Daniels Ethnographical Expedition , one of the most important scientific  expeditions  before  WWl,  is included  in  the latest acquisitions list of  Douglas Stewart Fine Books, Melbourne, for  $7500.

The expedition was led and financed by Major William  Cooke Daniels (1870-1918), a wealthy American retailer  who met the  British anthropologist  Charles Gabriel Seligmann (1873-1940) by chance  on  a fishing trip in England .

Seligmann had taken part in the 1898 Cambridge Anthropological Expedition  to  the Torres Straits  and had  visited  what  was  then  British  New  Guinea . 

The  photographs , which  include  inscriptions in pencil , possibly by Seligmann, were   taken  by photographer  Arthur  Henry  Dunning (1884-l959), are  a  record  of  the  fast  vanishing  traditional culture. 

Daniels and his yacht, the Kori, arrived in Port Moresby on 23 May. Over the next five months, the team visited Hula and the Mekeo and Rigo districts in what is now Central Province, and islands in Milne Bay including Samarai, Tubetube, Muyua, Gawa, Kwaiawata, Iwa, and the Trobriand Islands. They also visited Dogura in Bartle Bay, and Wagawaga, a village on the coast of Milne Bay.

In Port Moresby, Dunning, assisted by the British Resident  Magistrate Francis Rockman  Barton, recorded  three  wax  cyclinders of  lagatoi songs.   

Lagatoi are the double-hulled sailing canoes used in the hiri, the annual trading expedition that Motu / Koita people took to the Papuan Gulf to trade their clay pots for sago; the hiri is still celebrated today and remains an important  symbol  for  the  Motu / Koita people.

(Photos, Expedition,Guinea).

SCOOP : DONALD TRUMP REDUCED TO DEADWOOD AFTER CRASH-LANDING ON ELON MUSK UPGRADED ESCAPE FLIGHT TO MARS FOLLOWING ELECTION LOSS

Noxious  weeds  only sign of  life on  Red  Planet . Vallis .

(Trump,Loss,Mars.)

POMMIES IN AUSSIE RULES BLOOPER

A quick perusal  of   Miller's Collectables  495 page  British   price guide for  1999-2000  by our Shipping Reporter has  revealed   the  above  black and white poster , framed and  glazed , claiming  it  was  the  mascot of the  Collingwood  American  Football Club , signed  by  team members in l973 , worth  40-50  pounds . 

The  artist  was identified as  Hagg , who  was  obviously  Reg  Hagg,  born    Melbourne  in  1917,  a   well  known  cartoonist   and   illustrator, with no connection  to  any  Uncle Sam  backed   football  club. 

ODD NORTHERN TERRITORY FOOTING

 

Tattooed ouline of  the Northern Territory on  an  unwashed foot in Townsville.  Another   tattoo, not visible, is the Jabiru bird which is used to promote   NT  tourism .

(Territory, Foot , Tattoo.)

SEARCH FOR REPORTER'S GRAVE

A move is  afoot to  try and locate  the  grave  of  Australian journalist  Roger East who was  killed when  Indonesia invaded  the  Portuguese Timor  capital , Dili , in  l975.   Furthermore, it  has  been suggested  a monument   should  be  raised  honouring  East  on  or  before next  year's  50th anniversary of  the invasion. 

There  is already a  small Roger East plaque  which was  arranged  by his family in  2000.

Nearby is another memorial to  that  fateful day  in 1975, marking the start  of  the  attack on   Dili ,  shown  below . 

The  wide  ranging   discussions  on  the  subject  have  included  the    suggestion  that  Australian actor  Anthony LaPaglia  be asked to play a leading  part  in  the  campaign .

He  played  East in the  film, Balibo,  about the five  members of  the Australian  news team  killed  on October  16 , l975 ,  at  the start of  the  incursion , based  on  Cover  Up, the book by Shirley Shackleton , whose  television  reporter  husband,  Greg, was one of  those murdered.

In the attempt to  find the exact spot where  East  was  supposedly buried  after being shot and thrown into the sea on December 8, l975,  it  has even been  suggested  that  a  US Department of  Defence  organisation , based  in Hawaii , which looks for the missing in  action graves  of  80,000  Americans,  might become involved  in a roundabout  way . 

This is  because  there is a site in  Dili, not far from where East  was possibly  interred , which might  contain the remains of  Japanese,  Australian  and   American  airmen .  Ground probing radar  could  be used in the  hunt  for East's remains.  

One  of  those  discussing   the proposal  is Darwin agronomist Robert Wesley-Smith , deeply involved in the East Timor   struggle , who  re- enacted Roger East  being  shot and  thrown into  the sea , below , on the 20th anniversary -

 

Wes , 82, has just produced  a  44pp , illustrated   booklet ,Timor Tales,  about the  long , bloody struggle , which includes articles he wrote over the years , some poems  by Timorese ,  1942  photos of Dili , a  map  used  by  Australian  commandoes  during   WWll and even a photo of the brave  November 28,1975  universal  declaration  of   independence  in  Dili ,  Roger  East , in shorts,  visible  with  a  camera  at  the historic event .  Wes  produced  an  earlier  E-book,   117 Days  in  Timor .

Hot  off  the press  Timor  Tales , Sam Kruger and Yamamoto plus Other Stories . The  person  featured on  the  cover  is  the late Sam Kruger who , while in charge of radio communications  on Guadalcanal during WW2, is said to have  played  a   part  in  Operation Vengeance,  the  shooting  down  by  Americans  of  the plane  in  which Japan's  Admiral- in - Chief   Isoruku  Yamamoto , mastermind of  the attack on  Pearl Harbour,   was  travelling. Kruger   was  also  involved  in   the  early  days  of  the  East Timor struggle ; he spent time in the Northern Territory  and   was buried   at   Alice  Springs . 

Wesley-Smith has passed on information about East's  likely grave site he  has gleaned  from  various sources . He  firmly  believes the Australian Embassy in  Timor - Leste should become  involved in  the  search .

Recently Melbourne  activist, John Waddingham ,   keeper of  the East Timor clearing house archive , came to Darwin, went to Timor- Leste . He is due back in Darwin in the coming  week and  will stay with  Wesley-Smith .

Human rights  advocate  and author ,  Pat  Walsh , who wrote  The Day Hope and History Rhymed in East Timor  , plus other  pieces on  East Timor, went to Timor Leste  this year and  made  inquiries , especially in relation to a possible  burial  site  near a  major government  building .

A former priest , he lived  in East Timor for  10  years  and with the suport of the  United Nations helped set up and run the ground breaking reconciliation commission . 

It is hoped that   Timor- Leste  president  ,  Jose  Ramos- Horta , a Nobel Peace Laureate ,  will   become  involved  in  the  Roger  East  proposal. The Australian Journalists' Association  has  been informed .

A veteran  reporter  with experience in several overseas troublespots , Roger East  came to  Darwin after Cyclone Tracy  and  met  up with old reporter friend , Peter  Blake ,they both having worked on the Hong Kong Star , a Darwin independent  newspaper named after The  Star .

East went to Timor to  investigate what happened to the Balibo 5. His despatches  about the   worsening situation   were flown   back to  Darwin  by  plane , where they were picked up  by a  woman  at the airport , photocopied , and distributed to news outlets, including Australian  Associated  Press .

In a lighthearted  covering note to one  , he  described himself as his mother's favourite son , who was  being shot  at  from many  angles. 

 A Balibo Five-Roger East Fellowship, an initiative of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance and Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA -was  set up to promote  journalism  in  Timor Leste .

(Timor,East,Hawaii.)

A LIFE IN ART

Cairns Art Gallery exhibition  running through to December  8. 

Margaret Olley: A Life in Art tells the story of Olley’s incredible life and enduring career through her greatest legacy – her art. The exhibition includes artwork from as early as 1938, painted at just 15 years of age, through to 2011, the year of her death.

Olley’s incredible career, enormous capacity for friendship and dedication to the art world, have made her one of Australia’s most loved and celebrated artists.

Extract  : Her journey as an artist can be explored and contextualised through the diverse nature of the works in this exhibition, drawn exclusively from the collection at the Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre.

In 1964 she purchased 48 Duxford Street, Paddington ,Sydney– the property that became her famous home studio and  now re-created at the Margaret Olley Art Centre in the Tweed Regional Gallery in Murwillumbah.

48 Duxford Street became an ecosystem of art and life. The home was filled with furnishings, textiles, vases, jugs, bowls, coffee pots and flowers – all collected as subject matter for  painting. 

The exhibition includes interiors and still lifes from Duxford Street as well as photographs by her artist friend Greg Weight, who photographed her home studio in the days following her  death. 

Thanks to our  arty Aeronautical Correspondent  , Abra , in Cairns, this post is a follow up to the  recent one in Little Darwin which mentioned Olley's connection with Tully , Magnetic Island  and  Townsville .

(Olley, Artist, Cairns .)

SPIDERS OF PARADISE

 Cairns  Art  Gallery exhibition  by Maria Fernanda Cardosa .

The  exhibition brings together new works by Maria Fernanda Cardosa, born  1963  at  Bogota , Colombia , in her ongoing photographic series , Spiders of Paradise  (2018-2024), alongside her  acclaimed  video On the Origins of Art -l-ll  ( 2016).

The spiders were collected in various parts of Australia over 10 years by arachnologists  and citizen scientist.  Renowned  scientific imager Geoff Thompson and entomologist Andy Wang  from the Queensland  Museum prepared and photographed speciments using focus stacked  micro-photography.

The Origins of  Art video covers the  tiny ,5mm, Maratus spider , with a bright abdomen displayed in elaborate mating rituals. It has been pointed out  that the spider above right looks like a robot , which  raises the  possibility that  AI is spinning  a  web in the world of arachnology. Report from our  Aeronautical Correspondent, Abra.

(Spiders, Cardosa, Cairns.)