MORE FREAKY FUNGI

Vallis Photograph

TOMORROW AND PIGGISH AUSSIE SUPERMAN CRASH

Continuing  sketches   from   the   black  and  white  life  of  one  of  Australia’s best  known  cartoonists,  Vane Lindesay , also   illustrator  of  numerous  publications , award  winning   book designer ,  bibliophile.



Lindesay’s   definitive  work   on    Australian comic art ;  he has  also contributed  numerous  articles to  the   World  Encyclopedia   of   Cartoons.

In   the   immediate  period  after   WWll,   one  of  the  many   publications Lindesay  was  involved  with  was  the  trail-blazing  monthly ,  Tomorrow  , launched in 1946 by  the   John  Reed  / Max Harris  publishing  group . Produced  in  the Angry Penguins  editorial  office , 48 Queen  Street , Melbourne , it  was a forerunner    of   Nation, The  Observer  and  Nation  Review. In  his autobiographical  A Life So Far Some  Fragments Recalled ,  Lindesay  said  it was fresh, provocative , topical and anti-establishment. Within its 32 pages of international and  local  news , features  and cartoons   it attempted  to guard the peace  , fight censorship  and  thought control, oppose red- baiters , and express concern about  atomic  arms  build- up.

 At the  request  of  Max Harris , Vane , a  freelance cartoonist ,  provided  a full-page colour  comic strip , Bob Superming,  satirising  Prime  Minister   Bob " Pig-iron"Menzies .

Prime Minister  Menzies on cover of 1985  Hutchinson book suggested  and  introduced  by  Vane Lindesay  which  includes   a  caricature  of   himself .

Recently   discussing   Tomorrow   with     Vane ,   he   said   Superming , like Superman, wore a skin tight  costume    with  the   letter  S   on  his  chest.  From  memory , Superming  was  a baddie , trying to   make  off   with  a  female,  the   Labor Party , saved   from   his   clutches   by   ALP  hero  , Ben  Chifley.

The  magazine   closed  after   only   10 editions , killed   off   because  of  the rationing  of  expensive   newsprint ,  lack of  advertising  support  , barriers  placed  against   its  distribution by  vested  interests   and  what  Max Harris  described as   wide  community  apathy.

 The editor,  Jack   Bellow  ,    was  a  well known  Sydney  journalist , formerly  involved  with  the Packer  Press  ,    who   had  been  prominent  in  the  battle for control of  the Labor Daily  newspaper in the  tumultuous Jack Lang  years  in  NSW  .  In  1947  , he   founded  with  other   newspaper  men   Atlas  Publications to  cash in  on  the  wartime  imposed  ban  on   imported  publications , including  comics . One   of the  many  Australian  comics  produced  by  the  company   was  the   popular   Captain  Atom,  drawn  by  Arthur Mather . Atlas  Publications  expanded   but  eventually  went  bust  publishing  Family Circle.

Other  Tomorrow  staff  were John Sinclair, later the (Melbourne)  Herald  music critic ;  Peter  Ryan ,who became   managing director of  the Melbourne University Press ,  and  the  young  poet,  Geoffrey  Dutton .

 Apart   from   drawing  the  Superming   comic strip, Vane was  also  designing stage  settings  for  the amateur  radical  playhouse  named   New  Theatre  which trained and  produced  many stage , cinema  and   radio personalities.  NEXT :   Vane’s  insights   into  a  cavalcade  of  colourful  characters,   magazines ,   books  and  his  artwork .

RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE

War has  been declared  on  leafy Magnetic Island . Marauding  Currawongs  are  attacking on many fronts .  In a  daring raid  ,  they   invaded The  Queen Of  The  Jungle’s  menagerie  , grabbed a spare   Purple People Eater  nest  of   Larry   the  talking   Lorikeet,  flew across the road and  dumped  it on  the  footpath.   Larry  responded by angrily  muttering , “Bugger, bugger,  bugger !” His companion , the cuddly Torres Strait Pigeon , Miss  Wong , advised  Larry to guard his  teddy bear as  the  enemy  are  bound  to  return , and she  joined  Red  Cross to tend the  wounded  , like  Florence Nightingale .  

 

This  war  correspondent  was  pounding away  at the computer  early in the morning when  strange sounds were heard  from the Western Front . Slipping out  in his bullet-proof pyjamas ,Ugg  boots and dressing  gown,  he  discovered  that  two aggressive  Currawongs were  pecking at  something high  up  in  a  palm tree –a   small  fruit  bat . 

Why me?

The bat flew across the  road , chased by the  birds. I whipped inside for the camera  and  dashed  about  the  road   taking  photographs of  the  assault , see  above , on the  bat with  what  my wife said had  such  a  cute  face . When the  Currawongs  were  frightened off  by  me,  the bat blew me a kiss,  folded  its  wings across its  eyes  and  went  to  sleep ,  hanging   upside  down. 

 

While attending a vegetable market , a camera  enthusiast ,  who has  lived  in  Papua New Guinea   and takes  many shots of wildlife on the  island , told me   that  Currawongs  are causing  trouble  in  her neck of the  jungle . She  feeds   rock wallabies with  carrots  and  recently a  Currawong  had  swooped down   and  grabbed a  carrot   next  to her and  flew away with  it .The  troublesome   Currawongs  have  also  been  dive-bombing  our  Curlews  and stealing their  food . Many  near ripe pawpaws  are  also pecked.

 

Larry standing guard over  teddy  bear

Larry is still muttering under his breath about Currawongs and fiercely guards his Purple People Eaters  , yoghurt  and  coffee . In  an exclusive interview  , he  aggressively recited  a lurid variation  of Four and Twenty Blackbirds  in a pie  in  which  the  buggers   are  baked to a crisp,  never  to  fly  again.   

AUSTRALIA TO CLOBBER KIWI COBBERS – Land of the Dumb White Coalition Clods declares war on Aotearoa,Land of the Long White Cloud .

CANBERRA :      Fed  up with  New zealand  being  described as  a  superior country   to  Australia ,  monotonously  beaten by  the All  Blacks and   outsmarted  by  Kiwis  in  Asian markets ,  Operation Sovereign Borders  has  been   extended   to take direct   military   action  against  the  irksome trans-Tasman  threat   to  our   image  and   self  esteem .  This follows   the   embarrassing    revelation  that  Australia has been  spying  on  New zealand  as  well  as  Indonesia.

A  rusting  Australian naval vessel  will  leave  the  soon   to   be  sold  to  a   cashed up   Kiwi  investor  the  stupidly  named  port  of  Townsville ( who else  but  a dumb   Aussie  would  call  their  city  Town Town ?).   We can reveal that  the  invasion  fleet , which   includes  a  noisy Australian built  submarine  powered  by   a  Harvey  Norman  50 percent  off    eggbeater ,  will  first  perform a Cuban type blockade  of    Stewart   Island    to  prevent  the  export of  its  oysters  which  are, naturally, better  than  those  grown  in  Australia.

From  there, a crack  team of  naval  seals , penguins and  a  babbling Sydney  parrot mascot   will  storm  ashore   in  the Bay of  Plenty  and  disrupt  Rotorua's  Maori  poi dancing  and  wood   carving to  throw a major  made- in- China spanner  in  the  country’s  economy.  

Main  invasion  fleet   in   Sydney  about  to steam  north to go south 

   

DARWIN'S MONSTER BABY Continuing biog of Crusading Editor, “ Big Jim ” Bowditch .



Terry   Blake  was smart  enough  to channel  some of the Kings Cross  Whisper proceeds   into  original  Australian  paintings,  displayed on  the walls of  his  Coogee  residence . This  writer, in  Sydney  from  Darwin , was  invited to  a party at  Coogee . Among the guests , visiting  from  America  were  reporter Steve Dunleavy  and  his  wife , Yvonne  , she  having  transcribed  the  tapes  of  New York's leading madam, Xaviera  Hollander , for  the  1971  bestseller  book, The  Happy Hooker : My  Own Story . 

Reporter Jim  Oram  made a  dramatic  entry to  a  Coogee  party. Coming down Coogee  Bay  Road , he  side-swiped several  parked cars , ran  inside  and  hid  under  a  bed , to  evade  police.   Street- wise  bush lawyers attending  the party  advised  Oram  to  ring  the  police and  report  his  car stolen - which  he  did  .   

 

In l988 Terry Blake  published   Kings Cross Whisper  The Way It  Was , an hilarious account  of the  golden days of the publication  .   The  book   carried an unusual erratum  list   which  admitted to some “classic  ballsups”  in Terry Blake’s narrative -like three extensive  duplications  of  text.  In the excuses for the gross errors  it  put forward  the  possibility   that  Blake, the editor and  the trained  monkey - which did the  paste  up- were all blind  drunk.  ,  Blake  described the extraordinary , almost unbelieveable  events  which  took place in each state as the  Whisper expanded. 

He  told how  they had been  rushing to   get  an edition finished to commence  some  serious drinking   and found there was  nothing to fill a front page ear  of the paper.  A  printer solved the  problem by  inserting some  type   he had which was  in  Greek.   The  story had a  Moscow  dateline  and the Special  Branch rang up  Ramsay and  quizzed him about  this story in code  from behind the Iron Curtain   It was a simple report  about the  Russian  Nikolai  Bulganin’s  visit to  a   car factory in  Athens.

 By Peter Simon

Covering the   entry  of the  publication into the Northern Territory, Blake  described  Darwin  as  “ a distant parent  to the  monster ” Kings Cross Whisper.  As such , it  had been happy to “ welcome  it’s  baby  home ”.  With Bowditch still  the editor of the Northern Territory News  at the time , Blake wrote that there was none of the “editorial claptrap ” they had  encountered in  other  states.  In fact,  Bowditch wrote a front page  story  about the Whisper  and  former NT  News   journalist   Jim Ramsay  jousting  with  the   Queensland  authorities . The  report  implied  there would be no such  trouble with the  Whisper  in the Territory  as  there had been in Queensland , which was  the  case.   

Terry  Blake  told me  of a  politician  who had  been an enemy of the  Kings Cross Whisper .  An envelope containing  photographs  seemingly  showing   this  fellow   romping  with  naked women  came his way one  day .  Blake said he had  been  sorely tempted  to use them  in  the Whisper , but  decided not to  because  of the gnawing  fear that  they   were  false  and that the man’s head had been superimposed  on  somebody else’s body.  

 

Terry  Blake took time out to  write  an unusual  Australian political novel with a very violent  end , The Fig Tree, AIM Publishing , 231  Oxford Street , Darlinghurst , set in Linotype Times   by  Clancy Typesetters ( one of  the Whisper companies ), in 1975 . He  travelled  north to  the  Cairns  area , living in  caravan  camps along  the  way, working on the tome. On his return to Sydney he  said  northern caravan  parks contained   many   weirdos.

 

The  dustjacket  featured a ficus illustration, the blurb read  : The  author  is best known  for his  short stories   and  of  The Fig Tree, his  third  novel , written  at  the  age of  36,  Blake says : “ There’s plenty  in it  if you want to look , but first  and foremost  it tries  to be  a fast, entertaining  novel. It  took  me  the  sweat  and  exasperation  of  two  unpublished  books  to  discover  that.  Your  first  responsibility  is  to rattle  off  the  yarn. You can  put all the rest inside  it,  symbolically , subliminally  or whatever , but  on secondary planes. The yarn comes first.”

 

FAMILY  INFLUENCED   AUSTRALIAN   CULTURE  

Continuing,  the blurb  explained : The  loyalty  to  narrative  is  not  surprising  . A  grandson  of  the fabled  Dyson clan ( grandmother  Jess  shared  the  extraordinary talents  of  her elder brothers  and  sisters ) he  was brought  up on a diet  of literature   and  painting . With  Lawson  and  Patterson   great  uncle  Ted  dominated  the  literary scene  at  the turn of  the century . His novels  Golden  Shanty and  Below and on Top  are still widely read    and  all  over the  world.  Later  came  the  Lindsay influence . It is  not widely known  these  days  that  the  two  families  intermarried ( Lionel  to Jean  Dyson and Ruby  to Will Dyson ) and the clan  had a massive  influence on  the  development  of Australian culture.

 

Growing  up in this environment  there  seemed   little doubt  the author  would move  into some creative field , and with  father  Bill Blake  , one of  Melbourne’s  best - journalists, and  Bill’s  brother  Harry taking  off   the Melbourne  Sun short story  first prize  two years running , he just  naturally turned  to  writing , The Fig Tree is  a fair pointer  to the development  of  one of  Australia’s  major writing talents  . The book was dedicated ...


Chief  characters included a visiting princess , a brutal security chief ,several politicians, one  the prime minister. The central character was described as being one of the most ruthless figures in modern  fiction.   Thrown into this mix was  a  planned  assassination , cannibalism , some novel sexual  behaviour, a series of murders  and  action  ranging  from  a  secluded  tropical  paradise  to  Canberra's corridors of  power. Phew.  

 

In  2008  ,  Peter  Blake provided  an interesting  insight  into  the  writing  of  Fig Tree.  It was , he emailed ,   a  political  novel  featuring  a   thinly disguised  prominent conservative  politician… "Terry had  the idea of writing a novel by committee: i.e., he would do the first chapter, somebody else  the next and so on. Hence the  dedications ( in the book ) , although as  far as I know,  the  other intended contributors never put finger to typewriter.  If I'm correct,  the dedications are for  C.J. Mackenzie (Ces) , Fred Cullen (Fred), Gus  Debrito ( Gus) Jim Ramsay (Jim) , Ken McCauley ( Ken)  and  yours  truly. All  taken ,  a  pretty  grisly crew. Dunno how the project collapsed  but Terry ended up  writing  it  himself.... and  yes , you  are correct , it  was  published  by  one  of  our  dubious  companies."


While attending a weekend  market in Adelaide , in the  search for oddities,  I  was both  surprised  and  elated   to see Terry Blake  in the crowd . When asked what he was  doing in town,Terry said he was finalising  the sale of the  last   Whisper  Orgy Shop in  Australia . In   these  transactions , he  said, you arranged to meet  a person in a certain place ,   a bundle of money was  handed to  you , then you  ran like hell  to the nearest bank before  somebody  jumped out of   dark lane, hit  you on  the  head and  grabbed the loot.    Adelaide, he said, had more  sex shops than any other state capital, which he  said  was  quite  revealing  about   the  City  of Churches  .


Kings Cross continued to attract  Terry Blake  long after  the  Whisper  had expired .  While  this writer was  drinking  with him  in the pub used by  News Limited reporters  in  Sydney  , Terry asked  why  a  man of  his  age  should still  be drawn  to  the  Cross.  He laughed when told  it  was  a  sign that the  sap was still  rising . Tragically,   Blake  received fatal  head  injuries  outside  a  King’s Cross  establishment.    NEXT : Bowditch  tickles  the  ivories .