NED KELLY STICKS UP BALI

Many surprises and interesting  articles  in  a  batch of  publications   from  Bali, including  the above full page  for the Ned Kelly Tattoo Studio  in the free  Kuta Weekly grand final AFL and  NRL edition  in which the  Sydney Swans  were tipped  to  win and  the  Sharks  would  find it hard to  hold off  Melbourne Storm .

The  famous  Australian bushranger  now  jabs Aussie  holidaymakers who  flood the  popular  tourist  resort. Ned  might also  consider giving tetanus  shots  to boofheaded   Aussies   who drink  booze out of  grotty shoes, drop their daks and are applauded  by  editors of corny  newspapers like the Sydney  Daily Telegraph , rags down on their uppers .   Colourful and offbeat articles    run in the paper  cover  a  call to prevent   Chinese  tourists  from carving their names  and slogans on coral reefs and  the  Nestle confectionary  fiends   ruining Christmas by dropping   the toffee wrapped in brown paper  in the Quality Street  mix .

 In the slick   Bali Advertiser  (for the expatriate  community )  September  28 -October  12 , there  are well written and  interesting  articles  about  the  Bali garden guru , landscape architect  and author Michael White  who  had died , his ashes to be  transported  from Sydney and  go through a Hindu ritual ; the review of a book on Bali  living ; an ongoing series about prominent Americans  who have lived in Bali over a century ;  a feature about Dr David  Parry  who lives in Jakarta  and is curator of rare maps , prints and books ; a round up of local news including  a move  to ban production, sale and consumption of alcohol  on a popular  Indonesian island .

Also noticed in this  publication  was a report   that Google might owe hundreds of millions of  dollars in back taxes  to  Indonesia , the company using Singapore   to dodge paying local  tax.   Sounds familiar  here in  Australia.  Tucked away in a  for sale column were two unopened  bottles of  Dr Proctor's Advanced  Thinning Hair Treatment, imported  from  the  USA .     

SHIPWRECK COAST IN WINTER

Recent photos taken along the Victorian  coast , the bottom  view   known as the Loch Ard Gorge , named  after the  three masted   sailing ship   which came to grief  near the end of a run from England to Melbourne in 1878 ,   the only two   survivors being Eva Carmichael  and  Tom Pearce  , who   took refuge  in the gorge .

Young Pearce , who rescued  the girl ,  was the step son of  Captain R.G. Pearce , skipper of the  SS Gothenburg  which  hit a  reef during a gale  in Queensland waters , with  the loss of life  of  102  , including  Captain Pearce and  prominent  Northern Territory  and  South Australian  identities ,  on a voyage from Darwin to  Adelaide  in  1875.

 A priceless  porcelain   peacock  intended for  display at the 1880  Melbourne  International Exhibition  carried by Loch  Ard   survived  and  can be viewed at  Warrnambool's  Flagstaff  Hill  Marine Village , a reconstructed  1800s port  with  some  relics  from   the  30  shipwrecks  along  the coast . (Photos by Em Jay ).

TREASURES OF FAMOUS SOUTH AUSTRALIAN HOMESTEAD

Catalogue of  highly important  Old  Anlaby  sale .

From the files of Magnetic Island  researcher Gary Davies , undergoing a  Spring clean ,  has  surfaced  this fascinating 1978 catalogue of  the  most   interesting  and  varied  contents  of  the Dutton  clan, accumulated over a period from 1839. The clearance took place during the  ownership  of Professor  Geoffrey Dutton , wartime pilot ,  republican, poet, publisher, author who sold  the property and with his  wife, Ninette,  moved  to  a  smaller   residence .

Included in the  sale were  works of art  by  Dutton's mother , Emily ,  said to have partly inspired  Mrs  Polkinghorn  in  Nobel writer  Patrick White's  story The Letter .  White  described her as  a great  and capricious beauty , who  played the  piano, the  violin  and, like her husband , Henry Hampden  Dutton ,   enjoyed motoring .  In 1907-8 , he , with co driver/ mechanic  Murray Aunger,  made the  first car crossing  from Adelaide to Darwin   in  a  Clement  Talbot;  the auction  included  a 1904/5 Clement  Talbot  radiator   which  sold  for   $1500 , other motoring  items including  veteran and vintage spare parts, a case of automobile club insignia , drive shafts and  a  Buick spring , an early Vauxhall radiator , Peugeot  shock absorbers.

In 1921 , the  epic  crossing from Adelaide to  Darwin was repeated , but  in  two  Dodge cars , one  driven  by  Emily . More  overland adventure followed in  1924  when  both she and her husband took part in  the   expedition to  Alice Springs  staged by  Arctic explorer  Vilhjalmur  Steffansson  and Australian geologist  Sir Edgeworth David ; on  that occasion , Mrs  Dutton  drove  the  Anlaby   Dodge light truck .

Listed in the  auction  catalogue  were  four stone Tjuringa   from Central Australian, possibly  obtained  during that   trip . A note said  they were collected at  the  turn of the century , would  not  be  on public display, but  could  be shown on  request .   Also listed  was  an  Elcho Island   artefact .  

 Emily Dutton   enjoyed   the high society life of   Britain and Europe and was  in London  when  her  husband , aged  53,  died   at  home  in  l932 .   It was said that  "the  widow  triumphed " for  several years  in  London , much admired by King George 11 of Greece ; her death took   place  at  Anlaby , named  after  a  Yorkshire village ,  with  a   magnificent garden , on  May 11,1962 .

A  number  of  firearms were  included  in the auction  and may have included   a small  bore  gun  she  used  to  pot  birds  which  damaged  her  roses . In his  frank  autobiography, Out In The Open ,  Geoffrey Dutton  wrote  that  his mother  once said : " What with  rats, the rosellas and the Labor Government  you  can't grow a decent rose nowadays ."

While entertaining  Lady Spencer , whose son John  Althorp , Princess Diana's father ,  an  ADC  at Government House in Adelaide , she  grabbed  the gun  and  shot a bird on the wing-which landed  in the centre  of Lady Spencer's   full  teacup.

Dutton also   said his  mother and father had separate bedrooms  and  father, an alcoholic, had  once taken  an  axe  to  mother's locked  bedroom door . Geoffrey  also referred  to  the unexplained .22  bullet hole  in  a window  in his father's room .

The  catalogue cover illustration , an oil painting on canvas , Three  Horses Heads , signed and dated   1861, was by J. F. Herring . If this  be Herring  senior , (1795-1865),   he was renowned  for  equine art and  painted   the  sides of coaches and made  inn  signs .   A painting such as this   would appeal to Anlaby, being   the  oldest Clydesdale and merino stud in  South Australia .

 

The  Russian born  painter and sculptor   George  Washington  Lambert (1887-1930) ,  war artist  with  the  Australian Light Horse in Palestine ,  fond of  horses ,   painted   Emily Dutton's   portrait , the dress she wore for the sitting  kept  in  one of  her many packed  wardrobes.  At the auction , Lambert's  oil  painting, Flower Piece Number  10 , signed   1916, was  bought by the  Australian  National Gallery, Canberra, for  $8000.

 

 Sir Hans Heysen was  a  regular visitor to Anlaby and  several of  his signed ,  inscribed and  dated  drawings and paintings  ,done  over a period from the l920s to l960,  were listed along  with  works  by a number of  artists including  lithographs after S.T. Gill, entitled  Native Spearing Emu and Native Corroboree, plus others  ;  coloured engraving  after   George French Angas , one  South Australian Botany , published  1847;  early maps of South Australia , New Guinea and Africa  ; a coloured print  after  Paul Gaughan , Tahitian Woman .

 

There was an extensive offering of  sterling  silver, jewellery , a Lalique blue glass  vase  , ship decanters, a 12 stop organ by Hugo Wertheim of New York , a brass  asthray  in  the shape of  a  fly , Persian rugs, fine old china , some pieces bearing  various  Dutton  family  initials , a wide range of Chinese and Japanese  items from chairs to  bowls , netsukes, boxes of  lead  soldiers , Staffordshire pottery figurines in the form of Bonnie Prince Charlie , Flora standing by  a beehive,  Italian pottery.

In all  there were  1299 items offered for sale  ... an extremely rare 17th century carved oak  draw-table ; a hand tinted lithograph dated  1813 depicting action between Her Majesty's ship Shannon and the United States  frigate Chesapeake , engraved by  Joseph  Jeakes ; straw sun hats from the famous  Liberty  store , London ; an American  oak child's high chair ; an old English farm dray  and a quantity of horse  drawn vehicle  parts ; a box of Australian garnets; croquet mallets; a folio of interesting historical records including the Federation issue of the South  Australian Register , the announcement of Queen Victoria's death , petrol ration tickets , a Trans-Siberian Railway timetable and London wool auction  catalogues   for 1886; mounted shooting trophies ; a brass  ship's bell from  HMAS Australia ; two large clam shells ; trays of interesting objects including fossils, Aboriginal artefacts, a walrus tusk, animal skulls , a swordfish sword, rough opals and   part of  a Mammoth tusk .
 

People attending the sale were  "strictly prohibited "  from   taking  cuttings  from  the garden, which  once  employed  14  gardeners .    

During  the  auction , the  fountain  at  Anlaby,above ,   blew its  top, symbolising  the end  of  the  fabulous   Dutton  empire and  reign. ( See earlier Little Darwin post WHEN AUSTRALIA RODE ON THE OLD SHEEP'S BACK  which contains a  1936 aerial  photograph of  Anlaby in an article in the American  National Geographic Magazine  ).  

DEATH OF ANOTHER CURLEW

Sad day . Shortly after 4am ,  a Barking Owl swooped out  of the gloom  and grabbed the Curlew  chick  in  the  photograph .  The previous morning , shortly after  five,  the  parents had been shrieking , indicating that  they were under attack , without  anything sighted .  The  chick was  big for its age and was the only one  that  had  hatched from  two  eggs   . Two  fully grown Curlews are  peering through the   front door  of the  Little Darwin   den   wanting  to  be   fed .  

BRANDIS FOR THE CHOP,CHOP, CHOP ,CHOP ,CHOP UP NORTH ?

CANBERRA :  Looking  like  a bedraggled   Pommie  Billingsgate  butcher , Australian Attorney-General  George  Brandis  is  tipped to  get  the  chop , according  to  award  winning  political  pundit, Argus Tuft , and  after  burning   his  still  unassembled  office  bookshelves, will   take up  a  new  post  as  a master butcher  in  the  North Queensland town of Ingham ,  which  has a  long  history of  cattle duffing  and producing  tasty Italian salami , reflected  in  old tiles , below ,  which adorn  buildings  in  the  town  centre .   

In a  real barbecue stopper , there is talk that   Brandis  intends  replacing the  Solicitor-General  with well known  legal eagle Cleaver  Greene  who recently expressed  the  desire to  enter  politics ,the Senate in particular. 





MANGO MADNESS REFLECTED IN WEIRD TROPPO ART THERAPY

Everything , including  the kitchen sink, was thrown into this  abstract  work of art  by a Little Darwin staffer who is showing signs of  going   troppo and we may have to throw  him into  a padded  cell until the Chinese New Year  . He  has cracked under the strain of  the early  build up to the Wet  and complains about   ants  coming out of  the computer , climbing up  his   legs and  biting him  in  various unmentionable , tender  places  , March flies sucking  his  blood , Curlews  disturbing his sleep . To ease the strain , he turned to  art  and  rearranged  pavers and bricks  which  had  been decorated by  visiting  ceramic artist  Sara Boo  from Taneatua , then added   a fossilised  Iggle and its mother from  the American  Li'l Abner  comic  strip , a  piece of  well  bleached   coral , a message stick from a lost  tribe and  the  end  of  a  bunch of bananas  which  looks  like  Noddy.

" ECCENTRIC " SCHOOLTEACHER WHO PROMOTED APPRECIATION OF ART, MUSIC BECAME A LEGEND

Affectionately , but secretly called " Monkey " by  pupils  when  he was  a master at Sydney's Church of England  Grammar School on the North Shore     from  1929 to 1947,   Edward  Monckton, member of  the Australian Watercolour Institute,  ran  a large and enthusiastic art club  at the school. The  above collection  of  his distinctive   cartoon  like drawings  was  published late  in life  in Great Britain .

Our copy of  Monckton's unusual   drawings,  found in the  Crackerbox Palace , Cairns ,  contains  a  foreword by  artist  John  Roy  Eldershaw,  president of  the Australian  Watercolour Institute from 1949-1952  , who regarded  Monckton as  a  very talented artist  and   said  that  the  pages of puckish humour  would  provide  amusement .

Eldershaw  had studied at  the Julian Ashton and  J. S. Watkins Schools  , Sydney ; Central School  of Arts and Crafts , London ,1928-30 ;  Paris. He was commissioned to paint an Australian landscape  for the Australian Governor-General , the  Duke of  Gloucester ,  and for  20 years resided  in Tasmania, living in a  renovated old  mill in Richmond,   and  toured Australia by caravan .

Born in 1892, James Frederick Edward  Monckton ,   son of Reverend  James  Frederick Monckton  and  Alice Australia  Harper, went under  the name , Edward. A brother was a solicitor and three sisters  became teachers .   During WWl   he gained the rank  of captain  serving in the Northhamptonshire  Regiment , mainly  in France .  He graduated M.A. ( Classics)  Caius College , Cambridge University . After the  war  he   went   teaching    near London , travelled  to New Zealand  where he taught at  Wellesley College ,Wellington ,  then crossed  the Tasman  to  teach  in  Sydney and  establish  the  art  club  for   pupils, an interest in  music also  encouraged .  

 

A son, Francis,  serving in the Royal Australian Air Force ,  was  killed  during  WWll in 1942. On  retirement in 1947 , Monckton  and his wife made a  trip back to  England  and on their return  they  settled   at Nabiac  , New South Wales .

After   the death of his wife , Monckton moved back to Sydney and eventually into the War Veterans' Home  at  Narrabeen , where he died  shortly before his   93rd birthday  on November 22 , l985.
 

At the Memorial Service held in the School Chapel , the eulogy  mainly  consisted  of  recollections  of   incidents  from  the life  of  a lovable  and humorous man , delivered  by  one of  his  former Form 1  pupils , John Sutton.

 

Next year,  the school's journal , The Torch Bearer,  carried a  special  tribute feature  on Monckton   by  Pat. H. Eldershaw  , himself a longtime Shore  teacher  (1924-1965) ,  possibly  related  to   the artist   John  Eldershaw who penned  the foreword to  Monckton's book . A  coach of  cricket, rugby and  tennis teams , Pat  Eldershaw  was  Master- in- Charge  of  English  and  debates  , eloquent , a poet and raconteur, a Mr Chips like  figure who was the founding Housemaster  of  Barry House ,  assisted   by   his  wife , influencing many  boys  over  the  years . 

In praising  Monckton , he  dismissed  the  feeling  by some  colleagues  who had  initially  regarded  him as  an  amusing eccentric  with unusual teaching methods . Monckton, he explained, was  so much of an individual , so assured in his values, so uninfluenced by pointless  conventions , so perpetually youthful  in his enthusiasms , that no one could  resist his  charm . His outspoken naturalness  in conversation  and  his keen sense of  the ridiculous made him a grand companion . "Best of all, his  fun was  never  hurtful   or vulgar."

His  enthusiasm for  all civilised   values  influenced the tone of the school .  He had  fitted comfortably into the Australian setting  without ever losing his English qualities .  

      

In  the late  l990s , Monckton  was  the subject of the  inaugural Legends of  Shore  dinner at which  it was said he  had  become an   endearing  and  eccentric  master  when he presided  over Form  1.  Following a toast  to  Monckton, two of his  daughters, Jean Taylor  and  Pat Ellis , reminded  guests that  their  father rode to  school by bicycle and when it was wet  tied  newspapers  round  his legs  to keep  them dry . A  framed  tribute to  Monckton's life  at  the school  was  presented by the Mitre Club  , a feature of subsequent  Legend  luncheons .

The  Monckton  book obtained by  this blog  had once  belonged  to  the late   Rolfe Gelling , who   in  1947  revived the  Cairns Art Society  as president  after the  war  years .  Handwritten  notes in the  book , which might  have been inserted  by Monckton himself ,  give  his name and Nabiac address, state he was a  member of   the R.A.S. (Royal Art Society) , Australian Watercolour Institute  and  the Cotswold Club , England . In addition , copies  could be  obtained   for  $1  by post ("plenty of  copies available "). Another note says  John Eldershaw  "Taught art to Duchess of Gloucester ".

 

Monckton was in his 80s when the  book was published in 1974  by Arthur H. Stockwell Ltd , of Ilfracombe, Devon, a  firm that specialises in  helping  authors  self   publish ,  which  revealed   the  "eccentric "  and humorous  side of the man  in  cartoons...a  glutinous cat   explodes  but is put  together again by  a doctor who specialises in resurrecting  felines  ; a  garrulous wife is named  Lady Chatterbug ; an old man  being pushed about in a  billy cart -like  wheelchair  by  his "de facto " , jeered at  by  delinquents,  gets  revenge  by  chasing the  boys  in  a hovercraft , his de facto  laughing  at the fleeing lads,  with a slow moving  tortoise passenger  enjoying  the  exhilarating fast ride  ; a cat jammed at the top of a  hollow  tree  is freed  with TNT and goes into orbit  around the Moon  on which flutters the American flag ; a  bully gets a thumping ; a series  includes  a pub  scene  with  an  advert for  Australian  wines  and  the  central figure  appears to have a drunken dream  in which  he is  run over by  his ride on lawn mower , his  mop of  hair greatly reduced ; watching the Beatles on TV , a woman forgets  she is  cooking tea  and the chook  is burnt to  blazes; a woman  and her  dog, Bingo,  are bitten by the  deadly  Yarramalung  Beetle  - fido  dies , she  turns   black .