BAD HAIR DAY CLOUDS OUTING

 

 

 

 

ROAD RAGE ON THE CAHILL EXPRESSWAY

Piggish   comment  in   art  inspired book  

From the  library  of  prodigious  Australian  art researcher and collector , Margaret Vine, late of Magnetic Island ,  is the  above  1989  Penguin paperback which was the result of  Helen Daniel, freelance critic  and reviewer , second -hand  book  dealer, inviting  writers to contribute  stories  based  on  artist Jeffrey Smart's painting, Cahill Expressway ,Sydney. 
 

The  book  includes  Margaret's penned  in name on the title page , with the ticked off names of  most of  the authors in the contents list . It  was surprising to  discover that on  page  26  Margaret  had  literally  exploded , inserting  three large  exclamation  marks, in relation to a paragraph that said  a girl in Perth , the  brightest in her class ,  was almost as  bright  as  some  of  the boys .  See below offending  ,   underlined statement  in  Our Town , by Glenda Adams . 

 

 

A  feminist , a bright school pupil who won awards, Margaret  had missed out  going  straight  to  university  because  she was  a  girl , her  father  informing  her so. Later on she put herself  through  Arts at Queensland University. Over time she  became  a highly regarded researcher  at the National Gallery , Canberra, moved in art and  university circles in Brisbane , the large tome Documents on Australian International  Affairs  1901 -1918 , edited by Gordon Greenwood and  Charles Grimshaw,  l977,   acknowledged  her  assistance  on  the  title  page under  her  then  married  name , Margaret Willis.
 

So it can be seen  that the  statement in the  story  must  have  been  like  a red rag to a  bull , the outrage  extending to the back of the book   biographical info. on the contributing writers, Glenda Adams  at the top of the list, with   Margaret's  added  comment -  the "  MCP" seemingly  standing  for  male  chauvinist  pig.

 

UPCOMING :  Margaret Vine's  margin notes  on Wuthering  Heights, maybe some  of  her  other  gems . 

FIRST FLEET FIND

Shipping  Reporter  in  historic  naval  encounter .

Drifting about  his  watery beat in the  office coracle searching  for stories  , our  waterfront  roundsman  came  across  a great piece of  maritime history-the above  Royal Doulton  plate  commemorating  arrival of  the  First Fleet under  Captain Arthur  Phillip   in  Sydney in 1788 .  Entitled The First Voyage, the bone china plate, limited to 3000 numbered copies, names all the ships and  their captains,  issued  as  part of  the l988  bicentenary.

 

In company with his  first mate ,the Shipping Reporter  found the plate  at a garage sale on Magnetic Island .  While  he  snapped  up  the  plate   as  if  it  were  Spanish  gold plate  , the  first mate  bought  a  nice,  specially  boxed  Twinings  of  London  willow pattern  teapot, made by  Sadler,   marking the 250th anniversary of the  tea-making  company   operating from the same address on  London's  Strand.   It had been   imported  in the 1950s  by  Socomin  International Fine Foods, 95 Cecil Street, South Melbourne, Victoria.

KOALA GIVES SCOMO BRIGADE ROUGH END OF HAWAIIAN PINEAPPLE

Unlike so many Koalas in Australia-33,000 !!! thought to have died  in the  Kangaroo Island fires so far-  this one is alive  and  has a  tree  to hug .  Sleepy, he has been  up a gumtree  for days  posing for  tourists   on an unnamed  Jewel  in  the  Crown island  from which  the  mainland was  obscured by a heat haze  .

Apart  from offering   his services to raise funds for the volunteer   fire  fighters , Blinky Bill   is seriously thinking of  joining Actors' Equity  to  get  some  kind  of  award  for the many  cute marsupials   who    massively   contribute   to   the   faltering  economy .
 

 More importantly , the  Koala intends to seek  cloud  funding  to  offer rewards for  the  capture  and  skinning   of  a group  he has named  the  notorious  bush  and wildlife destroying    Kelly  Gang , which  has played a large part in the conflagration .  

The  gang, he said ,  consists  of  a  phalanx of  climate change  deniers in the  Coalition which is  hand in glove with the   fossil fuel  industry ,   right wing  babbling  shock  jocks , the  Murdoch media , Sky , Fox  and  gormless   boofheads   who    delight  in   blaming  the   Greens  and  the ALP  for   the  bushfires , which  is  patently  untrue . Many of them , he added, had  contorted faces  like the Big Bad Banksia Men , villians  in  Snugglepot and  Cuddlepie by May Gibbs.

     

 Waving a  fist in  the air like the  Killer Koala , he   vowed  to  denounce  any  further  claptrap  obfuscation   from   the   happy clapping  PM  on  the  subject  of  climate  change  in   Terra  Australis   and  called for  united,  real action from  the  rest  of   this   tiny , endangered   world , especially in  the  USA, China  and  India .  

CAUGHT IN A DESERT STORM

Right  now Little Darwin  is  being  bombarded .  There are  daily explosions  , missiles  flying  about  the  place, inside and out. It is due to the  many   desert rose seedpods  which   opened   in the hot, dry weather , the   flocculent  seeds  ready for  exodus ,   blown  about  by  increasingly  strong  winds.

Ready  to  fly .Vallis photographs. 

Many of  the  floating  seeds   turned  up  in  clusters  near  the  kitchen door .  Handfuls   were   picked  up ,  taken  inside ,  placed  in  a bowl (below)  only to be   regularly   blown   about  the   house , turning up next to the refrigerator , a bedroom, in   a  corner  being  culled , near the TV set  in  the  loungeroom.   
 

The  bowl, with a birch tree pattern , was   made by  Canadian  studio potter  Peter Price , bought at a  garage sale. It  sits near   a   1986   sign    advertising  the  art  of  Roy  Henry Vickers,  at  the Art Gallery of Greater  Victoria , British  Columbia, Canada , also  picked  up  at  a  Queensland garage   sale .     

AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER CIRCULATION DROP

A  major event  in  Australian  newspaper history  -  the  first regular  delivery of  papers  by  air- is captured  in  these photographs . It  was  launched   by  the Melbourne Herald,a special stamp issued to mark the occasion. Captain Roy King, DSO,DFC, was credited with being the first aviator in Australia to deliver  a single copy  of  a  newspaper on a non-stop flight to Ballarat, neatly dropping  it  on the  subscriber's lawn .

A 1923  account of   the new  fangled  aerial  newspaper delivery system  said   another  "gallant  pilot",  Major H. T. Shaw ,OBE, used to land on the lawn at the naval station at Crib Point  and discuss afternoon tea with the officers there,  half an  hour after leaving Melbourne , 50 miles away.

All the pilots  in the Herald delivery scheme,  war men of distinction , had become very expert. Where  there was  no landing , they would swoop down  50 to 100 feet off the ground  and the newspaper parcel would either  be dropped  by hand or observer , or released by  the pilot  with  the aid of " a mechanical  contrivance  similar   to those used in the bomb-dropping machines ."

Papers were either tied in bundles  or sewn into canvas bags . Sometimes they bounced  like an  Indian rubber ball  when they hit the ground  near  a white sheet or a smoke fire placed at  the  target by the  newsagent.

On a few occasions  they  smashed  into smithereens. Once, at Sorrento , a bundle went through  the  verandah  to  the " great atonishment " of  the  occupants.

 

In 1923  papers were  carried  on the  aerial  mail service established by the Commonwealth   government  in West Australia . A similar   aerial  mail  service in the eastern states   would link  Brisbane  and  Adelaide  , via  Sydney and Hay , with an intermediate  service  connecting  Melbourne and Hay .  

 

In this way, a plane , with a maximum load of  half a ton , also fitted out to take passengers  like  planes on the London and Paris  route,   would leave Brisbane  in the morning, arrive in Sydney at noon , and get to Hay by 3pm , where another  relay machine  would carry on  to Adelaide , enabling the  Brisbane morning paper to land in Adelaide on the day of publication ,1500  miles away-some newspaper delivery!

 

The  article  went on to say it appeared  the big metropolitan newspapers were  keen to get as many  papers  on  this   run . However, it  appeared   they must each  operate   their  own  aeroplane .

ABORIGINAL CAPTAIN COOK / TOP END ACTIVIST PUBLICATIONS

Cleverly invoking  Captain Cook and his ship   , the  above striking cover   was   one of  a number of   publications   produced in  Darwin  to  highlight the plight of homeless  people living in the longgrass and  other important issues.

The above 16pp well-designed and illustrated  December  2001  publication   said the Darwin Longgrass Association  had been collecting signatures in support of  a  complaint to the  Human Rights  and Equal Opportunity  Commission  about  Darwin  Council by-laws which criminalised those  with no housing , sleeping out.

In the first edition , a  Darwin activist, consulting anthropologist , Dr Bill  Day,  then residing in Perth, Western Australia ,  recalled  that in 1971   some homeless  Larrakia   people and  others living in the bush around Darwin started  a little newspaper called   Bunji . At the time people camping at Railway Dam , Kululuk and   Knuckey's Lagoon  had  no  land  rights  or  houses . 

Consisting  only of a one typed page, Bunji  had been passed out around pubs, in  streets and at the Bagot Aboriginal  settlement   calling for a united  front  in the fight  for  rights.  

The Northern Territory News reported  Black Power  had come to town . Most Aboriginal  people  and  their  friends  had  supported Bunji  for  13  years. 

By 2001   Knuckey's Lagoon people still did not  own the land  on which  they lived  and  those  at  the  Railway Dam were being threatened  with  relocation .

 Day continued by saying  nothing much  had changed  for many Aboriginal people . They were still camping in the bush around town  with no shelter, toilets, electricity , or even a tap .
 

The government  would not help, so it was time for  this new newspaper, Kujuk , in  a city  built  on  Aboriginal  land . 

 The   longgrass  battle and other campaigns went on for years , the  masthead  on  this  publication  included  an artistic  rendition  of  the  battleground.  Other documents of interest  from  the  struggle , including a  protest outside Government House   during a  royal visit ,  and   the  international   warrior  and poet  who  spread the  word  will  be  posted  in  the future .