CYCLONE WINSTON AFTERMATH CONTINUES IN TROPICAL NORTH

Rain  bearing  clouds over Cairns  from former  Cyclone Winston  which  hit  Fiji  with  record 325kph  winds and  12 metre waves causing widespread  destruction and  43 deaths,  later   whipped up   large seas  that  closed  south  east  Queensland beaches.  While parts of  North  Queensland  have received good rain , the very low Townsville  dam  catchment area  missed out on  a deluge.   Rain is expected  to  fall  further  up  Cape  York  and  into  the Gulf country. Photo  by  Abra .

 

In between  squalls , Curlews  soak up sun on Magnetic Island.

 

High tides and rain  caused flooding in  this prone area on the island near the ferry  terminal. An Auckland  correspondent  who knows North Queensland well reports the city has been hot as if it were  Cairns .

 

THE APOCALYPSE, ZOMBIES , HIPSTERS AND POTENT COFFEE FEATURE IN NUTTY WELCOME

A  popular   sippery   and  eatery  in  Darwin's lively  Mitchell Street , the heart of the  nightclub precinct , is the unusually  named Ducks Nuts , which   boasts it provides  the  city's best  coffee, with  a  piece  of  Kurt's cake , if you so wish . It is a good spot  to sit on the open verandah  and  watch  the  passing  polygot  parade.

Menu boards with puzzling  chalked on messages were snapped  outside  Ducks Nuts by  one  of  our  sober roving reporters .

One  , above ,  announces   it  is open   at  6am . However,  it overlays a  strange , hard  to read  message:

There are 2 kinds of people .Those who drink full strength coffee , and  those who will  be  sacrificed  first  in  the  zombie apocalypse . Choose wisely.

While pondering the meaning of  this profound, if scary , advice, wondering if you should  order  an  extra shot with your next coffee to  avoid being sacrificed or mauled by a Darwin zombie in Mitchell Street  ,  this  is the other  odd  chalked  statement .

 

It reads : NO HIPSTERS . Don't  be coming in here with your hairy faces, your vegan diets, your tiny feet  and your sawdust  bedding . No , wait. Hamsters. No hamsters.

There are  numerous  signs  that  this  is  a torrid  Wet  in Darwin , two  of them outside Ducks  Nuts .

TIMOR-LESTE VETERANS DAY OFFICIAL REPORT: AUSTRALIAN SENATOR HONOURED , IMPORTANT STRUGGLE LETTER SURFACES

At the invitation of the Government of Timor-Leste former Australian Government Senator and champion for Timorese self-determination, Gordon McIntosh, is visiting Dili to participate in activities surrounding Veterans Day, celebrated today,  March 3.

 

Mr McIntosh, now in his 90s, travelled to Timor in 1983 as part of the first Australian Parliamentary delegation to visit what was then Indonesian occupied Timor-Leste. After the trip Senator McIntosh wrote a dissenting report on the delegation's findings, effectively neutralising attempts to show that the situation in ‘East Timor’ was no longer a significant political issue. His petitioning of the United Nations Decolonization Committee in 1982 was crucial in keeping Timor on the list of the Committee and his various activities over many years made a major contribution to the cause of self-determination. 

Mr McIntosh’'s trip to Díli this week follows the discovery of a letter last year that has remained missing for 27 years. The ten-page letter was typed in 1988 by Commander in Chief Xanana Gusmão and sent to Mr McIntosh via resistance cadres based in Australia.

 

The letter is a detailed history and update of the struggle for self-determination and criticises the Australian Government of the day as being motivated by a desire to “safeguard the economic interests of Australia at the expense of principles that befit a democratic country” and observes that “everything suggests that Australian policy towards Timor-Leste was determined by the Indonesian offer of joint exploration of the Timor Gap.”

 

It is noteworthy that Minister Gusmão released the letter publicly in Díli last Monday, the same day that he officiated in the launch of Timor-Leste'’s Maritime Boundary Office website. During the launch, Prime Minister  Dr Rui Maria de Araújo expressed his “regret” in the current lack of progress with the Government of Australia in regards to the delimitation of Timor-Leste and Australia'’s maritime boundaries under international law. The Prime Minister reconfirmed that it is Timor-Leste'’s national priority “to delimit our maritime boundaries as part of our struggle to reach full sovereignty.”

During this visit it is planned that Mr McIntosh will meet the man who as a young boy, at risk to his own life, collided with the Senator's delegation in 1983 on Atauro Island, in order to secretly pass a note listing the names of political prisoners being detained and tortured.
 

Spokesperson for the Sixth Constitutional Government, Minister of State Agio Pereira noted “it is a great honor for the Government of Timor-Leste to host the visit of former Senator Gordon McIntosh. He is amongst friends today as he participates in the Veterans Conference and will be greeted by many of the veterans as “Ulun Tos” a name affectionately bestowed upon him in the 1980s by Falintil guerillas who admired his “stubbornness” and “hard headedness” in not accepting the views of his colleagues visiting in 1983. The former senator was awarded the Order of Timor-Leste in 2014 for his efforts towards Timor-Leste’'s self determination and it is  an honor to have him attend the events of Veterans Day today.

While passing through Darwin,  McIntosh , who had been a Labor Senator in Western Austalia ,  was contacted by longtime Timor-Leste activist  and  supporter  Rob  Wesley-Smith.

PROMINENT BANK TURNS ANAEMIC

When the Commonwealth Bank unveiled its new square yellow and black logo , critics said it looked like  a Sao biscuit dipped in Vegemite. Not so long ago , the above  nightclub in Flinders Street East , Townsville, named The Bank  , having  once been the Australian Joint Stock Bank , the first in Townsville  , presented  a  worn ,  malty  looking  exterior.

It had been designed in 1881  by F.D.G. Stanley, the former Colonial Architect , renowned for designing  many fine bank buildings. A bank  manager  of note there was  Ferdinand  Sachs, a crack shot with the rifle and  revolver , swordsman  and musician, who lived on  his own  in  bushland  at Hermit  Park . 

Now  The  Bank  building   has  suddenly changed   colour , presenting  a  pallid  front , like  a marshmallow dipped  in  a  weak  Rickett's Blue Bag  solution . 



The fact that  this paint   change has gone unnoticed on a building along the Heritage Trail  by the Townsville media illustrates yet again  that  reporters  don't   hang   about  drinking  spots in  the city  like  the used to do .  It is a well known  fact  that  at  the Murdoch Townsville  Bulletin reporters were made aware  that they should  not  be seen  loitering  in   pubs .  Apparently it is ok  for  scribes to  slip  into  a  coffee  shop  and  slurp  caffeine, which is strange because  many  News  hacks  regularly  denigrated  latte  drinkers .

 

This blog alerted Rupert Murdoch that reporters were becoming milksops,  missing out on  gathering many  news  tips and  fabulous yarns  in  pubs , risking dehydration  as  well .    

SECRET NIPPON YELLOW SUBMARINE DIVE LEAK

 

CANBERRA : In  the latest Coalition leak, it has just been revealed that torpedoed  former PM Tony Abbott  was  recently  taken for a  test  dive  in Japan's  top secret  new age  submarine , shown here in our exclusive photograph , dethroned Mad Monk on the conning  tower in a sou'wester, holding his breath . The  frequent leaker , soon to see a urologist,  claims  Mr Abbott  told  the  Japanese the unusual colour of  the submarine would appeal to  sun loving Aussies ,  old  rock and roll voters  and  suggested  it  be  named Kanga Down  Under .

Meanwhile the much anticipated book  by Niki Savva    about Abbott  and Peta Credlin, The Road to Ruin,  is to be launched next week  by  veteran  journalist Laurie Oakes ... Beware the Ides of March , Tony .  It is evident the book will be like a  Pearl Harbour attack   on  Abbott's record as the Admiral of the Fleet , showing he was  not aware  he was standing on  the  burning, heaving  deck , his favourite  cabin  boy  suddenly  eating  sushi, most  of  the scurvy crew  about  to  jump  ship on inflatable, nuclear powered  bicycles  built  for two.

Goon Show type  cry : He  fell  in  the  water .

HUMOROUS TOURISM STRUGGLE : BLAND TOWNSVILLE VERSUS DOGGONE MAGNETIC ISLAND



As part  of its  extensive contribution  to  Townsville's 150th  anniversary of local government , the  admirable  Special Collections  section at the Eddie Koiki  Mabo Library at James Cook University  is  displaying related  books, brochures, reports   and  early paintings. Subjects covered  include crocodiles , cyclones,  birdlife , early  tourist  brochures  and  the  above 1974  book of   animated cartoons highlighting  the  competing  attractions  of  Townsville  and  Magnetic Island.

While  Townsville has long been  called  Queen City of the North , in song as well , Magnetic Island  is flatteringly, justifiably  described as"the jewel in the crown "- a description  used  by  visiting  politicians .

The  cover illustration  suggests  a  tug-o'-war  for tourists between Townsville and the island.  Townsville's  limited attractions  are depicted as   Castle Hill , suspiciously shaped  like  mammaries , popular with  early morning joggers , walkers and billygoats , from which there are wonderful  views  of  the city ,  Magnetic Island , the  Coral Sea. Also shown   are  three  people who seem to be  holding  each  other up on the mainland .

In  the case  of  Magnetic Island, its many attractions  include  koalas, palm trees , Mini Mokes , a thirsty  canine hotel  bellboy , boats hired  out by a bloke in gumboots  and  a  curvaceous , bikini clad  girl ,with  pearly white teeth and painted lips . 

A point of particular  interest in the text  is mention  of a  proposal  to  join  Magnetic Island to Townsville via  a  causeway, an  idea   raised several  times recently.  It claims, surely in jest, the  idea was first proposed during  WWll  by a high ranking American who became seasick  each time  he sailed to the island  courting a  nursing sister, the causeway to  be constructed  by quarrying  Castle Hill  with  a workforce of 2000 Red  Indians  brought out from the USA !
  

 All   aboard  the  ferry  for  Magnetic Island .

The president of the Magnetic Island History and Craft Centre ,   Zanita Davies , kindly made  available  for  perusal  a copy of  Townsville versus Maggy Island, published in  the mining town of  Mount Isa ,  found on the desk of a Townsville doctor  and  photocopied.  The author  named on the cover  is "Jerrymade" . Hmmm.
 

Turns  out  the  author   was  none other than  Hans (Jerry) Becker, black and white artist, illustrator, cartoonist  and  writer  .  Under the name Hans Becker , he had  earlier,  circa 1970 , produced   Mount  Isa with its Pants Down , the town's roads  made from empty beer  cans .

The  Mount Isa publisher of the Townsville versus Maggy Island  book , Albert Hakfoort  , ran a novel explanation for the  recommended price of the  publication , saying  it  had been  set  due to the printer's incompetence at playing poker , as  well  as   the author's desperate  need  for  a new car and colour TV .

The artist , with a fine sense of humour and keen observations, had produced another   publication  like the earlier one ; if   some people did not like laughing , it was advised  the paper it was printed on was of  fish and chips wrapping quality, could be used  in  a little house or even stop draughts from whistling through  your  miserable  little  huts.  

SUNKEN KETCH SAGA TURNS INTO BERMUDA SALE OF THE CENTURY

A court  injunction  has been issued ordering removal of  the 120 year old   sunken sailing ship , Defender , from the  mooring alongside   the Museum of Tropical Queensland  in Townsville . The  last of the  Bass Strait ketches, the 35 metre vessel sank in early January . Owned by Les Dick , of Tasmania , the ketch took part in the  1988 Bicentennial First Fleet celebrations in Sydney Harbour  and then the Tall Ships race to Hobart. After  charter boat work in the Whitsundays, it came to Townsville and experienced  an engine room  fire . In  a surprise late  development  the  ketch has  been  sold for  a  dollar.