LARRIKIN WHISTLES AT QUEEN

The Queen of the  Jungle was ruminating  in  the west  wing  of  her island residence  when  her thoughts  about  the  crumbling  empire and  disappearing wilderness   were  disrupted  by  the  phone ringing . As  all  the  staff  were  downstairs , no doubt  secretly  getting  into  the   gin and  caviar ,   she  was  forced  to  answer  the  phone  herself.

Hello . No  answer . Probably  Mumbai , she  thought , but to make  sure  she again  said   hello . Across  the  airwaves   came a  wolf whistle , followed by   another , which  shocked  her majesty . It was  none other  than  Larry the  cussing  Lorikeet,  who is treated like royalty  whenever   he stays  with the  Queen  on   Magnetic Island  , ringing  from Mission Beach  , with an invite  to  come  up  and  see  him  some  time  at  the  art  colony, where he regularly  poses   in   dark  glasses  for    portraits   painted  on   coconuts . 


A  Rainbow Lorikeet ? Larry with clean  pink sleeping pouch instead of  his  usual  Purple People Eater which  was  taken away  to  be  washed .

The Queen unexpectedly became  a  Crow carer  when one of two   chicks,  blown out of  a  nest on  her estate , was   rescued  and   placed  in one of  her aviaries    where  it was  fed  chicken  hearts  until  able  to  join  the  noisy  family . Meanwhile, back at the  Little Darwin ranch , the latest Curlew  to hatch   is shown  peeping  out  at  the  strange   world , listening for  alarming things that go  thump  and  Trump  during  the  night and  day .

 

RARE ART OBJECT OFFERED TO NORTHERN TERRITORY

Sporting  the  sox  of  the  Essendon  Australian  Rules   team , the  above  unusual  work of  art ,  inspired  by  Essendon champion  Michael   Long's  trek from  Melbourne  to  Canberra as a  protest against  Prime Minister John Howard's refusal to make an apology to the Stolen Generation ,   has been  offered  to  the  Museum  and  Art  Gallery Board  of the  Northern Territory, Darwin . It  was  created   by   agronomist  Robert  Wesley-Smith , founding member of the NT Council for Civil Liberties , keen  footballer , involved  in  numerous  indigenous  issues .

In  1993 Michael Long , a  top Northern Territory footballer, playing for  Essendon ,  was  named  the  Norm  Smith  Medalist .  After  10 days into his walk to  Canberra  , PM  Howard  agreed to  see  Long  and  discuss  the  issue .

 

The  above  photograph  was  taken  at  the   Bullocky  Point gallery  , minus  a   hat   marked M. Long , stolen  while   on  display  at a Northern Territory Library Timor Leste  function  where  Wesley-Smith  spoke   several  days  previously .  Over  the years ,  the  artwork   has   changed  somewhat  in   appearance .  

  On  display   at  an early  public function , the  object , made  from  an inverted   tree  ,  had  different  footwear and   non  Essendon   sox   , a  hat  clearly marked  M. Long  .

Inside the Wesley-Smith  residence, in a commanding  position , above ,   this  is another  view  of  the  figure  , with   an  explanation  strip .  Each  time  the  figure is  put  on    display it  attracts  much   attention and  comment  , people  taking  photos  of   and   with  it . 

 

 Impressed by  the object  , in   another slightly different  configuration , was  renowned  AFL player and  coach ,  Kevin  Sheedy , centre , with  Wesley-Smith , right,  and Wanderers  Football  Club  official  Darryl Window , at  the 100th anniversary of the  club  in  the  Northern Territory Football League ,  Darwin , last month .  At the  function , attended by  400,  the  object  received much  attention.  Sheedy has been  deeply  involved with Aboriginal  communities in the  north , urging   them to  become involved in  football, and   supported  anti-vilification laws in  the  game . 

 

At night, Wesley-Smith  does a lot of   walking  about his rural property - killing large numbers  of cane  toads , their croaking deafening ,  brought out  by  the  heavy  rain which  has  lashed  the Top End .  

TASMANIA ON THE MARCH

In association with the  Edinburgh Military Tattoo , Australia's International  Military Tattoo was held  at Hobart  on March 10-31 , l976 , the above  illustration  from the  sleeve  of  the LP record , designed by Snape and Gallaher Graphics, Sydney ,  recently   found   in  Townsville ,  played  loudly, causing  perturbation in  nearby  Sassenachs, which subsided on hearing Waltzing  Matilda  and  Amazing  Grace. 

 

Military bands that   participated were from  the Royal Australian Navy (HMAS Cerberus ) ; Royal Military College ,Duntroon ; 4th Military  District , Australian Army, Adelaide; Royal Australian Air Force ,Headquarters Operational Command , under direction of Captain C. Fischer , Royal Australian  Band Corps   ;  Members of the  lst Armoured Regiment .

 

Pipe bands  were  the  3rd Battalion , the Royal Australian Regiment ; Pipes and Drums  2/4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment ; New South Wales  and  Tasmania Police; Members of the   Royal Scots   Division ; Hewisi  Band of the Sri Lanka Police , including   dancing police women , under  the  direction of  Sergeant   Major  Wilson  Olabadur .  

 

AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN URGED TO PLAY HOCKEY, NOT HOOKY

An item in Fran Kelly's  breakfast show  on ABC Radio Nation contained the  disturbing news that more and more children are  being  encouraged to  take an  interest in politics  and  watch parliament  in  action  in  Canberra . Heaven  only  knows   what  this  exposure  will  do  to  their  minds .

 Fran  revealed   that  one  kid  whose  life took a  dramatic   turn   after a  school trip  to parliament   was  none  other  than   Joe Hockey , now our  gilded ambassador in  America   ,  a  former  Treasurer   and  a sock-it-to-me  friend of ousted  PM   Tony Abbott  .   Joe  , we  were  told ,   said   he  poked  his  nose  over the  balcony, saw  the  politicians  in  action ,   and   made  the   fateful  decision  that  he wanted  to  become  one  of   them .  

 

Hands up  all  those  smart  politically  minded children  who  know that one of the   world's last cavalry charges ,  in which the  4th Australian Light Horse Brigade  played a big part ,  on  the Turks ,  at   Beersheba ,  in 1917 ,  subsequently  involved  Joe Hockey's "mysterious " grandfather, Joseph Hokeidonian.

He was an Armenian Catholic ,  said  to have been a  "spy "  sent  by the Catholic Church in  Jerusalem  to  keep  a  watch  on  Ottoman  Palestine  during the war . 

 

After capture of  Beersheba ,  the British sent in  one eyed  Hokeidonian as   deputy  town clerk  to  help rebuild  the  badly  war  damaged   town.   In  1927 he moved  to  Jerusalem where   his   Palestinian wife  gave birth to a son , Richard. 
 

According to Paul Daley's  book, Beersheba * , Victory Books , Hokeidonian was a less than  perfect  father and  disappeared after the birth of  the child. Many years later, Richard , who had never met his father , was informed  that he had  been  killed  in  a  road  accident in  Egypt . 

After serving with the British Army in Palestine in  WWll , Richard   came to Australia with his mother and  a  brother , where they  anglicised  their name to Hockey . Here they ran a successful  continental deli at  Bondi .  Richard   married   an  Australian  and they had  four children , the  youngest  named  Joseph   after  the  " mysterious " paternal grandfather .   

On winning the safe Liberal seat of North Sydney in  1996, Joe Hockey mentioned the  charge on  Beersheba  in his maiden speech , describing his grandfather as   the  deputy  district  commissioner  .     

 

 ***Daley's  book, surprisingly , does not mention  Charles  Aubrey  " Strawberry " Abbott , who  took part in  the charge  on Beersheba ,  became a  politician , Administrator  of   the Northern  Territory  at the time of  the bombing of  Darwin by the  Japanese . Abbott said he only ever  fired  one  shot during the charge on Beersheba and almost reluctantly asked a Turkish general to hand  over his sword ,  kept   and   hung on  a   wall   of  the  garage he and his wife, Hilda,   lived in late  in life  at  the back of  their son-in-law's house in  Point  Piper , Sydney .  

ANOTHER DAY DAWNING

Cairns , North Queensland . Abra photograph .

UNIVERSITY ART AND RARE COLLECTIONS : LET THERE BE MONSOONAL RAIN OVER THE DAM

Occasional  items of  interest  from  James  Cook University , Townsville , Australia .

 

AFTER   RAIN

 

Carving in Mackay cedar  by  Ben (Gerhard )  Trupperbaumer , of  Atherton , North  Queensland . He came  to Australia   from West Germany in 1976,  becoming  a  leading artist  in the Cairns and Port Douglas area, using recycled  timber  to  make statements  about   the  Australian  landscape .

ACTION PACKED LIFE OF JOURNALIST HITS WALL

The  longtime activist , journalist and author, Jill Jolliffe , shown here  in  1969 in the  Melbourne magazine , Broadside , edited by Pete  Steedman ,  has  been   enfeebled . Apparently the tragic development   took  place  about  a  year ago in  Melbourne , news of the situation only received here  in recent  weeks. This  courageous  woman  relentlessly   covered  the  US approved  Indonesian invasion of   East Timor and its aftermath   ,  wrote  Cover Up :The Inside Story of the  Balibo Five , the  Australian news team murdered by the Indonesians ,  from     which  the  movie  Balibo, starring  Australian actor  Anthony LaPaglia in  the  part  of  veteran   journalist    Roger  East,  who had worked  in  Darwin  and  was shot and  thrown  into  the  harbour  at  the  East Timor  capital,  Dili .

As a  result of  her  tireless campaigning , the Yale University  magazine  Globalist  named  her  the 2006  Journalist of  the  Year  for  her extensive writing on  important  matters .

 



In her 2008  memoir , Run For Your Life , Jill revealed her  birth mother had adopted  her  out , she  had been  brought up in  a  violent  household  and  ran away as a teenager , going to Monash University  and  becoming involved with activists . She lobbed in  East Timor  in  April   1975  as a Reuter's freelance  correspondent with  a  student  delegation  ,  evacuated  on  the last  flight out  of  Dili  in  December ,  Roger  East  refusing   to   leave . 

 

From 1978 to 1999 she was based in Portugal where she  interviewed refugees  from  East Timor , covered   the war  in the former   Portuguese  colony of  Angola   and  reported on  matters  in  other colonies . Documentaries she  was   involved in   included   European  prostitution  rackets  which enslaved Portuguese , Spanish and  Third World women  , the East Timor  guerrilla   war  which involved  a highly  dangerous journey  inside  the occupied country seeking the Revolutionary  Front  commander Nino  Konis  Santana  , the subject of  a  book  she wrote  ,  and  a   Foreign Correspondent    special   with  Jonathan Holmes   about  the  Balibo  Five.   When  East Timor  achieved  its   freedom ,  Jill  ,who had been banned from entering the country  by  the Indonesians , came to  Darwin and  resided  , went  to East Timor where she launched the Living Memory Project , a video  archive  of  testimony by  East Timor   former  political prisoners . In 2010,  she was   a  Northern Territory  finalist   for   the   Australian  of   the  Year  Award .   

 

While in Darwin , Jolliffe   came to this  writer's residence and  discussed a  wide  range of  subjects  and  people , including   Roger East  and   prominent    Darwin  reporter  John  Loizou   who   started   the  online  South East Asian Times ,  still  running  . Now  this  relentless  fighter   is  suffering   from  loss  of  memory .