FISH AND TIPS ON WATERFRONT

 

Crisp morning  serving  at  Townsville, Abra  photographs.

LATTE ON THE ROCKS

 

Scenes from popular  Hop Inn Café , Magnetic Island .

GUNS BLAZING, UNEXPECTED RETURN OF GREAT WHITE HUNTER WHO MISSED THE DONKEY TARGET

A  surprising   find in  a  bundle of old  Sydney Bulletin  magazines  is  the  above full page advertisement  featuring  the colourful  Northern Territory character ,  " White  Hunter "  Allan   Stewart,   and   the   Nourlangie  safari  camp .   

 

By Peter Simon

 

 

 For a mere  20 pounds ($40) a day, Darwin  Safari Limited provided clothing, guns, ammunition, fishing  gear,  " native  skinners", boats, horses, motor vehicles " your  white  hunter ", food accommodation  and  refreshments. 

 

Hunters were  flown   by  light aircraft  to  Nourlangie , 120 miles  east of  Darwin , to  the camp in  Arnhem Land , where they could  shoot buffaloes , crocodiles, pigs  kangaroos , dingoes , ducks, geese ,  quail (in season ) .  

 

This   Australian " hunting paradise" , the faded  l960  advert  boasted ,  had been described  by American hunters  Bill  Carpenter and  Arthur Jones  of  Louisiana  and  " Woody " Woodhill of California  as the best  of  the world's  hunting camps   they  had  ever  seen . Woody  is shown  posing with  a  buffalo  he shot .

 

Stewart was a close  friend of  Northern Territory  News   editor , Jim  Bowditch . They first  met when  Stewart , an experienced PR man ,  who had  managed   leading radio and revue artists,  came  to  Darwin  to help  promote  the grandiose  Humpty Doo  rice project , backed by American money and the Australian government ,  which was supposed  to  become "the  food  bowl  of Asia ". 

 

Australian politician Harold Holt, later the  PM who disappeared at sea, in 1953 got American entrepreneur  Allen Chase  , renowned  for   holding  Hollywood parties in his mansion ,  interested  in the idea of   large scale  rice growing on Australian floodplains. At the time small  scale rice  growing was conducted  in the  Kimberley and on the  Ord  in Western  Australia  ,  and  Adelaide River ,  near  Darwin .

 

Chase   flew out to Australia , became  wildly enthusiastic ,  and reportedly said the  situation was like the Nile Valley, but twice as good .   He  formed  a  syndicate  which included  B. Mosher from Signal Oil, TV star Art Linkletter  and the chairman of  American President Lines Ralph Davies. They  put up $40,000   for a survey   and in November 1955  Territory Rice Limited  was incorporated  in  Sydney , with  rights to 303,000  hectares .  

 

A lot of money was spent  and  a series of unexpected  problems were encountered  ,  including  the  fact that  water from  a  nearby source was  too salty  and could not be used on the  paddy fields  at  a key period . Two   dams  were  built  at great cost , there  were  other  financial  setbacks   with   harvesting  equipment ,  the  power  supply  for  a   rice   processing  plant .   Robert McCulloch of  outboard  motor fame  put  two million  into the  venture . Magpie  geese   found  the rice  delicious .  Eventually   the    ambitious  Territory Rice    project   folded .     

 

During his life  Stewart  made several  failed attempts to become a politician . Soon  after  WWll , he   contested two  elections , one against  fiery East Sydney  ALP  politician  Eddie Ward. He failed to gain  Liberal pre-selection  when  he described a  Liberal  as  a person  with  two feet   firmly planted  in  the  air .

 

In 1972 , Stewart unsuccessfully stood as an independent  for the NT  federal seat  in the House of Representatives  against  the sitting member , Sam Calder, known as  " Silent Sam".  During  the campaign, addressing the Women's Electoral Lobby ,  he said  Australia  could support a population of 60 million . In an attempt to  capture the "donkey vote"-that  of  people  who just   voted  from  the  alphabetical   top    down -he   changed  his name by  deed  poll  to  Alexander  Allan-Stewart  so  that his  hyphenated surname was  on  top.

 

 While he did not get  elected, he appeared on  the  Tommy Hanlon  TV  Show and was  presented  with  the  White  Hunter of  the  Week Award.



PRESIDENT TRUMP IMITATING AUSSIE JACKASS FOR PENDING DOWN UNDER UNREALITY TOUR

Scoop  photo taken in  White House Oval  Office rose and  gum  tree  garden , supplied  courtesy  of  Russian Spying and  Hacking  Bureau,  Trump Tower, New York . 

BATTERED AMERICAN MARCHING KING SURFACES IN AUSTRALIA

Strike up the band   to celebrate another Little  Darwin  unusual find : the John Philip Sousa  march folio  containing  pieces copyrighted  1893  to  1904 .  The famous band  conductor  and   composer visited  Australia   on  a  worldwide  band   tour .
 

Sousa  was  one of  five musicians  asked to decide on the standard  version of  the  American national  anthem , The  Star-Spangled  Banner ,  and   served as  White House  bandmaster  to  five  presidents. In 1910 he took his band of 100 musicians  on  a  world tour, the Washington Post upon his death  reporting  it took in  Europe, Africa, Australia ,  an  apparent  separate  country  called  Tasmania ,  New   Zealand ,   Honolulu   and   the  Fiji  Islands .  

The   well  worn  , foxed and reinforced  folio, unearthed in Townsville , North Queensland , includes a number of  Sousa's  favourite compositions ; he churned out  more than 300  in his lifetime, about a third marches .  In addition,  he wrote novels, verse , magazine articles , 10 operas  and  The Last Crusade  for  orchestra, choir and organ .

The Washington Post  March  in  the folio was adopted  by dance studios  to  teach  the  two-step .

There is a name   at the top  left   of  El Capitan  March .  Sousa , a mason ,  keen on  horseriding , boxing   and trap- shooting ,  died from a  heart attack  in  March  1932 , aged  77 , in the  Abraham  Lincoln Hotel  , Reading , following a large civic  dinner  the  night  before ,  intending to lead  the Ringgold Band on its 80th anniversary the following   day .  He  had  expressed the  desire  to  live to  100  so  he  could  write  more  marches .   

HANCOCK'S LAST HALF HOUR

Sad funny man

 

If  Little Darwin can get its record  player to work , the  den will  soon  echo to  the sound  of   British  comedian  Tony Hancock   performing  in  1961 .    A star of radio, television and  film , Hancock  suicided  in  Sydney  on June  25,   1968  , aged 44,  leaving behind  notes, one saying " things just  seem to go too wrong  too many times ." There were  vodka  bottles  and   tablets   in  the  flat  .

 

His radio show , Hancock's Half Hour, also on the "glass screen ", was    avidly listened to  by  this blogger . In the show  he  played a struggling comedian aspiring  to  be an actor .  Over the  years  he worked with   talented  British  entertainers    such   as  Sidney James , Kenneth Williams , Hattie Jacques , John Le Mesurier . 

The  sleeve on the   above record , found in Townsville , shows  an apprehensive  Anthony "Aloysius"   Hancock , described as  a celebrated  comedian  and middle-class beatnik , who had more than  made his mark on the Australian public . His  half hour said to have  been  one of the most popular  radio shows  beamed over the  air  in  Australia .

 The zany blurb went on to  say that in  1960, after months  and months of deliberation , it was  decided to take the plunge  and see what the   reaction would  be of  the  Australian public  to  Hancock on record .  

Checking sales returns  at five minute intervals , after weeks and weeks of patiently  waiting , it was found that someone had actually bought a copy.

Working on the principle that fortune favours the  brave, it had been decided to inflict another disc  featuring  the great man's meanderings.

This recording was  made before an invited audience  on October 1,1961 , and it was hoped it  would   raise the  total  sales  of  Hancock's albums  to two !

It consists of   two episodes  from  Hancock's last  BBC   series , retitled Hancock ,  which did not include Sidney James .   One  is the  Blood Donor , in which  he goes to a clinic to give blood, a   line    being , "A pint? Why, that's very nearly an armful!"

In the other  , entitled  The Radio Ham, in which he played an amateur  radio operator  who receives a  mayday  call from  a  yachtsman in  distress but because of his incompetence  cannot  pinpoint his position . If  this  old blogger's memory is  correct , the  desperate yachtsman was  reprimanded for   screaming  and  Hancock  liked  asking  other  people  he contacted  what the weather  was  like over  there , telling  an  Oriental  gentleman   the weather  in  London  , hard to  believe , was   OK  also .

QUEEN THROWS ANOTHER PARTY FOR FEATHERED COURT JESTER

The Queen of the Jungle  commanded  this blog's attendance at yet another  garden party  for   Larry  the  Cussing Lorikeet  .  Larry , a  real party animal ,   in  a wolf-whistling  mood , brought along  a  supply of  honey and water, his version of  mead ,  popular  with  mad   monks  in  bygone ages ,  to  wet  his  whistle .

 He  arrived in  his   cage, carried by  his  owner,  maritime skipper,  cruising yacht artist  , Jenn  Payne   , of  Mission Beach , once  named by American songwriter , actor  and author , Jimmy Buffett   as  Australia's No. 1 Parrot Head .   The cage , naturally , contained  one of  Larry's   Purple People Eater triangular  nests   in  which  he sleeps.  Sometimes he has  a  sip  of   rum   or   home  brew   beer  as  a  nightcap .

 

Out of  the cage , he  hopped   about  the Queen's  pad , where he  had spent  many  months as  a  guest in  the  past ,  inspecting every nook  and  cranny , nibbling  here  and  there , shredding ,  at  times  firmly ordered  to  stop  by  her  majesty .  Climbing onto the  table , he eyed off  the  German  biscuits and cakes  the  Queen  had  provided, offered  her a  kiss  if  she  poured  him  a  honey hit .

  A bit of a lad , perhaps in need of a visit  to  SpecSavers ,  he chatted up a  cute   toy  Curlew  , below .

Nothing missed his close  attention, including the cup into which teabags were  placed. Jenn  revealed   that  Larry  had  a  narrow  squeak  at Mission Beach , a  python  found  on   his  cage . While  the  party progressed, Larry repeatedly ran through his vocabulary, which includes, Bugger! . There were   frequently imitations of  a  telephone  ringing  , which  Jenn  said was  the exact sound of  a phone  some  friends  had   in  Cairns  who   looked  after  him   10 years  ago . 

 

 Later  this  year , Larry  will  sail  to the  Gold Coast  to attend   a Buffett  Parrot  Head   Party  and will  no doubt  pick up more   interesting   new  sounds  and squeals  during  the   partying .  His  portrait features  on a painted  coconut showing  him  sipping  a  Buffett Margarita , a drink which  ageing Buffett  no longer  favours  because of  the  sugar content . Tequila is now his slurp of  the day  at  sunset .