SCOMO THE MAGICIAN PULLS MYXO RABBIT OUT OF TOP HAT

 Is  this  caped  man  an   illusionist ,  mutilation  maniac  or  clap  happy  snappy   chappy   ?

Trickster

The  new generation Coalition mesmeriser  has issued all members of  Cabinet with  a  high powered  guide (left) on how to  bamboozle and entertain  the  unlucky  bunnies  in  Voter  Land .  He has stressed  that  it  is  essential   for  all ministers to regularly  distract the hard working mums and  dads  from  their deep concerns about  paying  the  rent and  power bills and being robbed by  banks and every other institution   by   sawing  in  half  a  curvy  au pair  girl  in  high heels, a  cape and  sequinned  body  stocking in  venues such as shopping centres , football ovals , shock-jock   echo chambers  and  SkyNews  live and dead   broadcasts with  Pauline   Hanson ,  Richo,  Alan Jones , Murray, Peta , Brer Rabbit ,  Blinky  Bill ,  Can  Do (Dumped)  Cameron, etc .   

Peter  Dutton's Modelling and Stage Prop Agency, he advises ,  should  be  contacted  to quickly  arrange  suitable  au   pairs  to   prevent   them   from   being  deported  to  New  Zealand , which  would be a terrible blow to the  nation's economy and newspaper circulation.

SUN SINKS OVER AVIAN ART

Another  example of neglect by   the   Sun Kings  of  Townsville  is the above   Magnetic Island  striking  work  of  art , Eye to the Sky ,  featuring  birds  in  flight , with   a   fancy twin  sun dial , supposed  to be   lit at night  by  stored  solar  power .  Well,  that  was  the  situation  when   it  was  constructed in 2010 at a  cost  of  about  $180,000   for  the  Office of Clean Energy , Queensland  State Government .

 

Now , in the words of  the  wailing  song, the  sun  don't  shine  anymore ,  some of  the  birds  are  bent  and  twisted  ,  the  electrical  wiring  for  the lighting system is  broken , parts  lying about . And  to  top it  off ,  all the birds are  showing   signs  of   rust , corrosion . 

 

 The  spectacular   dome was designed  by artist  Malcolm    Chalcroft, of Sydney .  Google  Eye  on  the Sky   and  up  comes a   glowing  , dazzling  account of  the  artwork , the component  parts , the  involvement  of   Townsville  and  the  Magnetic Island  community in  its  evolution :

Eye to the Sky commemorates the Townsville, and specifically the Magnetic Island, community and its engagement with the national Solar City Project. The artwork responds to themes of  connection, transformation and dissemination. The artwork is interwoven with motifs that reference the rich ecology of Magnetic Island from the sea to the sky. The two arches that form the dome are set to the 19° latitude of the site.

 

The equatorial sundial in the northern half of the dome tells the time in Summer when the Earth’s southern hemisphere is closer to the Sun. The sundial in the southern half of the dome tells the time in Winter. At the time of the equinox, as the Sun crosses the equator, time appears to ‘switch’ between the two sundials. The play of shadow during the day, including the mapping of time through the integrated sundial, and the LED lighting during the night give the artwork a day and night presence. It can be used as a visual marker from the ferry as well as being appreciated from within the dome itself and the park in which it sits. The Magnetic Island community embraced and assisted with the development of this artwork and young people from the community participated in workshops with the artist contributing to  the inground paving elements.

 

The situation now

 

On a dark and stormy night,  any ferry trying to get its  bearing from the blacked out  Eye on the Sky could end up  like the wreck of the  Hesperus  .  The  dome is not far from the  helicopter  emergency  medical  landing  pad  in  the  Presto  Broadwalk. If ever anything  requires  emergency  treatment it  is  this neglected  item  on  Magnetic.

Bent  birds , ripped  out wiring , rusting .  A scuffed,hard to read plaque underneath the structure , part covered by gravel ,says Chalcroft   was born  London l968, and that the  dome is built from stainless steel , which should not corrode . However , various sources  of information on the island  say Chinese stainless steel , not equal to the  Australian  standard for SS, was used in its construction . In 2013 Chalcroft , described as an award winning artist, head of Vertebrae , a multi disciplinary practice that  specialises in site specific  artwork  and place making in public domains , addressed the 6th International Urban Design  Conference at Novotol, Sydney Olympic Park . It is not known if Magnetic Island rated  a mention .

CAPTAIN COOK SCOOP

S(h)ipping   Reporter  makes  contact  with  famous explorer  in  séance ; exclusive   photographs  from  Cook's  1770  dangerous  voyage  of  discovery in  Queensland waters .

In  a  dark cellar at   Molly Malone's Irish Pub  in Townsville , I recently called up  Captain  Cook  on  the  other  side, who  was  attending  a barbecue with  Sir Frank and   Kerry Packer  , discussing   luxury yachts and  cricket  , and  asked  him  how  he discovered  what  is  now  known  as  Magnetic Island . 

   

Captain Cook  responded   by  revealing   he nearly came to grief   trying to  find  Magnetic Island .  His cheap , made in China compass was  on  the  blink , the crew  were  threatening  mutiny , they had run out of  Vegemite   and  the drunken  first mate had dropped the spyglass , making  it  hard  to  focus. All the time , there was   the fear of  running aground on  the  reef due to  swirling mist .

The tense situation  eased somewhat, he said , when there  was the  welcome cry of , Land-Ho!  As the sea fog cleared ,  there  was   the first glimpse  of  a  distant  shore  with  a  strange  native  sign , below .  

 The  tipsy first  mate  declared it was  in French , not English . "The bloody  froggies  have  been here ahead of us , "he added ,  and spat on the deck , making it shine for the first time  in a month .

Captain Cook  had  also  expectorated on  the  tar and oakum on  hearing this   , then  whipped  out his Box Brownie  and took a  photograph of the offensive  sign ,  which  he  kindly  telegraphed  to  our award winning   S(h)ipping   Reporter, the  only  one north of Onehunga , during  the   paranormal event  in  the pub  , almost  250  years  later .  

  

Something in  Captain Cook's  mind   urged  him  on to   find  a place he wanted to  call  Magnetical   Isle . However  , the  weird  ,  illegible  sign   above  could  have resulted  in  his ship being  damaged  or  plunging  Queensland into the dark  ages  if  he  had  dropped  the  pick .  

 Fearful  of   running  aground , he tacked  and went  looking for  help to  find  this  isle , this mystical  paradise that existed  in  his fevered  mind  .

 

Swept along by  dangerous  currents , he said   the Endeavour   nearly  crashed into what  seemed to be a  ferry  terminal , which  appeared to be  run by  Cook's Tours, no relation , with   badly   faded   writing   on  its signs ,  but the destination   Magnetic   Island  could  just  be  made out .

Shouting "Eureka !", Captain Cook had  slipped into  reverse,  found   the nearby elusive   Magnetical  Isle , now  Townsville's  Jewel in  the Crown , missing from   mainland  media  maps .  Captain  Cook confided that he had narrowly avoided running aground  in  finding  the  place  and  had   the  bottom  been ripped out of the vessel  and  it went  ashore to be repaired  , Townsville  would  have  been  named  Cooktown  or  Snoozeville .  

BODY COUNT RISING ON ISLAND

The decimation  of  wildlife  continues on Magnetic Island . On a recent  Sunday, three dead  wallabies were  spotted  by a  resident   driving  from  Nelly Bay   to the  Horseshoe  Bay markets.  A  wildlife carer  was   told  of  an incident in which a motorist  appeared to deliberately run down a  wallaby on  the side  of  the  road .  The brief  statement in  the usually  vague  police  report  in  the island's  community  newssheet   that   two  wallabies   found  floating  in the   safe harbour  appeared  to  have  been  knifed  was   not  followed  up   by   the    mainland   media . It is  said  that  the island now has  10 hire car companies and more  courtesy cars  resulting  in a  marked   increase in  vehicles  on  the  narrow roads, on which there have been fatal accidents , one recently ,  signs of  exuberant  driving evident...a  topless  hire  car  followed  by   two   motor scooter  riders  honking  horns   were   seen  speeding  along   Sooning  Street , Nelly Bay .  It only required a  wallaby , a  fluttering  bird, a  dog  to  run out in front of  them and there  could  have   been   another  tragedy .      

DARWIN WETLANDS AND MOSS

 

Vale  Richard Moss

News has been received   from Melbourne   about the   death of  Richard Moss , a keen member of the ALP , who spent  schooldays in Darwin .  After  Darwin High School  and  Adelaide  University ,  he  was  employed in  Crown Law  Darwin  1971-74 , then Adelaide and Brisbane  , before joining the  Attorney -General's  Department   in  Canberra. 

With  the Gilbert and Sullivan-sounding title of Inspector-General of Bankruptcy, he rose  to deputy secretary  of  Attorney-General's . He retired early , but two years  ago developed  an inoperable  brain  tumor .

Living  at home in earlier days in  Adelaide "must have been fun ", according to our informant ,  because his mother, Shirley , was president  of the local Liberal branch .

METEORITE , COMET OR MOON ?

Rain on the way ?

Cairns  sighting  by Abra .

 

In another portentous event  , rain  orchids  are  flowering  on  Magnetic Island, said to indicate precipitation  within days ; a  common  house  Sparrow, not normally  seen  on  the  island , was  spotted  two  days  ago .

ALICE'S LOST WONDERLAND

Through this  recent photograph by Abra taken on the   outskirts of Alice Springs , come  on  a  road  trip  back  to  its  lost  past . One  of  the  wondrous attractions of  Alice Springs  used  to be Panorama  Guth, an art gallery run by  Dutchman Henk  Guth .  It included  a huge cyclorama  of  Central Australian scenery  consisting of 33  painted  canvas  panels  each six metres high , viewed from a raised platform , desert  landscaping  giving the  impression of  being in   the  Red Centre . It was inspired  by  Panorama Mesdag , a seascape  view  in  Holland .   Fire  destroyed   the  Alice  panorama  in  2005 .

 

By Peter  Simon   

 

I met  the late  Henk at  the  gallery  in  the 1970s   where he was  mass producing  paintings of    Stanley Chasm   two at a time  for the tourist  trade . That , he explained , with  an air of sadness , was what  the  tourists   wanted. Tourist  buses  regularly pulled up  at the gallery and  many  departed  with  a    Standley  Chasm  painting .

 

On coming to  Australia , having studied art in   the Netherlands,  he found that  in  Melbourne  Australians  were more interested in  paintings of their  horses and  dogs  than  modern art ,  so  he  gave them  what they  wanted .

 

On moving to  Alice  Springs , he  put a lot of effort and time into  establishing the   gallery which became a  must see   tourist  attraction , offering  works by local  Aboriginal  and  other  artists .  Artefacts  and  old  photographs  added to the   interest.  Prime Minister  Gough Whitlam opened  the panorama in 1975.

 

A recent find on Magnetic Island  was  a soiled  copy of  ALICE SPRINGS AS IT WAS   , in  135 old photographs ,  compiled   and  presented  by   Henk Guth , covering  the development of the  town  from the 1870s  when it was known as   Stuart   to   it becoming  Alice Springs  in 1932-33   and   beyond . 

 

Printed by  Gunn and Taylor , Victoria , l985, it  draws on three collections . Subjects of interest include  Aboriginal artist Albert  Namatjira ,with a 1966  Guth painting of him  on black velvet ; a 1970 view of visitors to Art Studio Guth ; a circa  1912 shot of  Ted Ryko  ( mentioned previously in  this blog ) ,  who rode a bicycle   from Adelaide to  Darwin ; the first aeroplane  to   land in  the town in 1922 ;   author  Bill  Harney , from Charters Towers ,  first chief ranger at  Ayers Rock ; camels, donkey teams, the first road train  ; the Squash Shop operated  by  "Harry"  Fan Kim Sing ; Australian Inland Mission activities , including  pedal wireless  sets ;early railway scenes; the first car to cross from  Adelaide to Darwin ; mounted  police  and trackers ; Harold Lasseter  of  Lasseter's Lost Reef  and   Last  Ride fame .  

Author Xavier Herbert  at   Lasseter grave , Alice cemetery. Little Darwin Photograph