MANDORAH MONSTER FOLLOW UP

 

 An encounter  with  the  Mandorah Monster has been provided by  adventurous   Darwin resident  agronomist   Robert Wesley-Smith .

About l979 , he was  ferrying a  group of Aboriginal women land owners , above,  involved in  the Cox Peninsula  land rights  claim, on a survey in  his  launch , Venceremos, in Spanish and Portuguese meaning We Will Overcome ,We Will Win.

The name , he thought ,  was inspired by the East Timor struggle, it  formerly  a  Portuguese colony.

He was surprised when we pointed out that  Venceremos was also the  title of the  Socialist song  composed for  the  l970 Chilean election campaign of  Salvador Allende.

Recalling the  Mandorah Monster  episode, he said he saw  what he  thought was a large rock, shaped like a head ,  in the sea , and  the women had  demanded  he  steer away  from it , later explaining it  was what amounted  to  the   Mandorah   Monster. 

Near  a property that  ran down to  the  sea , a gruff person had earlier  approached them. He  spoke  about  the   Mandorah Monster  as  if  trying  to  frighten   the  women,  perhaps  intent  on  thwarting  the  land  rights  claim. 

From his extensive  collection, Wesley-Smith  sent Little Darwin  the above  photo of  the  trip plus   the   remains  of  what  are believed  to  be  wartime parts of  Darwin's  submarine  defence  boom  net.

 The  series   shows  Mandorah  resident , former  Northern Territory News reporter and Aussie Rules umpire  , Jack Ellis, left, and  author  Bruce Honeywell recently  examining  the cluttered  scene ,which includes  circular concrete   pieces   to  which   the   boom  was   thought  to  have  been   anchored.

According to Wes ,who regards himself as  Honeywell's unofficial publicity officer,  Bruce is working  on  the  third  novel  in a trilogy  to  be  called  Arafura. He  once ran  a  truckie  magazine. 

  

Another photograph , not shown , appeared to  be of  a gun emplacement   at   Mandorah .  

TRUMP AWAY WITH THE BIRDS AND SQUAWKING AUSTRALIAN MEDIA PARROT

 

BILLY BOMBAX REINCARNATED

Reduced to a pile of  woodchips without the local media noticing or caring , the North Queensland  giant  of sustainability , Billy  Bombax, a kind  tree with a human face  ,  has   come  back  to  life  in  a variety of  ways , including  in the  form of  an  artistic  dung beetle.

The ball of dung, covered with wasteful old style  water sprinklers, looking like Covid-19, is part of a new attraction in the Anderson Park Botanic Garden ,Townsville, which urges  people to take up  the  giant's renewed  call  for sustainability. It seems the local media has not  picked  up  the return of  BB from the other side and  his  call  to action . 

Only Little  Darwin  covered the  gradual demise  of  Billy Bombax  who had  limbs  chopped off  due to a  raging arboreal  disease  and unsightly  black canker  of  the  armpit. The  local  media did not pick up this long - running,  important  story .

There  obviously was  not long   to go  when  Billy lost  face , above, still  without  local  media  attention . Then, without any media coverage, the environmentalist  was reduced to woodchips, lucky not to be shipped off to Japan  and turned  into  toilet paper.  

Today the Giant's Garden in the park  , part of which is seen below,  includes the dung beetle and  a variety of  tips on  how  to  go  easy on   the  planet .   

MANDORAH MONSTER MYSTERY SOLVED?

It is surprising that nobody in the Top End media thought to link  the recent  sighting of humpback whales way  up  a Kakadu  river  with  Darwin's  baffling   Mandorah  Monster of  yesteryear.  Back in the l950s and  early l960s , the   Mandorah Monster  was  as  famous locally as the Loch Ness Monster. 

The tropical Nessie  was sighted  from time to time off   Mandorah, just cross the harbour   from the  Northern Territory capital.  There was a holiday resort  at  Mandorah with a  honeymoon suite  which  featured  Cupids in a big way .  The   monster was seen  during  nuptial  ferry  trips across  the  harbour, one of the crew named  Roy Big   Foot .

 While some people said the scary  object was some kind of  fast moving  giant  sea  creature, others  believed  it  mechanically driven  , even Russian !

The  Russkie  connection  could have been inspired by a highly dubious  report  in the  Northern Territory News   quoting   Mr  J. G. Slaggert, ,said to be a self employed businessman, as having sighted  a flying saucer  land  at the  Darwin Golf Course  , its occupants speaking perfect   English , questioning him about Darwin ,  announcing   they  were  Russian . Viewed below are l959 photographs taken  on the  ferry trip to Mandorah, including the  wartime  tower and gun emplacements. 

Seriously, it is just possible that  the  Mandorah Monster was  actually  a  humpback  whale/whales  frolicking  off  Darwin . Meanwhile , our roving cameraman , Vallis, has handed in the following  shot of  a  sea monster  in  North Queensland waters.  

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RETURN OF ERN MALLEY

"The literary hoax of  the  twentieth century"  has been  revived  through  a  recent offering  by Douglas  Stewart Fine Books, Melbourne. It consists of  the following copy of  the 1944 autumn number of Angry Penguins  edited by Max Harris and John Reed, Melbourne, commemorating the (bogus) Australian poet Ern Malley created  by  James McAuley and Harold Stewart .The foxed copy ,with illustrated wrappers by Sidney Nolan , is listed at $1650. It contains a rare errata slip  and early pencil annotations  commenting on  the poetry and the  Adelaide prosecution  of  Max  Harris . 

In addition to the legendary poems by ‘Ern Malley’ this issue also includes contributions by Albert Tucker, Cedric Flower, Peter Cowan, Gordon Thomson, Neil Douglas, Dal Stivens, Bernard Smith, Alister Kershaw, John Tallis, Colin Thiele, Barrie Reid, Elizabeth Galloway, Frank Kellaway, Harry Roskolenko, Geoffrey Dutton, John Reed, an illustrated article on Australian Aboriginal Art by Leonard Adam, candid photographs of Arthur Boyd, John Perceval, Eric Schimmer, Danila Vassilieff, Joy Hester, Max Harris, Sunday Reed, John Reed, Ivor P. Francis,

The famous Ern  Malley issue, with a run of 900 copies, is regarded as a rare  Australian  literary icon.   The hoax  was  explained in full for the first time   in Michael Heyward's book ,published by University of Queensland Press. 

More

AWAY WITH BAVARIAN BIRDS

 

Bavarian built  charter  yacht  from Brisbane with a catchy business  name slipping into Magnetic  Island  marina . Vallis photographs .

BLACK KNIGHT'S SAGA BIGGER THAN WAR OF THRONES - ATTENTION NETFLIX, DISNEY

 A  mammoth  but highly desirable  task currently  underway  involves putting   together  in  digital  form  evidence  from  the  many blood- soaked   battlegrounds  in    the   life  of   Pete  Steedman , a  longtime  Australian activist , journalist , publisher , one  term  politician in the Hawke Government .

See  the  following  performance of Steedman  on the television show Neil Mitchell on Sunday to  get a measure of the warrior, who then , and still now, wants  to  change  the  world .

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rj_dznGZleAIsSKilIh46IcyyMrL_iI3/view?invite=CLf0oLkF&ts=5f239e39

Over  the years , the media dubbed him Australia's Black Knight , the ALP's Wild Child  and the Lone Ranger .He was also declared Canberra  politician of the year . During  a  well  lubricated  ALP  debate , Steedman was  the subject of  " a roast " - in which   he  deftly  wielded  broadsword  and   mace  in  a  verbal  response. He is shown below, left ,  on  friendly terms with visiting  Canadian born American  comedian ,Mort Sahl.  

Described as  James Dean crossed with Elvis, Steedman rose to prominence in the l960s , first as editor of Melbourne's  Monash University student  newspaper , Lot's Wife.  He wore R.M. Williams riding boots ,Levi's, a black leather jacket,  from which dangled a  chain . Later he became editor of the Melbourne University's newspaper ,  Farrago .(See Dissent The Student Press in 1960s Australia, by Sally Percival Wood.)  

Due to his  strong opposition to the Vietnam War, especially the conscription of young men to  fight in the crazy Asian conflict ,  the government considered bringing in special legislation to charge him with subversion. 

 Because  of  death  threats  due to his anti war stand and other pressures ,  he  went  about  armed , especially at  night ,when attempting to get some much  needed  beauty sleep in his hectic life .

This blog  told  the verified story of how late one night his sleep was disturbed by knocking on his door, in a kind of hideaway. Upon hearing a strange  American voice calling him  , Pete  pounced out - with  a  knife , confronted  the   shocked caller - none other  than American singer    Bob Dylan ,on tour, who wanted  to  see  him. 

Made the editor of a  new national publication, Broadside, in 1969 ,  Steedman continued his anti- war campaign  , attracted  a  swag of  talented  writers and  cartoonists  who went on to become   well known in Australia  , some overseas. Michael Leunig cartoons  featured in a big way, covering such subjects as  the war, police  brutality , ASIO. 

Another Broadside illustrator ,Peter Burleigh , a contributor to this blog  on occasions ,  his  Bulldust  Diary kept during an outback fishing  tour,  a gem, went off  to  London .       

Broadside  also  ran  a   popular comic strip, Fabula   ,inspired by the French  bombshell   Barbarella .  Fabula , the  scantilly  attired  private secretary of the leader of a Great South Land  ,  cavorted  about in a  thinly veiled   Canberra  political scene ,the lurid  text written by Steedman from  inside information  received  by him  from  various  sources .  Fabula's  service to the  nation  included  going  to  America  and  confronting  Tricky  Dicky Nixon and his scoffing  henchmen who treated  Australia poorly because we are close  allies, taken for granted .

 Life  became dangerous for  Steedman  due to his  activism.After  management pulped two editions of Broadside, he  decided to leave the  Great South Land , travel overland  to  Britain . Along the way , a pointy implement  tucked down a boot came in handy during a tricky situation in India . 

Arriving in swinging London, Steedman took over running  the Oz magazine office while his Aussie mates  were facing  indecency charges in the Old Bailey . In next to no time ,Steedman was shaking up the establishment. He found  fault with  and caused changes to  the media coverage of the" Irish troubles" ; campaigned, with the support of brothel keepers,  to prevent historic buildings  from being demolished by developers ; ran a successful campaign to prevent a new television licence from going to a commercial group .

Before returning to Australia, Steedman ,his wife Julie, and   Peter Burleigh  made an overland  trip in a  van. Along the way, Steedman tempted fate by confronting Dictator Franco's forces  in Spain . There was a tense moment late one night when they were parked in the van in Morocco and  men  banged at the door . 

Tucked away in baggage was  Pete's trusty knife-so he launched himself out  the  door like a  madman,  and scared  the band , giving  Burleigh  time to start  the  van  and  decamp.

 Back in Melbourne, he became editor of the  Victorian  ALP newspaper , was known as the Black Knight  because of black attire , sunnies . Some  unkind persons called him the  Bete Noir of ALP politics. He went on to become the ALP  Member for  Casey in  the Hawke Government ,losing it due to an electorate boundary change , not  before he  threatened to cook Andrew  Peacock  like  an overdone ALP campaign  sausage .  

His  sins include giving Gerard Henderson  a run in Broadside back in l969 ,but he explains this by  saying  he gave everybody a run in any  publications he ran -true democracy , throwing  light on  all  aspects  of  an issue.  

Little Darwin has seen other digital video material which shows him strongly defending  universities and  university  newspapers from Liberal government attacks  in  panel discussions ; firmly  opposing at an ALP  conference uranium  mining  and   selling  off  Qantas.