SAVE THE MUTILATED MERMAID CALL

 Recently returned   from   overseas  , a    Darwin  artist  who  visited museums , galleries  and  other venues of   interest , strongly  suggests that  Magnetic Island   should  turn   the battered   mermaid  at  the  harbour  entrance  into  a   major  tourist  attraction ,  with  an  associated    festival  of   arts, 

In  the  process , the  mistreated  mermaid could become Australia's answer to  Copenhagen 's  famous   Little  Mermaid  bronze statue inspired by Hans Christian  Andersen's  fairy  tale , which has been subjected to attacks by vandals  over   the  years. 

The   Darwin  artist , acquainted with the  North Queensland  art  scene, has herself   contributed   to  the   production of   creative   works in Townsville and  on  Magnetic  Island .

She believes the  now  mutilated mermaid should be  removed  and   restored as a   community project  , become  the centre of  a  proposed  annual  festival .

Her suggestion has   been  enthusiastically  supported  by  the Shipping Reporter  who   has long    covered  the plight of  the  mermaid  , a   fibreglass  figure which appeared  ,without explanation ,  on  rocks at   the entrance  to  the  island , with very  little   mainland  media  coverage.

 Subsequently  her   head   and   arms   were    torn  off , she suffered other  outrages ,including having   a Scott Morrison   cut-out  head placed on  top of her   battered torso . Yuk! 

The  Shipping Reporter   revealed that a group of islanders  , shocked at her treatment, had  named  her  Isla.

Because of  his  many posts about the mermaid, a creative  islander presented  him  with  two  knitted   mermaid dolls   she  made  .

The  Darwin  artist  said  making   mermaids   could  become  a  big  island cottage  industry  as  a  result   of a  mermaid  festival .

UPCOMING :  Follow up to  mermaid festival  proposal and  Shipping Reporter  mermaid scoop .

A MARITIME GRAVEYARD

 Another  recent  unusual  find by the  Shipping Reporter is  a  slim  ,66 page , sun- bleached  volume- Scuttled and  Abandoned  Ships in Australian Waters - by Ronald Parsons and Geoff Plunkett, South Australia  , 1995, which gives the  impression  that  it  is  another Bermuda Triangle .

State by state and the  Northern Territory  , it  lists the   many vessels   that  came to  grief   over  the  years .

Our  waterfront  roundsman said  it was  sad  to see that the  l905  Dutch built  steamship Grace Darling,  named  after  the  famous young girl  who  saved  shipwrecked  mariners in 1838 ,  could not be saved herself  and was sunk and  abandoned in  Port Adelaide  some time  after  l931. 

Darwin Harbour  ,it said , was littered with wartime wrecks and   vessels lost in Cyclone Tracy  and  artificial  reefs were formed  for recreational  purposes from barges   and several Vietnamese refugee  boats . It seems there were  so  many  confiscated  wooden   Chinese fishing   boats  scuttled  that  Darwin authorities  gave  them  Aussie  bird  names  such  as  Brolga, Cockatoo, Eagle , Galah, Heron, Jabiru  and  Kookaburra rather than the    Chinese  ones .

With all this talk about spending billions on AUKUS  nuclear  submarines ,it is surprising to  learn  that   something like seven  submarines  built in the Royal Navy Dockyards  in  the early 20th  century  were scuttled in  Victorian waters .  

Looking through the  alphabetical  index   it   revealed   that  many vessels were named after   woman , animals , birds  .The tug named after the controversial Victorian premier  Henry Bolte was scuttled  in l988 after some  parts  had  been  taken  out  .

The Inca , registered in San Francisco, was dismasted during a wild storm in the Tasman Sea and towed into Sydney  in December  1920, sold  for hulking, burnt  off Sydney Heads in December l926 as  part of  the  film  For the Term of  his  Natural  Life .

 There is mention of the  Bee , owned by Robert Hayles , which ran  aground  at  Picnic  Bay ,Magnetic Island on March 16,1901. There  was  another  small   iron  steamship of  the same name  purchased  by  a  Port  Douglas  resident  in 1882.   

NOTE : The Magnetic  Island  Museum is currently working on  a Christmas calendar  which  will   feature some local   shipwrecks .  

WATERFRONT PATROL

Townsville . Abra pix.

LAVISHLY PRODUCED COLONIAL PHOTO ALBUM / CENTRAL AUSTRALIA

Containing "beautiful chromolithographic illustrations " of  Australia, including Hawkesbury River, St. James Church (Sydney), Port Jackson, Mount Arapiles, Gladstone, Townsville, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne from St. Kilda Road, Sandridge, Port Phillip Heads, Perth, Ballarat, Broulee, Daylesford, Port Lincoln, the Burke & Wills Monument (Melbourne), Tom Thumb Lagoon, and Hobart ,this circa 1886  photo album  is  in the latest  list from   Douglas Stewart Fine Books, Melbourne , for  $1200. 

On  the  front of the  the gilt-tooled black morocco leather  album  is a  depiction of  the Melbourne Law  Courts . The title leaf has a view of the Yarra with portraits of Lord and Lady Loch , the Victorian governor and wife ; it is imprinted  with  the initials  J.G.M 

Another item of interest is a 1972  Sidney Nolan  Central  Australia landscape , exhibited  in his  first solo  exhibition in Tokyo in 1973, listed   for  $15,000 .

JEWEL IN THE CROWN TAPESTRY BY ABRA

 

Magnetic Island .

THE ROAD TO HOPEVALE

 

NOT TABLE MOUNT

 

Cloud  over  Magnetic  Island  ,  Shipping  Reporter .