COOL SPOT

Vallis.

 

AUSTRALIA AT THE COALFACE : STICK IT UP OR IN YOUR CHUBB !

 Opposition  to  coal  mining  is displayed in different ways, in different places.  

Above  an  after  hours  bank  deposit  Chubb  , on which there is some graffiti,  there  is a  small  sign  calling to move  away from coal, which could have been inspired by Jacqui Lambie.  A  bit  further  along  there  is  a   larger  ant-coal  message.

   

DOWNTOWN DECAY

 Like so  many  old  central  business   districts ,   Townville 's once   thriving  area  is   a  sad  sight  in  parts , with  vacant shops,   numerous for    lease  signs ,  substantial   buildings  from  the boom   days  when  Townsville  was  the  so  called  Queen  City  of  the   North   crying  out  for   occupants. 

The  rundown state of the Townsville  CBD was recently mentioned in the Queensland parliament  , the Townsville City Council's updated building codes  said  to  be  hampering  rejuvenating  the  area.  

Dark parts of  the CBD  would frighten the pants off  Jack  the  Ripper, according  to  one  critic  with  a  vivid  imagination . 

In   Flinders  Street  , once described as  the Wall Street of North Queensland,    the  depressed  state  of  the  CBD  is  highlighted by what used to be the busy Dimmey's Arcade , which housed one  of  the now defunct   Victorian   company's   chain  of   stores. It has been  decribed  as  crumbling  , mould   visible .

Nearby is a plaque   recording  " a unique moment in Australian history"-the September  17 1901 event in which  an   Australian flag  , made by sailmaker  William McKenzie,  was  unfurled  for the first time  by  the  visiting  Governor-General ,  Lord Hopetoun , at  the  new  town  hall.

Not far away is the  long  closed  impressive  Bank  of  New South Wales   bearing  a  sold  sign .

A   plaque  says it was constructed  in  1935 , the  third  built by the bank in Townsville. Founded in 1817 , the bank was  closely associated with Robert Towns,  co- founder of  Townsville, and  a  director  of  the  bank ..

CLANCY OF THE APLIN WEIR OVEFLOW

 

Townsville, with apologies to Banjo Paterson.

A STEEDMAN MISSING LINK

 In the rip-roaring  days of   North Queensland  journalism, there was   an  adventurous   editor  who   stood out in more ways than one- he  was    6ft. 7in. tall , could have been the heir to a Scottish  estate, and in 1883  was  massacred in  the  South Pacific  while  black  birding, recruiting islanders, called  Kanakas,  for work  on  Queensland  plantations.

While   mainly  known as   William Stedman,  he was also  said to  be  Steadman  and  Steedman .  On  seeing Steedman, we instanty thought of   Pete Steedman , of   Melbourne , and  rang  him.

No, he did not know the  guy,who had worked in Townsville and Mackay, but he had been told that  there was a  Scottish side to his family. It would be nice, however,   to  have  a  baronial  estate  in  the  Highlands on which to grow  thistles. 

The    editor , said to have  graduated  from Glasgow University, came to this blog's attention when Darwin resident ,  Bob White ,  kindly sent  the  above  1982  book,  by  James  Manion , published by the  North Queensland Newspaper  Company ,Townsville . No sooner  had  we  read the interesting book, than  another  copy turned  up  in Townsville.

FIFO BLACK-BILLED SPOONBILL

 

Vallis.

SUNBIRD IMITATING CLOWNFISH NEMO IN GREAT BARRIER REEF CORAL

 Magnetic Island  Bougainvillea  .  Vallis.