PYTHON SIGHTINGS INCREASE

 Two  fairly large  pythons have been   seen  sliding   about  Townsville   in recent weeks . The latest encounter , above ,  was  in  Anderson Botanic  Gardens, Mundingburra. It  reared up  out of the grass,much to the surprise of   an  approaching   lady   walking  a  large  dog.  A nearby council  worker  indicated  the  friendly snake,  a  few metres long ,  is  frequently seen  in  the  area, and enjoys a  rent  free  shed .

A  similar sized  snake  was   spotted  on a  busy road  more than a week ago,  not far  from the latest  sighting , and  tried to  bite  a  brave,  concerned   Darwin  man  who  pulled  it  off  the  road   to prevent it  being  run  over .

Two  much smaller pythons , including one  in  a letterbox, were recently reported  in  this  blog. 

 Photo  of  cute  snake at the  top of this  post  supplied by  visiting Top  End  snake  charmer ,Craig.

(Pythons,Townsville, Bite.)  

STIRRING NEWS FROM THIRSTY TOWN WITH ITALIAN AND AMERICAN LINKS : THE PUB WITH NO SPOONS ?

 A raid  on  the   unsuspecting  North Queensland  sugar  town  of   Ingham  by a   Little Darwin  squad  keen to feed the  local turtles in the wetlands   and  search  for  books , ephemera   and  assorted  oddities in  local  op shops  and  other  places of interest    resulted  in  a   mixed  bag .  

Their  finds , would you  believe,  included  souvenir tea  spoons  which seem  to  be   greater  in  number  than  cane toads   in  the North . 

The  spoons  included   two from  New Zealand - Auckland Harbour Bridge and the  inter- island  ferry  terminal port of   Picton .The   Auckland Bridge  was expanded from four to eight lanes by adding designed and  prefabricated in Japan  parts in 1969 , resulting  in the structures  becoming known  as   the Nippon  Clipons .

Several spoons  were   from  Queensland -Mount Isa Mines and   Roma .  One  spoon  , for  Port Arthur, Tasmania , highlighted   Australia's  convict  history . Founded in 1830, it "housed"12,500  convicts before closing in  l877.  

During WW ll ,  the  Day Dawn Hotel  in   Ingham  was drunk dry by  American troops passing through , which inspired  local poet Dan Sheahan to write A Pub Without Beer. It was later  turned into the   popular song   The Pub With No Beer by Gordon Parsons and  sung  by  Slim  Dusty .

The  Day Dawn Hotel is  now  Lee's Hotel . Wonder if any of these  spoons  were  pinched  -souvenired- from  that  important   historic watering  hole  over   the  years  ?  

One of  the interesting  books  found in Ingham  was A Woman of  Independence , by Kirsty Sword Gusmao, which tells of her  involvement  in  the  struggle for East Timor independence . 

Unforunately , our team could  not feed the  resident  Krefft's  short -necked  turtles  because there is now a ban on going down to  the wetland edges , apparently  to  prevent  a  crocodile  rising  up  and  reducing your  footwear to  a tasty   thong   with  no   toes. 

Locals reported it  has been a  poor  sugarcane  season  and there  is  industrial strife  at  the mill . Surely  Ingham  is   not   a  looming   town   with  no   sucre ?  

(Spoons, Turtles ,Beer.) 

SKY WALKING

 

Vallis.

NEW ZEALAND QUAKE FELT IN AUSTRALIA

 

A loud crash  within  the   house   caused the  writer of  this post to leap out of  bed. The cause of the  seismic  shock  was  found to  be the above   large  framed  panoramic print  of  Dunedin  1888 , in  the  NZ  South Island  , by  Irish  architect  and  painter  George O'Brien . Foxed, mounted,framed  and under   glass  which had    smashed  into   many   pieces , removal  of  the shards   resulted  in  a  cut   finger . 

O'Brien , born  Dromoland Castle , County Clare, in l821, was the fifth son of Admiral Robert O'Brien, who was  a  younger son  of   Sir Lucius  O'Brien,3rd Baronet. 

George O'Brien was  a  first cousin  of  William Smith O'Brien (1803-1864) who was deported to Tasmania for his part in the l848 Young Ireland  uprising , and a  cousin to James FitzGerald , a one time superintendent  of  the  Canterbury Province  in  New  Zealand  .

At a  very young age , George O'Brien , whose  parents had both died,  was  in  Melbourne  , where he  married, and  became involved  with  the Victorian Fine Arts Society,  producing   several  watercolours of  Saint Kilda   and other nearby  places . 

It seems he was attracted   to NZ by the  Otago goldrush  where he worked as  a  civil engineer  . Some of his watercolours were included in  the  1865 NZ Industrial   Exhibition . 

When his wife died in l879, he  had five daughters to raise , so embarked on a  career as  a professional artist . Wikipedia   states   he  was   versatile  and  energetic  and travelled  around southern New Zealand.  However, he   had   "  bohemian  habits, " was  a heavy drinker  and  immensely fat.

 His  eldest daughter  married  and removed  her  younger siblings. O'Brien continued lodging with a sailor and his wife  in a poor part of the city . .After a year in Auckland, he returned to Dunedin  where he died  in  August  1888, his residual collection inherited by his landlady. He was buried in  an unmarked  grave.  

TROPICAL WATER FOLLIES

 

Vallis.

HIGHLY COMPETITIVE WARTIME R&R BARS

 The latest acquisitions  offerings  from Douglas Stewart  Fine Books, Melbourne , includes a collection of  business cards  for bars and   nightclubs  frequented by U.S. Servicemen  in the  Wanchai red -light district  of  Hong  Kong during the Vietnam War .

Our eagle-eyed Shipping Reporter -obsessed with mermaids- pointed out that  one  dive  was the  naughty  Mermaid Bar . The  Rainbow Bar even  invoked  God to  get  you  grogging on. It said that while alcohol was a great enemy of  man, God  had  said to love your enemy. 

The bookshop says that during the Vietnam War, Hong Kong – along with Sydney, Taipei, Bangkok and Manila – was one of the main destinations for American servicemen on R&R. Between 1965 and 1970 it hosted on average 200,000 U.S. military and naval personnel annually, a huge source of revenue for the British colony that also generated employment in the local service and entertainment industries for thousands of Hong Kong residents.

 However, the obvious economic benefits that flowed from the R&R program were counterbalanced by the concomitant social problems of prostitution, violence and organised crime.

This collection of business cards, most printed on both sides , priced  at $1000, provides a snapshot of the nightlife in the red-light district of Wanchai that was available to GI’s on leave. The main entertainment zone was centred around Lockhart Road, and all of these cards are for bars and nightclubs that were located in this notorious precinct.

Most of the cards include a promotional free-drink offer for U.S. servicemen, and they frequently advertise music and dancing (and to a lesser extent, dining). Some, however – such as “Hong Kong Play Girl Bar”, “Bunny Club”, “Hong Kong Play Boy Club”, “Crazy Horse”, or the “Mermaid Bar” – are blatant in their use of sex as the major drawcard for potential customers.

 More

SPLASH DOWN

 

Magpie Geese landing, Anderson Botanic Gardens, Townsville .