FABULOUS PART OF TROPICAL AUSTRALIA INSPIRES WRITERS , SCIENTISTS , ARTISTS , PHOTOGRAPHERS, BEACHCOMBERS

Covering    many aspects of   life in North Queensland , past and present,  this  is a display   of   recent  acquisitions by Special Collections , Eddie Koiki  Mabo  Memorial Library , James Cook University , Townsvill.   It is just one of  the  many interesting  displays   at   the  university, one showcase  filled with  early  photographs  of  Palm Island , including some taken when passengers travelling north on steamers called in and were entertained with what were said to be  Aboriginal  corroborees. During WWl , Australian troops  who  took German New Guinea carried out  training on Palm Island on the way north.  Little  Darwin  is currently working on  a series which will  highlight  some  of the  many  treasures  in  Special  Collections .  The first  will  deal  with  a  famous  beachcomber.

GROOTE EYLANDT MISSION HISTORY AND ARTEFACTS

A talk by Dr Laura  Rademaker  at the Northern Territory  Archives Centre , Darwin , will  trace establishment of  the  Church Missionary Society on the island  in 1943 and   attempts  to engage Aborigines  through  language themes , including English  literacy , bilingual education  and  Bible  translations . She is working   on  a  history of  the Tiwi Islands .

 

Last year, on the BBC's  Antiques  Roadshow  , displayed   items included artefacts  and   photographs  said  to  have come  from   Groote   Eylandt   and   New Guinea  in  the  1960s  .

SENTIMENTAL BLOKE IN BUSHY AUSTRALIAN CAMELOT

One of the many editions, left, plus program for the musical .

The  post below about  poet and prodigious writer C.J.Dennis resulted in  an  instant response  from that man of letters, books  and  large political  files , Pete Steedman , journalist, onetime Honourable   ALP  Member for Casey in the House of Representatives. It seems he is a great Dennis fan, has most of  his  books, first editions and  his  complete bibliography . 
 

 By Peter Simon

 

 He  took  me  to task for not mentioning that Dennis , who did much to burnish the image of  Australian  larrikins , and  promote  their  slang  , had  lived  and  died in  Toolangi, Victoria  -"a small town in the fabled Camelot that  was the old Casey". 

In 1908 , Dennis  had camped in a tent  with  artist Hal Waugh   at Toolangi , 72km north east of Melbourne ,  later in  a woodcutter's hut, mixing with  literary people, including the author and bushwalker , R.H. Croll, who in turn introduced him  to J. G." Garry" Roberts and wife,  at   Kallista, in the Dandenong  Ranges .   In 1913 , Dennis moved into a tramway bus at  Kallista , where he wrote most of The Songs of  a  Sentimental Bloke , dedicating  the  book to  the  Roberts. 

  Sentimental  Bloke  Musical  Ephemera  

Pete invited me to come down  to Melbourne and  admire , not  his  etchings, but  his  rare collection  of  seven years' bound in  copies of  the  very lively  Labor Star, which  he had  edited .

Yet another edition of the book .

A BATTERED SENTIMENTAL BLOKE



Despite its condition , this 1930  sixth Platypus edition of The Sentimental Bloke , by  poet C.J.Dennis , is a gem , with  interesting inclusions , such as  a taped in  photo  of  the  author  and a  reference to a scene from the  film , The Sentimental Bloke , made by Raymond Longford in 1919, said to be the most popular film in the National  Film  Collection's  lending section .

  

Another insert  included a  folded,  lengthy article , part of which  below , about Dennis , from the Sunday Mail, August 29,1976. 

The article, by Gordon Hale ,  tells how Clarence  Michael James  Dennis was  born in  an  hotel  in Auburn , north of  Adelaide ,  on September 7, 1876, his Irish father , a master mariner, who  had  run  the  pub  for  12 years and  others   in  the  district .
 

By Peter Simon
 

At one stage  my wife and  I  had  a combined  antique and  bookshop   at   Saddleworth , not far from Auburn , and I  became  interested   in  Dennis  after   finding   a   small  album of  early  photographs relating  to  the  Auburn  area , which  the National  Library  bought .  

 

Because of  his mother's ill health,  his  father's second wife, young Clarence  was   brought up by spinster aunts in Adelaide  and attended the Christian Brothers  College . He  was  14  when his Irish mother died  at the same age as the first wife , 39.

 

 At the age of 19, Dennis became a solicitor's clerk, began to have poems published , including in The Worker  and  Sydney Bulletin .  In 1897 he was on the staff of the Adelaide  Critic , a weekly . Working as a barman in one of his father's pubs at  Laura , where it is said he became  too fond of  beer,  he left  and went  to  the  booming  mining  town of  Broken Hill, travelling like a swaggie.  In Melbourne he worked as a freelance journalist

On his return  to Adelaide he became editor of the Critic . In  1906 he started The Gadfly, a literary magazine . During  WWl, The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke was  a phenomenal success , especially with  soldiers ,  selling 65,000 copies in the first year, published  in  England  and  the United States, 285, 000 sales by l976.  He  was  regarded  as  one of  the  top three  Australian poets, Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson  the  other two .    

In 1917 he  married  Olive Harriot  Herron  who  published two novels and his  biography. There is a  memorial fountain to  Dennis  in  the old  pub at Auburn . 

A previous owner of  the book at the top  had resided in  East Ipswich (l946) and  Booval, Queensland . 

WEEPING WHALE AT PICNIC BAY WAKE

Vallis  photograph.

DUSTSTORMS, ROTTEN TEETH , PING PONG AND AFGHANS BEARING APPLES

A surgical procedure - removal  by    scissors  of    part of  the  silverfished  back  card cover -had to be performed on the above volume, The Diary of Sister Grace Francis , M.B.E., who served at  the Birdsville Nursing Home, run by the Australian Inland Mission.The  snipping  of  the  nibbled  part  was  in  the  style  of  the  varied  medical   operations  Sister  Grace was called  upon to perform.  

She was one of two nurses , Catherine Boyd  the other , who in September  1923  set out from  Brisbane  by  car , stretchers  packed aboard  for sleeping out , to establish the nursing home  in  an  old  pub  at   Birdsville, Queensland , serving  a vast   area  of  the outback  known as the  Birdsville  Corner .  Sister Francis had a  camera   and  over the years  built up  an invaluable collection of photos  which captured  life in  the  outback .  

The diary tells how  they  changed  into various vehicles along  the way-the service car, the mail lorry on which three male passengers  sat on  a mountain of mail bags .

Experiencing  the  heat of  the "Never Never" country,umbrellas raised to protect them from the sun blew inside out . They  called  at the hut of a boundary  rider ,  met women in  isolated situations with  children  , one family with a  governess,   carriers  with  their wives  camped on  the banks of  the Cooper .

 

At Windorah ,which  consisted of  two pubs, a post office , a store , three private dwellings and a  police station , they waited for transport .   Francis became concerned about the four year old son of the police sergeant and accompanied him   60 miles to the Jundah Hospital where he was found to be suffering from typhoid . There was a  fierce  dust storm  and a surveyor  gave  dark glasses to   Sister Boyd  to protect her eyes during the journey . Several  temporary fillings were  inserted while  they were in  town .  

 

The furniture destined  for the  nursing home in Birdsville , being   transported   by Afghan cameleers   from  Marree  in  South Australia , took   ages  to  arrive , so  boxes were used  to make  tables and chairs .    Boxes  were even  used  like a bed  on which  to  lay a drover  and  lance  with  scissors, the only instrument available ,  a  boil  on  his  face.  The bedroom  in  the  home  used  to  be  the pub's bar.
 

 Nurse Francis extracted two teeth    from  an Afghan , Roy Khan , who responded by giving her a box of apples , a real treat , a case  selling   for  35 shillings ,  and  donated  one  pound  to  AIM .   Later on , another box  of  apples arrived   from  the  thankful  Afghans.  Blue stone was  bought  from  a store to treat a  man's  infected toe.   

Three packages  of  books from America were  a welcome arrival , more books came from Sydney and Melbourne, a library  eventually set up  in the building .  A  key was  provided for  an old  locked  piano  on which discordant   tunes were  played .

Entertainment included   ping pong ( table tennis )  tournaments , card games , tennis ,  dances  , race  meetings, picnics , swimming , horseback  riding, sing songs . A ping pong tournament did not get underway because no  ball could be found, but then  a man arrived with a dented  ball  and play took place after tea . The  nurses  also ran  Sunday School  and  conducted sewing classes.

A fox terrier given the nurses had to be shot because it was thought to have hydatids. The arrival of mail , some of it delivered  by packhorse , was a big event . River flooding caused   delays on the mail run , some transferred to a donkey wagon . Election  papers  for  a vote on  prohibition  failed to arrive on time , Francis indicating  she and the other nurse would have voted  for prohibition .

A mailman described as being addicted  to drink had been given a bottle of cough medicine . Then  there was an episode in which a  horse had been seen without a rider, a man on the ground nearby , worse for  drink , who got up and staggered  about . 

Oldtimers said 1924   was the  dustiest they could  remember-fierce duststorms , some lasting all day ,  filling dwellings , two kerosene tins  of dust  removed from   nursing home  rooms ,  many children suffering colds , a case of bronchial pneumonia . A visit was  made to a frail  old   hermit who lived in a shelter of boxes  with  a  small  vegetable patch .

   

 An astonishing 2000  patients had been treated by December  6 ,1924, many teeth pulled and   filled . Mobs  of  cattle  , up to 1600  in number , passed through the district  . Camel  trains , one containing  20 of the animals and another 22 , came through and   were  photographed  by  Francis , who   developed  her  own  films  at  night . The camels , one named  General Joffre  after  the  French WWl Commander-in-Chief  ,  brought  welcome   potatoes  and  onions .

A fancy dress ball held as part of the  1925  Birdsville Races "turned out  rather a failure " because the man who played  the  accordion had to be taken to the hotel for a  drink  between  each dance . The Birdsville Pub ran short of  drinks (beer or soft drinks ?) and sold  fruit salts for one shilling a glass. Sister Francis wrote   this was an amusing situation , much better "than the strong stuff", still  profiteering pure and  simply  at   that  price.

 

Many hot days , the temperature  over 100, school closed due to excessive heat ( 118), a nice cool change  at 98 . A man who rode in with the Windorah mail  reminded  Francis  of "The  Fizzer " from  the book We of the Never , by Aeneas   Gunn .

 

A man  who  camped out  was  brought in suffering from advanced  heart disease. He had been treating himself for Berri Berri , begged to have his mattress  on the ground  as  the  wire mattress  was  too soft for  him . The diary entry said he was typical of "poor old bushmen " who were used to sleeping on the ground , uncomfortable on a  bed . He died after an eight hour struggle during which he  signed his will.

 

His  funeral took place the next day , the  police car acting as the hearse, the two nurses in  the front . Sister Francis read the burial service . Because no timber was available , no coffin  was made , the body   sewn  up  in cloth and then in white calico.  Sister  Francis  also  wrote  to  the  man's wife  in Adelaide . 

 

A party of four , including  members  of the Kidman  cattle   empire   family,  " had a narrow escape from perishing"  when they took a wrong track and went without food for two days  and began to run short of water and  petrol  before they reached  Birdsville .

 

Sister  Francis admitted a man who had been accidently shot in the foot  and he insisted the bullet was  still  imbedded in the  wound , despite any  trace ; the bullet was later  found in  his  boot  out  at  the  place where  the  shooting had  taken place. 

 

Near the end of the  diary  there is  mention  of  tests  being carried out  with early  radio equipment  by  the  Australian Inland Mission  to spread the mantle of  safety in  the  outback .  

Amazing Grace Francis in  her  published  diary , our copy containing an  insert  from Reverend Fred McKay, O.B.E.,M.A.,B.D.,Administrator of the Australian Inland Mission in which he said  she was  a pioneer of  the truest sense . She and Sister  Boyd were in the vanguard of the first medical team  to  give security to  the isolated area known as "The Birdsville Corner ".  There was  also a correction : Sister Francis had  died  September  28, l959.      

FLOATING ODE TO A MAORI TREE

S(h)ipping  Reporter   launches  another Townsville  Ghost  Fleet  report.

Puff of  wind  in   media  waterfront  doldrums .

The  wind turbine components arrival in port actually got  a mention in the  various  similar  news outlets.  Must have been a  hand out  which prompted the  coverage , the Townsville Bulletin  giving  it front page  treatment, a two page spread  inside , plus a  cartoon   with  the  message  that the turbines -renewables - are  a  good, not ill , wind for  the North .

 

Victory  in  the  Pacific  Memorial  Fountain neglect.

 

Still broken glass behind  the structure , more rubbish floating about in the  fountain . Empty bottles  up  high  in  the frame of the nearby bus shelter , increasing graffiti .
 

Portuguese  Flora  Delmas  lashed  down.