HOME , JAMES , AND WATCH OUT FOR UNGODLY UNI STUDENTS !

Herculean  Heritage  Day  comes  alive , resurrects  The   Saint , disturbs  the  Queen's  locked  boudoir. 

Instead of being held next to the cemetery , this year's Heritage  Day in Townsville was staged in Anzac Park , on the  waterfront , so our  Shipping Reporter  went along ,  after  piloting  Western    Maple , part  of  the large  Ghost Fleet  which  goes  unnoticed  by  the  local media  ,  safely  into  port .  

 

By the time  our waterfront  reporter , the only one north of  Rottnest Island,   arrived  at Anzac Park ,  there was a  conga line  of eager  people   wanting  to   tour   the  grand old  Queen's  Hotel  , open  for  public inspection  for the first  time  in  10 years .       If   the  Shipping Reporter had  not  also helped   tie up  the stand out   Hercules Leader   he would have been  first in the  queue  that  went though the royal  establishment , so he decided not  to  join   what resembled  a  wartime  food   ration  line .

Anyway, he says he will  send   his  amphibious  drone down  one of the  hotel's chimneys and  arrange  his  own  private  tour  of  the ornate  interior .    He  spent much   time  kicking  the   tyres of   fine   British    limousines , especially the Jags, Minis ,   and   paid  particular  attention to the  James   Cook University   display.  

 

It included interesting  background   information  about the  outline  of   The Saint    on  Castle  Hill  . It  seems,     before The Saint ,    a   whitewashed  question mark appeared  on  the commanding peak , put there  by  university students  during  the  l961 Commem Week. By January l962 it  had been removed, supposedly by  four  young  RAAF  students.   

Soon after  , something new appeared  on high - The Saint  , a stick figure with a halo , inspired by the calling card  of the  fictional character  Simon Templar ,  the hero in  novels by  Leslie Charteris , made into a television series starring Roger Moore .

The Saint  today .

On the bonnet of the  jalopy  , below,  in the  l963 Commem Week parade through Townsville, can be seen a   wire  figure  of  The Saint.   

 Over the years the figure on Castle Hill  has  been  removed, defaced  but returned in  all  its glory . There is also a similar , faded  stick figure on  a  rock  face  in  an out of the  way  position , below,   at  Alma Bay, Magnetic  Island .  

American evangelist Billy Graham was one of many prominent people  sent up  during a  Commem  Week  parade .

OTHER  HERITAGE  DAY  PIX

 

 

The Saint's big sisters performing bubble dance .

PLANET OF THE APES REVISITED

Vallis  photos.

EBB TIDE AT PICNIC BAY

 

Shipping Reporter photos.

LOCKED ISLAND LUGGER MYSTERY WITH A FRENCH ANGLE

Shipping  Reporter  stunning  exclusive

 

Our waterfront roundsman thought he had been drinking too  much  ship's ration  when  he  came  upon   a   spectacularly  painted   van   named after a l939 Thursday Island  pearling  lugger, caravan attached , above, with a  built   on roof, parked and  locked,  on  Magnetic Island , not  far  from  the  ferry terminal . 

The other  side portrayed  pearling scenes  and  the Coral Sea .Visible on the   dashboard  of   the   van, below ,   was  a  long   rope of  imitation pearls, a  ship in a  tiny bottle,  seashells , pieces of  coral , carved items  . It also carried a  message to  save the  Great Barrier  Reef .  

 

 

Featuring Scuppers the Seagoose, there was  also a  plea  to project  birdlife    in  the  area on  the other  side , together  with  an  associated  poem .

Through  a window , the prying  Shipping Reporter , the only one north of the nuns' private swimming pool ,   Coogee, Sydney , spotted a  photograph  of   Lugger  HB  the day  it  was  thought to have been  launched in 1939, at Thursday Island ,  snapped by Constable  Vallis  Moore  Barlow .  During  the war, based   at TI , it served in the Second Australian Water Transport  Company .   

 

 

The message on the rear of  the caravan-CURIOSITIES-  is a slight   indication  of  what  is  ahead. 

PUB WITH NO CLEAR

Its bung removed, the defunct   1904  Criterion Hotel   on  Townsville's  waterfront  is once again looking  neglected . Our   Shipping Reporter, the  only  one  north  of  Tauranga , NZ ,  last week ran his eye over the  locked  premises  ,  the subject of a battle between those who want  it  to  remain  and  others  who  want  it   knocked down , the  site  developed .

Before.

Now.

 



Clearly visible were  signs of neglect  from both street  frontages -clumps of  overgrown  grass,  fallen  palm  fronds, collapsed   sunshades , assorted litter ,  part of  what  appeared to  be  a  pushed  in  fence .  

Strange as it may seem , close by was   a City Council  sign  advertising  a  Heritage Day  event   on June  16 in  Anzac Park , a feature of  which will be  tours  of  another  old  Townsville  building, the adjoining  Queen's Hotel ,mentioned from time to time  in  this  blog ,  also  unoccupied . Would  it  be  too hard  to arrange   a   clean  up  of   a  piece  of  the city's  heritage,  the  Criterion  Hotel ,   before   the  weekend ?   

AUSTRALIA'S PLUCKY POSTCARD ARTIST TURNED OVER A LEAF, WENT CATTY

Featuring  a hand drawn   boomerang  and wattle , with the message to  Kum  Bak   to Australia , this  is  an  example of  the   artwork   of  Minnie   Visick , born l886 , crippled by  polio  at  the  age of  10,   who  died in Victoria  ,  February  3 , l926 .

 

 Emily Minnie  Visick lived with her parents  and brother Cyril  at 78  Donald Street in the Melbourne suburb of  Brunswick.
 

 

In a  2016   article in the New South Wales  Postcard 

Society  journal by Jeff  Fitzgerald  he  said that when he began collecting Kookaburra cards he  stumbled across one  of  two  birds sketched in black and white , signed by  "Minnie  Visick" . More  cards  turned up over the years , including  several   of  cats, equal in quality to  the  famous British  cat artist Louis  Wain  who presented felines in numerous  anthropomorphic -human poses- playing golf  , partaking of afternoon tea , swimming ,  dancing , playing  musical  instruments .  

An example  of  Minnie's  cat postcards a la  Louis Wain is the one below , captioned  There is Something in the Seaside Air ,which   could  be a day  out at  St. Kilda  or  Brighton  , Melbourne , where they had  bathing boxes.

 

On the back of one of her cards   was the following information : These cards were drawn by a young woman who is a cripple  and she makes her living out of  them .  Fitzgerald  found a 1916 local newspaper  report  which said  that Minnie illustrated gumleaves which were sold   for  charity at  events in  Brunswick  and the  Coburg area.

 
Her brother  Cyril  had  served as a   sapper during  WWl and   received    a  hero's welcome home  at his  old school, Moreland State . His mother had died a few months before  his return . Fitzgerald  wrote  that when  Minnie died she  had been remembered as  " a patient  sufferer  for  28  years". She deserved to be remembered, he added, even  more  for  her postcards.  

 LOUIS  WAIN  THE   CAT  MAN 

 

H.G. Wells  said  of   Wain (1860-l939) : "He has made the cat his own. He invented a cat style, a cat society, a whole cat world." His prodigious  output made him  popular ; many  children's books were illustrated and postcards galore were sold  ,   but  his life was  dogged by  tragedy , his wife died of breast cancer, there were   money  problems . A trip to New York  did not improve his situation  and he became increasingly erratic,  admitted to  a mental asylum , thought to have been suffering  schizophrenia   or   Asperger's Syndrome .  Prime Minister Gladstone and  H. G. Wells  rallied  round  him . 

* Minnie's postcard at the top of this  post  recently  surfaced  in New Zealand and has "Kum Bak " to  Australia  , now  in  a   North  Queensland  collection  full  of  gems .    

EAGLE ROCK AND OTHER SHAPES

 

 

Vallis series .