Valley of the Winds
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| Louise photographs. |
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Tuesday, May 16, 2023
BANK BOMBED / FABULOUS CHARACTERS
The above front cover illustration on the December 2022 edition of Progenitor, journal of the Genealogical Society of the Northern Territory , is a 1942 photograph of the English, Scottish and Australian bank, with details of the day Darwin was attacked by the Japanese .
It quotes a young bank employee, John Coverdale : "As we were about to open the doors , the air raid sirens began to wail, and the bombs began to drop simultaneously ."
The patched up building , known as the old Tin Bank , became the Smith Street office of the Northern Territory News , which leaked during the Wet, , was bought by Rupert Murdoch , eventually demolished .
The journal , as usual , is full of interesting information about colourful Territory characters and events . One such person worthy of a film or documentary , the amazing Agnes Buntine, who in 1838 came to Australia from Scotland where she had worked as a dairy maid for the poet Robbie Burns .
Deeply involved in the Victorian gold mining period, she at one stage employed a pirate on the run as a pub cook , dined with bushrangers , had 10 children ,one becoming a Presbyterian minister .
There is an illustrated article on New Zealand born " Harry " Peckham , who in 1902 became a Northern Territory outback mailman and inspired the character ,The Fizzer, in Aeneas Gunn's novel, We of the Never Never.
Another person of great interest is Kiwi born William Masterton, the Hermit of Red Bank copper mine , who lived in a cave near the Northern Terriory / Queensland border , now part of a heritage area,
ALMOST BRINGING HOME THE BACON
A garage sale presented the opportunity to buy a herd of pigs , but was reluctanly rejected by this blog as adding them to the cluttered den , next to the framed Mona Lisa , would look bizarre and raise eyebrows .
Seems the grunters once decorated the room of a girl fond of piglets. Another tempting item for sale was a large knitted rabbit eating a carrot with a satisfied expression on its face similar to that of Mona Lisa .
NEW ZEALAND DELUGED
Extensive damage is again being caused by wild weather in New Zealand . There have been thousands of lighting strikes , the main street of Auckland had water coursing down it , the city's harbour bridge was closed and many drains once more are unable to cope with the downpour.
Lightning struck the Southern Hemisphere's tallest free standing structure, Auckland's Sky Tower , 1076 ft , which has viewing platforms , a revolving restaurant and is a communications link .
A relative informed this blog that during a wild storm she saw horizontal hail as big as " Jaffas " , round lollies. More storms are forecast in the coming week .
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