NECTAR SUCKERS HANGING ABOUT

Sunbird  pair above  .

Unidentified  . 

STRANGE JUNGLE ENCOUNTERS

 Camera  safari  by  click - happy   Vallis 

CURLEW SIGHTINGS

With  chick.

 

With cascading citrus . Vallis.

TOP END CRUISING

Darwin.  Petros photo.

 

AUSTRALIAN BOOK BONANZA #2

 Included   in  the   superb  two volume  cased   set of  books on  Australian  Book  Collectors , edited by   Charles Stitz,  recently  found  in  Townsville , was   reference  to  historian  and   writer  Isadore  Brodsky , one  of   his  many  books  about  Sydney   covered   its    early  bookshops . 

By  Peter Simon

When I  was  a copyboy  and  cadet reporter on The Sun, Sydney, in the l950s ,  I often  saw  Brodsky  in  the  newspaper   building  with  journalist, poet and  official  war correspondent  , Kenneth  Slessor ( 1901-1971).

Slessor, who handled the  literary pages  and wrote leaders, always neatly dressed  , sported a bowtie, and  appeared to be an albino to me because of his  pallor.

Brodsky always seemed to be laughing  and  both men may have been going  to or  coming  back  from  the  nearby Journalists' Club  of  which  Slessor was  vice- president,  later  president .

Slessor  was  fond of  roasted peanuts  and  I  found him   face   down , asleep in a  parcel  of  shelled   peanuts ,  while  dropping  off  various   documents, magazines  and photos  in  the building   on   the  copyboy  delivery  run. 

Born   at  Orange , NSW , he was  named  Kenneth Adolphe Schloesser, his father a  Jewish mining  engineer , whose  father and grandfather had been distinguished  musicians in  Germany . As a  young boy, Kenneth  spent time in  England  with   his  parents. The  family name was changed to Slessor in  1914, the  start  of   WW1.

Brodsky  was   also   seen  conversing - and laughing -  with sartorially dressed  man  about  town  journalist   Jim  Macdougall  who  wrote  the  highly   popular   daily  Contact  column  in  The  Sun, based on one in America.

Macdougall's start in journalism  was due to the fact that a poem he wrote   while he  was  droving  sheep was shown  to Keith Murdoch, who liked it , and  called  him  in  to  work on the   Melbourn Herald .  He even  sent him  to the  London Bureau  to  get  further experience. 

From memory, Brodsky also spent time in The Sun  Feature  Bureau, probably discussing syndication of  his  numerous  articles about   Sydney, which  became  books  dealing  with  the Sydney  Press Gang, bookshops  The Rocks  area, the streets of  Sydney,   the   Aborigine   Bennelong ,  crusading nurses , Woolloomooloo , early  theatrical  productions  . 

The  Australian Dictionary of   Biography  states that in the early l920s  Slessor helped edit  the short lived   Vision : a Literary Quarterly,  which "tried to jolt Australian writing out  of the bush and into the city ". Slessor dismissed  the  poetry of  Banjo Paterson, Henry Lawson and  all the  bush balladists. 

His  poetic output included  Five Bells —relating to Sydney Harbour, an elegy  in memory of  artist  and  friend  Joe Lynch , who fell  overboard  from a  ferry  while  drunk  and  drowned,  dragged   to  the bottom by bottles of  beer  in  his  overcoat pocket.  Another  highly regarded  poem , Beach Burial, was  a  tribute to  Australian  troops  who  fought  in  World War II.

In l970 Slessor  published  Bread and Wine, a selection of his articles, literary  essays , comments  on his own poetry  and  his war dispatches.  

AUSTRALIAN ELDORADO ATTRACTED FORTUNE HUNTERS, FIERY EDITORS, REPUBLICANS, POETS

 

In  recent  months  eight   books  dealing with  the   fabulous, boisterous   goldrush  past  of  Queensland's    Charters  Towers  and  its  modern  literary output  have been collected   by  this  blog. The two books shown here, both signed  by  the  author , Michael  Brumby ,were  in a  cluster of   four .

 

The Charters Towers  goldrush kicked off   on Christmas  Eve  1871   when  a prospecting  party  which included   Hugh Mosman , from  Sydney,  who  had   an  Aboriginal "  horse  boy ", Jupiter , found  gold  nuggets in a stream.  Many  years  later,  a  casino  in  Townsville  was  named  Jupitor's .

 An early mine was  called  Washington  and  men , overseas  money  and machinery  poured  in  .

At  one stage in its  booming  history  Charters Towers was  called The  World ,  described in  l898   as being superior in wealth, equal in  commerce  ,culture  and  refinement  to  any  city  of  the same population in  the  Empire.

This  included  35  hotels , one  needing  30 barmaids  to  handle the Saturday  night   rush .

In 1886 the Charters Towers  goldfield was a   feature in London  at  the Colonial  and  Indian  Exhibition , resulting  in  many investment  companies being  floated .  

A number of lively newspapers   were produced  in Charters Towers  , the editors of which  were  colourful  , combative and  vociferous . The Australian  Republican  was  the official  Labor   organ ,  replaced  by  The  Eagle  and  The New Eagle. Other  papers were The Northern Mining Register, the weekly edition  of the  Northern Miner ,  and   The North Queensland  Register .

The editor, publisher ,  historian, artist  and columnist , the late Glenville Park,  literally  struck  gold  in  Charters  Towers when he moved there in 1957  to  research  its  old  newspapers  going back to 1891 ,  stored  away  in  the  town  hall .

He went to the Northern Miner office and  the editor showed him a box which included  wooden  type, large letters  used  for  making headings and posters.

Pike  aptly described the  newspaper trove  as   a goldmine, some  of  it bound in, some loose, torn, knocked about , eventually ending up in the  Oxley Library , Brisbane. 

He  recalled  that  there  was  a choral  group  in town called  The Curlews  .  

A horse was said to  have  shoes  made from  gold, fortunes were made  and  lost  in  its   own  stock  exchange , two books  found dealing with the exchange,   which   had   three    daily  calls . 

The arcade in which the  exchange was located   has been   restored and is one of the  many  attractions of  Charters  Towers , where  mining coninues . 

PEEWEE PATROL

 

Vallis.