The Register News-Pictorial (Adelaide, SA : 1929 - 1931)(about) |
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Wednesday 12 March 1930
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1 correction by lakesneedwater - Show corrections
By Rufus
IN the wordB of Ginger Mick, 'I dips me lid' to the galaxy, of talent who pro vided such excellent material for this column while I was. 'on holiday. Many of the stories
were inimitable, -and the historical features most Illuminating. | ^ Those Canaries* Eggs ALL the contributions were read with ' great interest. I was holiday-making at flam Island with Dr. -A. V. Benson, and Messrs. T.' J. Walter, Arthur Cutten, 'and Haiold Bickford, and did not get most -of The -Registers until' our return to' Goolwa. Mrs. Bickford ' and Miss Gweri Hall' motored down, to Goolwa to take tho metropolitan racing judge back to the city. Handing me a tin of chocolates they- invited me to have some canaries' eggs. J did not seo the joke until . I read Les Hyland's racy chat.- lfor all the kind references to myself I am etein ally grateful- to one -and all. This is better expressed' in the following note I-received when I arrived at the ? office yesterday morn ing:— 'Sunday, 10 p.m. Dear Rufus— Tena- koe, as 'our' Maori friends say, after jour holiday. How wonderful to read all the de lightful, things folks' wrote about you in your column. If you ever have a grey day those tributes will banish it utterly and make life coleur'de rose again for you. Welcome bock to your kingdom. — Louisa.'
Cathedral Crosses ||j[R. F. ,A. Lakeman writes:— With refer ence to Mr.. J. Sincock's contribution to the Rufus column, I was pleased to read about the dedication of the crosses. May I -make one correction? It was Mr. W. Pope, hot I, who went up. I' was in England at the time. Nor do I think Mr. E. M. Smith went to the top, but of this I am not sure.' Messrs. W. Pope and W. H. R. Porter were the two who climbed to the cross with Dr. Milne for tho dedication service. I always remember tho incident on account of a wit ticism by the late W. J. Evans. I developed neuritis as the result of my ascent of ? the spires, and when' I told my old friend chat Dr. Rogers had so diagnosed it, ho said; ,1'Well you' want ? 'em, damn badly on The Register.' . He meant, of course, ' 'new. writers.' '..- . . :? :. ,.';.? : . ' :; Old Friends Pass TT/'HILE I was on holiday I was sorry to notice the death of Lord Kintore, A. O. Macdonald and Joe Hornabrook.- Lord'Kiriy tore .was a good friend to pressmen while he was Governor of ^outh Australia.' As a boy I had to go and interview him because there were no senior reporters about at the time, .and his .lordship made me feel quite at home, and even invited me to have a whisky, and soda with him. 'Joe Hornabrook was' a man of many parts — architect, actor, handsome man about town, and wonderful winning hazard player. In his prime he . would pot all the balls when playing pyramids at the first visit to the table. He told me that Dion Bouoicault regarded him as the quickest 'study' he had ever known. It was only last year that dear old Alick Macdonald invited Mr. R. Hynes, secretary of the S.AJ.C, and myself to take a party to Warrangie, his sta tion on Lake Albert, for the opening of the duck season, and -we bad some ^memorable* experiences.*. , T. ~ ( Up-To-Date Shooting Box T HAVE known -Ram- Island for nearly' 30 years -and the accommodation has im proved greatly since the' days of the original rubb'eroid hut; r The humpy, known' as The Angel's Rest,' 'erected by ;Dr. 'Befhson and Messrs. T. J. Walter : and. Arthur' Cuttoh con tains a sleeping room' with four stretchers, and a dining, room- and wood stove where the cooking is done. There is a verandah on three sides of the galvanised iron building. There , are wire screens for the windows and doors, safes for the food,' and rain water tanks. Sportsmen both going up and coming down tho river often call, in and enjoy a yarn and a'-refresher at the humpy. . . On the present occasion . Eric McMichael and his party consisting of Le9 Taylor, Ham: Bertram and Charlio Edmunds dropped in and we returned the call to the up-to-date motor bont Constance which ' was built to Mr. Me Michael's own design by J, Jensen of Port Adelaide. The boat ie beautifully fitted: up and there is spacious, cabin accommodation for both sexes., All the waste space has been converted into roomy cupboards, and lockers. The cover of. the engine 'makes an excellent itchen table.-!
Game Scarce. Fish Plentiful - Our friends confessed to having had a most enjoyable time aboard the comfortable Constance, even if the opening of the duck. season was not a success. We gave them enough ducks and quail for a feed, and a bout with the net off Grundy's Point on Hind marsh Island resulted in a nice catch of mul loway, bream and mullet, which we shared. I wish our city friends could have seeu us, not three men in a boat, but 11 men in three boats— two dinghies with over-the-stern engines towing a flattie carrying the net— off to the hunting grounds on a perfect health giving morning. I sat in the flattie with
Dan Cudmore's pointer- Clyde and our friend Dennis the curly, retriever. The latter dog has a great nose. I saw him on the shore scent a dead duck 100 yards out on the water and dash in after the bird and retrieve it. Ducks were scarce but fish was plentiful.' Alf. Probert, who looked after us as usual, had his fixed nets set between Ram 'bland and Point Sturt, and on ? one, occasion ho .arrived back in camp in the morning lifter running the nets with .38 nice-sized mulloway. Petrol A Godsend PETROL has been a godsend to the fisher men. They can get their catches to Goolwa now in quick time and they know how long the journey will take. With few exceptions the boats have engines installed. I have made trips in the sailing boats in the old days, got wet to the skin and then missed the train. Alf. Probert told me how he and his mate once rowed all the way from, the Needles in the Coorong to Goolwa, a dis tance of 40 miles, with a big catch and then missed the train. A couple of returned sol diers, hard working fellows, have done well with a trawling boat and big net. Not long since they caught a ton of mulloway near the mouth of the Finniss. But fishing is not all beer and skittles. Sometimes there, are long periods when nothing comes to the nets. At the present time, one of the great est curses with which the men have to con tend are the crabs, which eat the fish which are caught and destroy the nets. They come with the salt water. At the present time the lakes are as salt as the sea; A remark able phenomenon are the great masses of white coral which have grown at a rapid rate on the beacons, piles and under the wharf. Low River We went down to Goolwa on the Saturday for stores and the river was exception- ally low. In some cases the flats are quite dry and the water was confined to the main channel. On one flat I counted a flock of 25 sea curlews feeding in the ooze. These birds are generally seen singly. At Goolwa we found the punt held up on the Hind- marsh Island side, owing to the low river. Walter Grundy and family were in a motor waiting for hours to get across. They had intended going to the Yankalilla races.
ALF. PROBERT RUNNING HIS NETS
ALF. PROBERT RUNNING HIS NETS