Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954), Wednesday 11 May 1938, page 27


Cut among the People

By< Vox

MEN are full of praise of R. Medhurst—"Mick- his inti-<*> mates call him—for having ridden the four winners of all the flat races-, on

the Goodwood Handicap day programme at Morphettville on Saturday. This reminded a South-East friend of mine to tell me yesterday that some years ago, when Medhurst was doing well in the saddle, he was at Kalanga-1 doo and a group of pals were agreeing that Medhurst was a wonderful jockey. One added that he was a champion cricketer; another declared that he was a champion footballer; somebody else said he was a champion gunshot. •'And don't forget he's a champion Epud planter," chimed in another. The Medhursts have been wellknown farmers in Glencoe district, and the Railways Department named a siding after them. Byaduck JN Victoria there is a place called Byaduck—a particularly late agricultural district, where farmers are probably reaping their barley now, I understand. My South-East friend told me an amusing story about one of* his visits there. "We were over buying cattle from a German farmer," he said, "and he invited us in for a cup of morning tea. We sat at a table, the longest I have ever seen in a private house, and while our host was conversing with the buyer and the other agent, I spoke to, the daughter. "I said to her, 'What a peculiar name to call a place—Byaduck!' She retorted, "YOU South Australians need not talk. You've got Cudlee Creek.' -Down From Utopia IT was like enjoying the champagnelike sunshine of the Central Australian midwinter to meet Mr. Justice Kunoth in Colonel Harold Copley's room at Elder. Smith & Co.'s office yesterday. No, he is not learned in the law; is not a Supreme Court Judge, as his name suggests. He is a good judge of cattle, though, and all his pals call him "Tiny," Came down to Adelaide to see his cattle sold at the Abattoirs market. He knows every inch of the country from Marree north, for the Kunoths, with the Underdowns and McDills, were early settlers in the so-called Dead Heart district, s We had a good old laugh with this rugged son of the bush. His block of 400 square miles of country, southeast ol Barrow Creek. is called "Utopia." He named it. "Hobo Downs" at first. "When I sat down there first about five years ago." he told us, 'I could see ' nothing but shady trees, goannas, and rabbits. I thought that this would be a iiUle Utopia for me. It is an flat country, and the Sandover floods out on it. Mitchell grass, mulga, and gidyea! We can get water at shallow depth—under 100 ft. "Some tourists landed there once, and a girl cornered me off and asked. 'What's the idea of the name? Are you Greek?" "Another asked me, 'What is your name?' I told her it was Bluegum. She used to write to me, 'Mr. Bluegum. Alice Springs.' " Rough Rider '"TINY" Kunoth and Colonel Copley are old war pals, went right through France, hence the breezy comradeship which exists between them. The cheerful man from Barrow Creek told me that he went away as a rough rider, "pretty rough," and then joined the 11th Field Artillery Brigade: was with Harold Copley, Gower Davis (son of Steele Rudd. the author), Darkie Middleton, Murray Howard. Tim Hogan. and other stalwarts. "Tiny" told this yarn- "I was in the D.A.C.." he said, "and they told me to take two mules with ammunition along a ridge at Passchendaele. "We could not get them to face anything. I was thrown, and landed in the dust, and away they went. Going back to camp, I went up to some signallers and said, *The two mules got killed on the way through.' They laughed and said, "You- liar: they were back here about an hour ago!"

Old Mount Barker Boys f)N Monday I met my old press colleague Frank Murphy, on his way back from W.A. to Melbourne in the Kanimbla. after a memorable holiday in Perth. Prank declares that the people in the West are princes in the art of entertaining. He flew out to Kalgoorlie and back. • While he.was in Perth a friend said to him, "You must see the Canning weir. The resident engineer ie the Water Supply Department will motor you out." Frank jumped into a car to find that his companion was his old Mount Barker schoolmate, Russell Dumas, who superintended the construction of the big v.-eir. They had a long chat about their earlier carefree days. Coming back on the boat. Frank Murphy was chatting with a stranger, who hearing Mount Barker referred to. said he had been born there. He was a son of the late W. N. Hedges, ex-M H.R for Premantle. who had pastoral interests in South Australia: Navy At Naples PASSENGERS in the Orion, home*■ ward bound, calling at Naples earlj in April, had an interesting experience, sir wpjttv Newland showed me yesterday a descriptive letter he had received from his brother, Mr. V. M. Newlaod, who writes:— "While we were at Naples Mussolini provided us with a great naval display. We entered the harbor at dawn, and as we went in about 60 submarines slid out. one after the other, black and sinister looking, until the sea seemed alive with them. ••Then in the evening. as we left, they came home to roost, with fourteen capital ships, and a number of destroyers adding to the show. "It was very impressive, and not a bad thins for an Australian shipload to see. Apparently they were practising manoeuvres for the great day when Hitler visits Mussolini In about a fortnight's time. '•This display of force athwart the short route to Australia and the East serves to show the wisdom of Mr. Chamberlain's agreement with Mussolini." Trams And Trains Trains arc 'trains, and trams ore trams and never the twain shall meet. While trains run on railway lines, anri trains run in the street. hi spite of this, they both arc linked in history's twisted diain, • For trains were built by Sir. 'Tram, and Irams by Mr. Train. The parody was shown me by Mr. T. E. Field. -The first railway was built by Mr. Ben Outram, having been constructed for coal transport in Wales in 1776; the traction was by horse. In 1801 another railway of 18 miles was built between London and Epsom for the transport ol chalk. The first tramway was built in 1860 by George- Francis Train, of Boston, Mass., running from Bayswater to Marble Arch and a second between Victoria street-Westminster—Pimlico. a five minute: service beta? maintained. The rail* stood about nine inches above the ground and in consequence of the strong objection raised by vehicular traffic, especially the class of passengers in hansom cabs, the tramway proprietors i year later were requested to remove th< lines, which were not relald again unti 1870. This time they were level witt the ground, and. like some conductors the tramways from that time nevei looked back. There are 330 miles of tram track ii London, and 2.500 trams, but in 1931 a Royal Commission decided that because trams were too noisy, dangerous and the cause of much traffic conges tion, there must be no extension of tin service, and that it must gradually tx converted to trolley buses. The esti mated cost of the conversion wa £10.000.000. That seems to be the trend here.

Mr. Kewland