Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954), Tuesday 17 September 1946, page 8


Out Among The By vox People

HEARD a priceless story yes- <*> terday. A 10-year-old son of a friend of mine was taken by Mr. Henry Rymill and his young son

to see the Sea Scout training ship Wongala at the Outer Harbor the other day, and the pair of youngsters did not mind how dirty they got climbing all over the deck, and into every corner that appealed to them. Presently HMS Bermuda came out of the Port River and Wongala's quartermaster told my friend's grimy boy to go and dip the ensign. He proudly did so, and His Britannic Majesty's ship gallantly dipped its ensign in courteous response.Time Time To Smile T HAD a call yesterday from Mr. and Mrs. A. T. Rees, of AUenby Gardens, just back from a River Murray cruise to Mildura. Arthur Rees took from his pocket this cutting, which he has had for years, saying that it is a good thing to read these day? when people were inclined to feel a bit "blue":— "A smile costs nothing, but gives much. It enriches those who receive, without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts for ever. None is so rich or mighty that he can get along without it, and none is so poor but that he can be made rich by it. A smile creates happiness in the home, fosters goodwill in business, and-is the countersign of friendship. It brings rest to the weary, cheer to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and it is nature's best antidote for trouble Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away. Seme people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of yours, as none needs a smile as much as he who has no more to give." JBiver Murray Progress i ATR. Rees told me they went from j * Morgan to Mildura and back in the Gem and had a wonderful i rest. "What a thriving town Waikerie is now," he said. "I knew lit when there was not a house '.there, when I was at folder i Village Settlement. We intend to revisit old haunts some day. One ' gets lost in the tremendous im: provements and progress made on jthe river. Thanks to Ted Shepherd, we saw some of the modern packing sheds." Mr. Rees said he had not seen Mr. ArcluV?aggott yet; he hopes to arrange a reunion of old Government Produce Department colleagues. That reminded me of a letter I bad about him from Mr. John Davidson. Capt. Angel's Torrens THE recent berthing of the Norwegian motor ship Torrens at Port Adelaide reminded George Milne, jun., to tell me that his father was a midshipman in a famous clipper of that name. She was built in 1875 by James Larg at Deptford yard, Sunder-land. Capt. H. R. Angel, part owner, took a very active Interest in her design and construction, and took her when completed from the stocks to London docks. From Plymouth under his command she made her maiden voyage to Australia in December. 1875. and for 15 years sailed regularly between London and Port Adelaide with general cargo and passengers for the Elder line.

In 1890 Capt. Cope took over, and on his first voyage she was dismasted in the tropics. She was rerigged at Pernambuco, and eventually completed her voyage to Adelaide. It was during this period that Joseph Conrad the novelist served as mate for two voyages—1894 and 1895. In 1896 Capt Falkland Angel (son of Capt. H. R. Angel) took over the command, and upheld the family tradition for excellent seamanship. However, during his command she fouled an iceberg in the South Atlantic, lost her foretop mast and stove in her bows, but made ' Port Adelaide without assistance. Sold For £1,500-IN 1906 the Torrens, full of years and honors, was sold to the Italians for £1,soo—she cost £27,257 —and they converted her from a full-rigged ship to a barque, a sad fate for this wonderful vessel. One of her chief characteristics was her extraordinary speed in light airs, and ability to run before the wind in the Roaring Forties at from 300 to 350 miles a day without shipping a sea. She gained an unrivalled reputation as a passenger clipper. Mr. Milne says his father went aboard as a midshipman in 1900, and made the voyage to London and back. Outward bound, Mrs. Angel was aboard with her husband and infant daughter, and on Sunday afternoons, as a privilege, some of the midshipmen were invited to afternoon tea. Several years afterwards, in Durban, Natal, George Milne, sen., saw the old Torrens reduced to a barque, and was sad to see her in such "reduced circumstances."Charming Charming Child Study T OOK at this sweet little study, *-* which Mr. F. D. Green, of the Commonwealth Crown Law Office, Adelaide, caught with his camera at the Botanic Garden a week ago.

The small child Is trying to pat a tit-bit seeking duck, "the picture turned out so well that Mr. Green would like to send one to the child's mother if he can get her address.