Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954), Wednesday 30 December 1936, page 13


Out among the Peopl

A PROPOS the coincidence of the motor ship Queen Adelaide arriving at Port Adelaide on Centenary Proclama-tion Day, a woman member of one of

By Vox

our oldest South Australian families said to me yesterday:— "It is perhaps a further coincidence that she should have come from Sicily and the port of Catania, a region well known to Colonel Light. Some years ago I visited that beautiful island, and on one of my journeys the guard of the train, courteous and interested as are most of his fellow countrymen in helping the stranger within their gates, was verydistressed that I had not stepped off at Catania, saying he knew there was a city in Australia planned in the same way, though he did not know its name. "When I arrived in England, I mentioned this to a relative, who had been there, and he said that he had heard the same thing. "It is interesting to speculate as to whether Colonel Light had Catania in mind when he was planning Adelaide. According to Muirheads guide to Southern Italy (1925 edition), Catania, as rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693. has 'long straight streets of imposing buildings' and is 'an excellent centre for excursions among the fertile foot-hills.'" Soprano's Success "YESTERDAY I met my friend Francis Halls, who has come over from Sydney on his annual Christmas visit to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. F. J. Halls, of Brompton Part.

?who celebr at c d their golden wedding: last month. Francis was delighted about the success of his former pupil. Angela Parselles. a young soprano who has done remarkably well in London. Angela Parselles went to England 12 months ago. and was engaged im m c diately by the British Broadcasting Company.Then Then she joined Walter Hyden's Cafe Cqllette

ftevue Company, and toured England _ -end Scotland with outstanding success. Last month Angela reached a crowning point when she appeared at Covent Garden and played the principal roles in Boris Goudinov and Madame Butterfly. She was selected from 50 leading London sopranos bj- the world-famous Richard Tauber to sing opposite him in his picture. Pagliacci. In this picture Angela Parselles is the ghost. Steffi ? Duna, famous Hungarian actress, takes the part of Nedda. Francis Halls torS me about former Adelaide men who are doing well in Sydney—Bill Jackson. Seymour Pank. Alan Lyon. Owen Cain, Bill Nesbit, and ; Len Chamberlain. Bringing In The Sheaves 'J'HERE does not appear to have been; too much rejoicing about bringing; in the hay sheaves this topsy-turvy sea.- ] eon. Leslie Cowan and Hubert Shillabeeri ?were telling me the other day that the season in the hills district had been '?wonderful for grass, but they had never known a worse one to get the meadow hay in. because ol abnormally wet wea- ; ther every other day. ? A curious thing happened last, week. Mr. A. J. Lithgow < Broken Hill \ manager for the Adelaide Milling Com- j pany and D. & J. Fowler.) brought in' 'to show me a sheaf of hay from the! crop grown by the Ledaes on The Avenue station, near Wilcannia. I Typical of everything that grows ie that country in a good season, the hay ?was one of the prettiest samples I have ever seen—changing from an apple green to a light and bright biscuit ? shade. i When Mr. Lithgow arrived with it.' "Golley"* Leckie, who had told me a:l about this crop, was with me. and the former told us an interesting story. i "Bert Knox rang up. and asked me for some drought-resistant seed wheat for Mr. Leckie."' he said. "I told him that he couldn't get any then as it had all been sown. However, we had a truck of wheat for poultry farmers, and he could have some of that. The Leckies

?, took it. with the wonderful results you ;. see." And this crop was grown without the l use of superphosphate. Mr. Lithgow Liold us that he was out at Wilcannia a ; week before they got 10i inches of rain [ River Memories 1 1 REFERENCES by Mr. Lewis Downs - and Captain E. H. Dodd to big Wili cannia rains called to the memory of ; Mr. A. L. Dunk, of Morgan, the ! days between Feoruary, 1882, and De; cember. 1884. when he, quite a lad, was 'on Landseer's steamer Bourke, trad: mg to Bourke. "I remember two coaching trips I 1 had between Wilcannia and Terowie in the 'good old days' before the Broken ? Hill line was opened." he writes. "I '? wonder what people would say if they had to go bark to that means of trans? port. 1 often think of the wonderful j j drivers. "With reference to the rainstorm in ' January. 1885. I had been transferred 1 to Morgan a month belore. My boat .: had been tied up at Wilcannia for more , than six months, and when I received ?? a telegram that a local rain had risen '' the River Darling 28 ft. 7 in., and that ? the-steamer had left upstream. I could ? j scarcely beaeve it. ?: "However, that was not sufficient to take it on to Bourke. and after another long wait it got there. That was a disastrous trip for the owners: it took two years to complete. That was about the same time that a cargo of material ? for a hotel was shipped from Morgan ! for Bourke. "Before the steamer reached there ? the hotel had been opened and was I doing a flourishing trade." Crystal Palace Medals REFERENCE to Crystal Palace by !" Mrs. J. D. Mayer, of Hyde Park, in- : I terested Mr. Fred Keen, of Victor Har-! ' bour. who says he has a bronze medal. | , weighing about 7 oz., and struck by Otley; j of Birmingham. j > This medal was issued during the Ex-! ! hibition of Industry' of All Nations,! ; London. 1851. and on it, relative to; 'Crystal Palace, are these words:—"Pro-1 j posed by H JUL Prince Albert, designed i ! by Joseph Paxton. Esq_ FJL.JS., erected j by Fox. Henderson & Co.'' ?Coober Pedy A FRIEND of mine from Coober Pedy -*? came in to tell me that the opal market is showing decided improve- i ment. and possibly a number of oldi residents will return to the field. | That place is apparently livening up. I The Government spent money yeans ago ' on an underground tank to serve the! water requirements of Coober Pedy inhabitants. Now that the road to Alice Springs has been opened up. this tank has been of great service to people who wish to avoid the Strangways sands | just below Anna Creek. j ''For the first time this year," my ; friend said, "we had a cow to supply: ; fresh milk. Unfortunately the animal [ ! strayed several times, and finally il I perished. To show you how good the j 'season is, they are killing fat sheep' ;at Maple Creek. 30 miles north-west | : of Coober Pedy on the overland track! j to Alice Springs."' j Tracked 250,000 Sheep | ! J)ROVER Jack Grabert's feat in tak- ! ing 4.000 lambs from Weinteriga to I j Reedy Creek, in the South-East. was! good: but what do you think of this one I about which Tom Fisher, of the Abat- I l toirs staff, told me? 1 Tn 1919," he said. *T untruckert I 250.000 sheep at Gundagai. They had come 500 miles from the droughtstricken Overflow, from the Australian Estates and Mortgage Company's sta- ' ?? tions. and were sent to the snow coun- j I try for six months. ; "I guarantee I had at least 500 tons -, of pie melons, some of them 2 ft. 6 in. i long, which we fed to these sheep be' fore trucking them back -when the : drought broke. '?The sheen were transported by 50 I trains, of 25 trucks, each of which held 200." j Lake View Lake Filled j T HEAR from Matt Co?ey that the i historic lake at Lake View was filled | 'to overflowing the other day after a i sensational cloudburst. No damage, however, was done to the ! i field demonstration crop to be har- \ ? vested at. the Centenary trials on! j January 13. j '"To have 3] inches of rain poured down a man's back between his shirt j and his pelt was a neighbor's ex- ! ?perience only two miles away," Matt I says. j

MR. F. HAIXS