JANUARY / FEBRUARY2023 NUMBER 67
Yes, really, the day may be coming when you cannot take cake to the workplace (1).
Gympie’s steam train engine, the Mary Valley Rattler, has just turned 100. A televised birthday cake, tantalizingly decorated with an engine in icing, was prominent in the celebration. Almost the same time, U.K. news reported an authoritative suggestion that cake not be brought into the office and other workplaces. It left me wondering what Gayelord Hauser, healthy eating proponent of an earlier era, would have thought.
Invalided out of hospital in the United States, a youthful Hauser suffered from tuberculosis of the hip. Taken back to Europe, he was energised by the words of someone whose advice would change his life. If he kept on eating dead foods, he was told, he would die. Only living foods, he was informed, can make a living body: young growing things, especially vegetables with their earthly elements, and fruit. (2)
Pioneer nutritionists were later consulted by Hauser who opened a food clinic in the United States in 1923. As his reputation grew, clients came to include European royalty and Hollywood celebrities. Cosmopolitan magazine described Hauser as the person who started the natural way of eating. The London Times in 1972 chose him as one of their “Makers of the Twentieth Century”. (3)
Controversy arose and some of Hauser’s theories would be outdated, but he continued studying and developing new concepts. His zeal for promoting vitality of life through healthy eating seems to have remained unabated.
Hauser died at his North Hollywood home in 1984 aged 89. If he were here today, would he support banning cakes in the workplace? Probably not, because in his words, he followed his own teaching, eating "..intelligently most of the time..”.And he wrote that some friends and clients formed the habit of liking what was good for them, not because they must but because they wanted to. (4)
(1) U.K.press and media 18 01 2023 reporting what may one day become inevitable. (2) (3) and (4) Hauser, Gayelord. Gayelord Hauser’s New Treasury of Secrets (1974) revised and updated with author’s preface and accompanying publisher’s information.
MARCH 2023 NUMBER 68
The door leading out onto the deck is open.
Morning air freshness offered a pleasant start to the first day of March. Whispers of a breeze, enough to rustle some leaves, were an invitation to enjoy the day. To get things going my calendar for March 2023 opened with an image of road trains, Birdsville, Queensland. It brought to mind an oxen- led wagon train featured in the concluding chapters of Genesis. (1)
A foreign wagon train from Egypt, perhaps emblematic of Egyptian royalty, is parked distinctly in Canaan. It is proof to a breathless, doubting Jacob of his untrustworthy sons’ advice: not only is Joseph alive, but he is a ruler of Egypt answering to the pharaoh. (2)
Some 22 years had elapsed since the brothers of 17 year old Joseph put him down a pit, sold him to slave traders and presented his coat soaked in goat’s blood to their grieving dad. Recognizing his brothers in a grain buying queue, Joseph intriguingly manoeuvred them on several occasions. Understandably, he seemed intent on first testing their character before making his relationship known. (3) When he finally did, they were invited to move to Egypt.
Learning of his family’s arrival in Egypt, Joseph personally harnesses his chariot. Urging on what might have been the world’s mightiest, most beautiful thoroughbreds (4) he goes to greet his ageing father. His body feeble, but his spirit revived, Jacob is being brought towards him, accompanied by the entire clan of 70.
To some it is a collection of stories, while to others, Genesis is their founding book. Either way, the book’s force, power and emotional appeal demonstrate earthy reality and humanness. As does the musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, currently playing in Sydney and enjoyable scenes on UTube.
(1) Alter, Robert. Genesis Translation and Commentary (1996). (2) In the absence of evidence, possibly a fellow Semite of Egypt’s Hyksos Dynasty. Anderson, Bernhard W. The Living World of the Old Testament (1984). (3) Douglas, J.D. & Tenney, Merrill. NIV Compact Dictionary of the Bible (1989). (4) If not second best after the pharoah's. (5) Chapter 46 verse 8 lists the name and relationship of each person, stating also they were carried in the wagon train sent by the pharoah.
APRIL 2023 NUMBER 69
There was no way of knowing whether my father would challenge for a fight.
My sleep out was on the back verandah of our house, not far from where the Sydney Showground once was. Waking in excitement I opened the windows, sniffed the air and heard the noise. The 1952 Royal Easter Show was fully aroused. Smells and sounds, buzzing and rumbling confirmed the flurry of the day ahead.
A few of us, 11 to 12 year old school friends, joined the Show crowds. Heading to the boxing tent you would hear the bass drum beat and experience its stirring sensation. Alongside the tent, Jimmy Sharman spruiked on a loud speaker, calling for challengers. An elevated platform supported a dozen or more of his champion boxers. Standing defensively in dressing gowns, hands gloved, they created a formidable presence.
One morning at breakfast during Show week, dad announced he might go to the event later in the day. He said he was thinking of putting his hand up to fight for the prize money on offer. My tale of a dire fate befalling challengers received no response. Leaving home that morning I went to the Show with my friends in apprehension.
Instead of relishing the tent’s exciting atmosphere, admiring boxing skills and enjoying the occasion as usual, my fear grew. Keeping alert, I peered through the crowd and shuffled continuously to see if dad was present. Maybe he was outside being dressed and prepared, I thought. Time passed; daring challengers were sent packing, often the worse for wear. In fright I nervously sat through it all, but dad did not turn up.
After returning home that evening, there was no discussion about the day’s activities. Later in life I learned my father may have had boxing experience in a competition during the war.
MAY 2023 NUMBER 70
An unusual photograph was once taken at Gympie Town Hall.
The occasion was a jubilee celebration of the discovery by James Nash of gold at Gympie during October, 1867. Captioned “Group of Gympie Pioneers October 16, 1917”, the photo reveals about 150 mostly elderly people. (1) Fully apparelled in their Sunday best, they form a representative part of Gympie’s early history.
Peering at the photo closely raises questions. What was in the minds of these hardy pioneers? What did they recall of the previous 50 years? Were their narratives of fortune or failure? Who in the group were among the earliest miners to dig their claims? How many had lost friends, relatives or workmates in mine accidents? Did they have sons or grandsons at war in Europe?
The serious look on the faces of those photographed resembles today’s passport and driver’s licences. Some in the group nevertheless appear content and somewhat relaxed. (2) Perhaps their bearing stems from companionship and neighbourliness over the previous half century. Similarly to the statue of four miners at Gympie’s southern entrance, the group appears dignified.
As pioneers they would have struggled frequently; it seems nothing could have been easy for them. Noticeably, however, an English visitor of literary eminence recorded his enjoyment of the Gympie miners’ friendship and civility. And despite their trials, these trail blazers, veterans of half a century of life’s incidents, were probably quite happy.
(1) Attached to my copy of Historical Sketch of Gympie (1927) probably appearing originally in Gympie’s Jubilee. Gympie Times (1917) (2) Trollope, Anthony. Australia and New Zealand (1873)
JUNE 2023 NUMBER 71
listen, write something, draw anything and sing while rowing across the sea.
Laying on my stomach, I used to eat dinner on the lounge room floor alongside the radio. Listening to a program themed to Greek mythology,I was in good company each week day evening. Throughout Australia, Argonaut children ( over 100, 000 of us ) were being challenged and encouraged by a song’s call to row mightily. Jason was about to set sail.
Taking to pen, pencil and paper we voyaged imaginatively into an hour’s nightly Australian Broadcasting Commission adventure. Running from 1941until 1969, the program was an opportunity for creativity, self expression and originality.Talent of participants was recognized by certificates and awards.
Former Argonauts rarely forgot their allocated ship names and rowers'numbers. Sometime ago, I heard Margaret Throsby interview Barry Humphries in an ABC Classic program. They both recalled their names and rowing numbers. Barry Humphries achieved Golden Fleece and Bar, a distinction seemingly unattainable to many of us.
It was exciting to hear your ship name and rower's number broadcast when you were awarded a certificate. Few, if any, listeners might have known then how much the program meant to Barry Humphries ( 1). If ever there was a place to use imagination, be inspired and allow ideas to spark, this was it.
(1) Johnson, Rob. The Golden Age of the Argonauts (1997). Foreword written by Barry Humphries.
JULY 2023 NUMBER 72
Days of opportunity.
The Gympie air was fresh and the July sky blue. Finish book cataloguing before lunch, I promised myself, and as a treat, write the newsletter, then reward yourself with a walk. It was, after all, Saturday.
Work was always needed by my father on Saturdays to supplement his week day job sugar coating tablets. To support his wife and growing sons, he first worked at gardening before being trained in selling encyclopaedias on commission.
On Saturday mornings my brothers and myself would gather around watching dad shine his shoes. Polished with military instilled vigour, they shone beautifully. Mum would stand by supervising and sprucing up his appearance. Well rigged out in a suit with shirt collar and tie, black wavy hair creamed, his appearance was becoming.
At the doorstep as dad stepped out we would wave him off. In his briefcase he carried a sample volume of the full set of encyclopaedias and names and addresses of potential buyers. Saturday after Saturday, despite being coached to close the deal, dad rarely, if ever, made any sales. But he enjoyed showing the sample to customers.
After acquiring a small station wagon, dad’s Saturday sales jobs changed. They ranged from rotary clothes lines, ice cream, clothes and linen to machines for dispensing cigarettes. Whatever work ethic we later acquired in life probably arose from observing his determination and persistence. Saturdays seemingly became days of opportunity.
SPRING 2023 NUMBER 73
Sir Roger kept peering at me.
There he was, dressed for his day in olde- worlde cap and gown, calmness of appearance apparent in his book’s portrait. But his portrait kept popping up in the wrong place on my web site. He seemed to be promoting his book, a seventeenth century translation into English of Colloquies written in Latin by Erasmus.*
Erasmus had written all his Colloquies ( which he also called Dialogues ) by about the year 1518. He described them as “…some everyday phrases, which we used in accosting each other and at table.”
Each talk created by Erasmus provides an opportunity to experience his sense of making fun of fanaticism. Small wonder the book was such a best seller in its day.
Sir Roger is now correctly positioned. And after more than 500 years, Erasmus remains relevant. Were Erasmus here today, his words might gently deride the more fanatical aspects of today’s controversies.
*L’Estrange, Sir RO.Knight. Select Colloquies Out of Erasmus Roterodamus ……….; The second Impression Corrected and Amended; with the addition of two Colloquies to the Former. 1689.
SUMMER 2023 / 2024 NUMBER 74
If you have to choose between enjoying sunset and sunrise, chose sunset.
The warmth of Gympie’s comforting climate seems welcoming. So does the unknown driver at a pedestrian crossing returning your hand wave of thanks, and a stranger in the bank queue asking how you are coping with technology. Smiles can appear among people whose lives may not necessarily be easy.
Everywhere else seems to be changing too quickly. Gympie is growing strongly, but its regional qualities remain. The laid back, orderly atmosphere created by 60,000 residents should spread wider next year when the freeway extension is finished. Diverting so much heavy through traffic could enrich the region’s liveability even more.
But where ever you are in the world, sunrise and sunset can be fascinating. Sunrise is full of freshness and hope for the day ahead. And my living room also provides a view of the sun setting and casting shadows across the south. In fact, the scene is attractive enough to imagine sharing it with a visiting Russian priest, the fictional Father Zossima.
Not only does Fr Zossima bless the rising sun each day ; his heart sings to it. But he loves the sunset even more, with its long slanting rays and “quiet, gentle tender memories” that come with them.* More than an opportunity for contemplation, sunsets are relaxing. They might turn out to be the best time of the day.
* Dostoyevski, Fyodor. The Brothers Karamazov (1880). Also quoted in Letter from Gympie Number17.