26 May 1932

JUDGES' AWARDS ANNOUNCED

Wide Interest In Stories

The awards made by the judges in 'The Chronicle' 'Interesting Towns Competition' are announced on this page. The competition created great interest, entries being received from all parts of the State. The seven stories selected for the final judging were all very close. The stories will be continued, but not as a competition. All accepted in future will be paid for at usual rates.

Church In A Forest.

— This is a story of the pluck and endurance of men who helped to make the State. In 1839 Mr. Francis Duffield, accompanied by his wife and infant son, arrived from England and journeyed by bullock dray to their future home, 'Cobden Grange.' Their rate of travelling was two miles an hour, crawling up hill, with no signs of a track. Frequently a way had to be cut in the primeval forest. Attached to the back of the dray was the trunk of a small tree, which served as a brake when descending a decline.

Having located his property, Mr. Duffield pitched a tent as a temporary home. Little food could be obtained locally, and no crops could be sown until the land had been cleared. At this time flour was the exorbitant price of £20 per ton. Bread was 1/3 per loaf. On the adjoining block (afterwards named 'Shady Grove'), Mr. John Monks, a brother-in-law of Mr. Dalton's, sought a means of existence. Both men had large families.

In later years Mr. Monks erected a school on his property. After the walls were built the brothers in-law roofed the building with shingles, floored it, and equipped it with desks and benches. A school-master was engaged, and in this primitive structure the children of the pioneers received their early education. The children assisted in gathering the crops, whilst their parents reaped with sickles. The corn was placed in sheaves and bound. A hand mill was used to grind the wheat into flour, and bread was made from it the same day.

Some years later the school was handed over to the Unitarian Body to be used as a church. The adjoining four acres of land Mr. Monks donated for a cemetery. Thus the origin of the Shady Grove Church, founded in 1865, is explained. It is unique, in as much as it is one of the few churches in the State with a chimney. Monthly services are still conducted in this church. It is a church in the forest, for all around, close up to the walls, grow gum trees and golden wattles. — P. M. James, Mount Barker Junction.

See also : https://unitariansa.org.au/shady-grove/

Loss Of The Clan Ranald.

— One Sunday night, 23 years ago [31 Jan 1909], a rider came, into Edithburgh, and pulled up abruptly when he saw someone standing on the corner of the otherwise deserted streets. 'Policeman? He's at church, I think,' he was told, in answer to a question. 'It's nearly 8. He oughtn't to be long. Want him in a hurry?' 'I guess a few minutes won't make much difference, but there's a ship in distress off Troubridge Point,' he replied.

M.C. Shanks was soon at work. With some others he went off to the rescue. About the time the moon set, 9.45 on January 31, 1909, the ship Clan Ranald went down with all hands and a cargo of wheat and flour. All night and next day men searched the rocky coast for the bodies of her crew. Some had been washed two miles further on. Several men, after scaling the cliffs, had collapsed, and died of exposure. Of the eight white men of the crew, four were drowned. The captain's body was found toward the last of the search. 'Apart from these eight, the crew consisted of Lascans, 36 of whom lost their lives. The rocks took dreadful toll. Most of the men had been battered to death, not drowned.

The tragedy shocked everybody. Several of the townspeople undertook to write to the relatives of the deceased men. The steward, just newly married, had intended this to be his last trip, but not in the sense that it was. The carpenter survived. This was the fourth time he had been cast to the mercy of the sea. Late Tuesday afternoon most of the townspeople turned out to witness the burial. In sombre silence the Lascars were lowered into one big grave, those found later being put nearby. The story of the young husband and of the captain, who had an aged mother and a sister waiting for him in England, added poignancy to this tragedy of the sea. It was a sad time for Edithburgh. — J. E. Aldenhoven, Edithburgh.
[See also Wikipedia]

Old Time Flood.

— Many Burra residents still remember the big flood of 58 years ago. It occurred when a circus (believed to have been Cooper and Bailey's) visited Burra. The tents were erected on the flat at Redruth, near the court house. During the afternoon the water began to rise. Cobb & Co.'s coach came tearing along from the north, the driver shouting as he passed, 'We have raced the flood; there is a lot of water coming down.' Business people started getting their goods from the cellars, and placing them on counters or other high places. Soon water was rushing through the White Hart Hotel; then the Bushmen's Home, now owned by Mr. Allen. In both places it was through the windows. The creek overflowed its banks, and came down the main road, isolating those on the flats from the upper ground. Carts with horses were used to take people across the flooded road. All this time the circus was making a rapid exit with their animals. When the elephants reached the water there was consternation. They would not face it. One elephant put its trunk around the verandah post of James Tiver's store, and it appeared as though he would pull the place down. But the danger was averted, and they moved on. One child in a cart, waiting to be taken across, had never seen an elephant before. She was so terrified that she jumped into the water. — S.P.E., Aberdeen, Burra.

Secret Of The Bush.

— It happened near Millicent about June, 1911. Three men were shooting snipe at Lake Bonnie. Going round a thick bunch of tea tree, they came on to a path through the trees. Following it from curiosity, they came to a 'yard' round the edge of which was a big shelf strewn with wool. It was evident that here sheep had been killed and skinned. They surveyed the track a little further on and found another similar 'yard.' Wool was spread out on ledges made of tea-tree. There was also a place where lambs had been knocked on the head and thrown into Lake Bonnie. Another track through the trees ended up in a yard used for shearing. At the entrance to all these places fresh tea-tree had been cut and stuck into the ground to hide the track. Further on was a nest built on top of a high tree, in which a man would lie in wait with a gun for anyone who came too near the track. The matter was reported to the police. They declared the place to be the headquarters of a gang of sheep dealers. They set a trap for the offenders, and eventually an arrest was made. The scheme was described as one of the cleverest of its kind ever invented. — Jean Bellinger, Millicent.

Why Two Wells?

— Because the blacks made two wells, dug out with their spears, and threw the limestone and clay out with their hands. The wells are still to be seen south of the township, and just a few chains west of the up-to-date show buildings.

Though the blacks came to these wells for water they had their camp at Buckland Park, at that time owned by Dr. L. G. Brown. The lakes on this property used to teem with geese and ducks, and the blacks found it a virtual paradise. When their chief, King Billy, died, his wives carried him on a platform, woven with reeds and rushes, for about eight miles north of Two Wells and 'buried' him in a large pine tree.

Things were very primitive in those days. The settlers lived in pug and wattle huts, with thatched roofs, and farmers used to walk with their seedlips hung across their shoulders, sowing the seed by broadcasting it with their hands.

Their womenfolk churned the butter by hanging a barrel to a rafter in the roof of the houses and swinging it backward and forward till the cream became butter. There were no made roads. If one wanted to go to Adelaide one had to ride through swampy country sometimes up to the horse's girth. — J. Thomas, Korunye.

Has A Fish Got Sense?

— In the summer of 1928 I was spending a holiday at the Semaphore. One morning I was coming home with a friend. Our attention was suddenly attracted by a large shoal of garfish, swimming swiftly on the surface of the sea. A large porpoise was chasing them towards shallow water. He seemed to single one extra large fish out of the shoal, and to concentrate on that particular one. The porpoise made several snaps at the fish, and each time the fish jumped over his back, and dived in behind him. By the time the porpoise turned round, the gar would be several feet in advance. After the porpoise had made about 30 attempts to catch the fish, the shoal made its way towards the jetty. The sea was very calm, and the water reached about 2 in. from the top of the spreaders attached to the piles. The gar swam alongside one of these, and flicked out of the water, just as the porpoise made another snap, and landed on top of the spreader. The porpoise was surprised when his breakfast disappeared. After looking around a few seconds he swam off leisurely towards Largs Bay. The garfish, as soon as he found his enemy had disappeared, jumped off his perch, and swam off in the opposite direction. — A. W. Errington, Richmond.

INTERESTING TOWN COMPETITION