26 September 1935

HOUNDED TO HIS DEATH

How Social Snobbery Caused A Good Man To Take His Life

About 40 years ago there lived in Port Pirie a Church of England minister, who was noted for his philanthropy. There was a great deal of poverty in the town at the time, and the minister's generosity to the poor, not only of his own church, but of all denominations, did much to relieve it. He often gave away more than he could really afford, for he could never refuse anyone who came to him for assistance.

He was ably seconded in his good work by his wife, who was of an equally unselfish disposition. Most of his stipend was spent in relieving distress, in consequence of which he and his wife were unable to afford any luxuries, and at times were compelled to go without many of the necessaries of life. Their clothes were shabby, they attended few entertainments, and took very little part in the social life of the town. But, in their own way, they were quite happy, because of the good they were able to do.

There were some persons in the town, however, whose point of view did not coincide with that of the minister and his wife, and some of them were members of his own church. As is the case in most towns, large or small, there were certain members of the community who considered themselves to be the leaders of society. These people felt that the minister was not keeping up appearances in accordance with his social position. For this reason, they made strong efforts to have him transferred to another parish. The minister and his wife were so cially ostracised. The social leaders lost no chance of snubbing them, and would pass them in the street without so much as a glance. They refused to attend meetings, and only from the ranks of the poor was the minister's church filled, while his efforts to raise money for charity went quite unaided.

The loss of the social status did not worry the minister at all; what concerned him a great deal more was the poverty around him, which he could do so little to alleviate. At length he learned of the efforts that were being made to have him removed from the people whose lives were as his own. He was deeply hurt by this unkindness, but made few comments.

A few weeks later he was summoned to appear before the Bishop. At the time the minister's health was far from good. Shabbily attired, sick in body and sick at heart, he bought a second class railway ticket and journeyed to Adelaide. The Bishop, not fully appreciating the circumstances, and, to a certain extent, influenced by somewhat distorted reports from the social leaders, was rather abrupt and failed to quite see the other's point of view. He dismissed him with a hint that he should hold himself in readiness for a transfer.

Feeling himself to be in disgrace, the minister sadly made his way back to the station, and set out on the return journey. In order to keep as low as possible the expenses which he could so ill afford, he denied himself a few much-needed refreshments, and arrived home tired and hungry. On arrival, he found a troubled member of his flock waiting to plead for a few shillings to buy necessaries for a sick member of her family. Knowing how genuine the case was, the minis ter spoke a few cheering words and presented the woman with the only money he possessed—a half-sovereign, saved so carefully from that which he had taken to pay the expenses of his journey.

It was the last good be ever did, for a few hours later word spread round that he was dead. The tragic news proved only too true. Under a cloud of sickness and despair he had taken his own life. Not until the neighbors entered his home and saw the meagreness of its furnishings did the full extent of his generosity become known. And, not until it was too late did the social leaders realise how deep and sincere was the gratitude end reverence felt by the poor of the town towards their benefactor.

The funeral was, without doubt, one of the most impressive ever seen in that part of the State. A large number of clergymen of various denominations, several bishops and other church dignitaries were present at the graveside. The bishop, who only a few days previously had acted some what harshly, assisted in the burial service. So great was the following at the funeral that when the hearse had reached the cemetery the line of vehicles still extended back for a distance of about a mile. Practically the whole of Port Pirie's population of about seven thousand, besides many people from surrounding towns, assembled to pay their last respects. The cemetery proved hopelessly inadequate to contain the crowd, many of whom did not even catch a glimpse of the coffin.

None who attended the ceremony could feel other than that it was a great and respected man who was laid to rest. Much sympathy was felt for the bereaved wife. A number of those who had previously been loud in their criticism, attempted to make reparation by taking up a collection to assist her. A sum of £500 was soon collected, but the money was refused. The unhappy woman cabled to her family to England for her fare home, and with, all possible haste, she and her two children departed from the country which had brought such deep and lasting sorrow. —'Austral.'

Real Life Stories Of South Australian (1935, September 26). Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), p. 14. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92328147

Fighting For His Life

Some years ago a young man named Ned Lloyd went into the scrub near his home to shoot rabbits. He was armed with an old muzzle loading gun, and took a kangaroo dog with him, it was some time before he came across game of any description, and when he did so he had to deal with it unaided, as the dog had wandered away into the scrub.

Ned had arrived at a very scrubby portion of the paddock when, in a clearing a short distance away, he saw a very large old man kangaroo. Although the kangaroo was within gunshot, the scrub was much too dense to shoot through from where he stood. That the kangaroo was aware of danger he plainly showed by the way he stood up and looked around him. Ned determined to work round the thick brush until he could get a better view of the animal. When he came to the edge of the scrub he was very much nearer the kangaroo, which showed no signs what ever of running away.

Putting the gun to his shoulder, Ned took aim and pulled the trigger, but there was no report; the gun had failed to go off ! The kangaroo still stood and gazed at Ned; he seemed in no hurry to clear off. On looking at the trigger of his gun, Ned saw that the cap on the nipple had fallen off. These little caps he carried in a small tin in his pocket, and he put his hand in his pocket to bring them out. He had no sooner taken his eyes off the kangaroo than it jumped straight at him, so close did he land to Ned that with his paw the animal ripped his coat from top to bottom. Ned could not turn and run; to do so would be an invitation to the kangaroo to rip him down the back, so, taking his gun length-wise, he held it in both hands and pushed the kangaroo away from him.

But this old fellow showed a great deal of cunning; he caught hold of the gun with his fore-paws, wrenched it away from Ned, and threw it to the ground. Ned knew that he had the fight of his life before him. He was no weakling, but he had a murderous kangaroo to deal with, and no weapon but his bare hands, for he dared not stoop to pick up the gun, as the kangaroo would have been on his back in an instant.

He prayed that his dog would hear the noise and come to his help. In the meantime he would put up the best fight he could. He did not have much time to consider things, as the kangaroo had made another jump at him. Ned doubled his fist and, putting every ounce of strength he had into it, hit the kangaroo a blow on the side of the face. Hard as the blow was, it did no more than send him back a few paces.

But this gave Ned his chance to break off a small stick; he had no opportunity to get his gun, as they had been working away from it. The animal was soon at Ned again, and he, with the stick in his hand, kept the kangaroo at bay. But Ned was hard-pressed and at a great disadvantage. The stick was too small and light; the blows from it only seemed to make the animal more angry and determined. He dare not turn his back on his foe to get a bigger weapon. This old kangaroo seemed to dodge the blows almost like a skilled boxer. Ned's arms and hands were badly scratched and bleeding, and he was beginning to tire.

Would the dog never come? He seemed a long time away. Ned fought on. The kangaroo seemed as full of fight as when he started, and he gave his enemy no time to rest. Despair was fast overtaking Ned when he heard his dog coming through the brush. A glad cry escaped his lips. Never in his life before had he been so glad to see it. The dog wasted no time. He had never fought a kangaroo in his life before, but he would fight one now. With a cry, half-snarl, half-bark, he flew straight at the kangaroo.

The animal left Ned and turned on the dog. He had his time taken up now. The tiredness seemed to slip from Ned when he saw that his dog had a good chance of being ripped open by the kangaroo he had taken on so gamely, and he saw that he must act quickly. With a quick dash to his gun he placed an other cap on the nipple and waiting his chance to fire when the dog was in a safe position, he shot the kangaroo through the head.

Ned arrived home in a very knocked about condition; his coat was torn to rags, and his arms and hands were torn and bleeding, but he was thankful to reach home safely, even in such a state. He owed his life to the dog, and he never forgot the fact. Ned cut the fore-paws off the kangaroo as a memento of the fight, and took them home with him. His parents had never seen such large paws before.— H.J.C.

Biter Bitten

Some years ago when the mallee country near the Victorian border was being developed, several pioneers abandoned their blocks as being unpaying propositions. Among these deserted holdings was one on which were some well-built stables containing valuable timber and fittings. All of this material, apparently going to waste, soon attracted the attention of unscrupulous persons.

Eventually one man decided to appropriate some of it for his own use, and spent two days dismantling the heavy structure and stacking the timber to facilitate loading. The third day he brought along his waggon and carefully loaded the material on it. He had driven less than half a mile from the holding when he was stopped by a horseman, who demanded to know where the material had been procured. On being informed, he assumed an authoritative air. 'Do you know who I am?' he demanded of the startled driver, and on being answered in the negative, he continued, 'Well, to avoid further trouble, you had better replace all that material in a neat stack on the property where you obtained it.' The crestfallen driven returned his load to its original position, and without questioning the horseman's authority, he departed.

No sooner had he gone from the locality, however, than the horseman hurried home and procured his waggon and team, and going back to where the material was carefully stacked, loaded it on his waggon with the intention of carrying it off for his own use. However, he had gone no further than the gate when he was accosted by another horseman, who proved to be the local police officer, the result being an appearance before the local justices a few days later on a charge of larceny.—M.M.

Governor Had To Wait

Even Governors receive unexpected rebuffs on occasions, although many of them are unintentional. Some years ago Captain X., A.D.C. to the then Governor of South Australia, ac companied his Excellency to a country town, where the latter unveiled a memorial and opened a hall. The following day the party moved on by rail to the next town.

The Governor, on reaching the station platform, sent his aide to purchase a paper from the newsagent's boy, who was carrying a bundle of papers from the guard's van. Now this lad had received instructions from his employer that he was never to sell any papers on the platform, as many were taken and not paid for by the waiting crowd. There was also an old identity of the district, named Williams, who was known locally as 'Governor,' and who was always one of the first after a paper. The A.D.C. received a severe set back at the boy's blank refusal to sell him a paper. 'But it is for the Governor,' he protested. 'Can't help that,' replied the youngster aggressively. 'Let 'im wait the same as the rest.'— A.B.

A Good Price For The Cheese

Some farmers are more alert than many city people seem to think. A northern farmer was selling wool one day to a carrier. After weighing it, he went into the house to make out an invoice. When he came back he missed a cheese that had been standing on a shelf behind the outer door, and, glancing at the bag of wool, he observed that it appeared to have increased in size. 'Man,' he said to the buyer, 'I have clean forgotten the weight of that bag. Let's put it on the scales again.' The man could not very well refuse. The bag, of course, was found to be heavier by the weight of the cheese inside. A new invoice was made out, and the crestfallen buyer went his way. Soon afterwards the farmer's wife missed the cheese, and, rushing to the yard, told her husband that someone had stolen it. 'No, no, Mary!' replied the farmer. 'I have just sold that cheese for double its price.— A.D.

Fighting For His Life (1935, September 26). Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), p. 14. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92328149