Thursday Island Notes

Erection of Museum Delayed A Bell With a History

From Our Own Correspondent

Thursday Is., March 5.

THE conditions of things, which everyone is pleased to call “finan cial stringency,” has precluded any fur ther progress being made for the time being with the scheme of erecting a Museum for Thursday Island.

Some time back, a committee with representatives of the Thursday Island Town Council and the local branch of the Royal Geographical Society of Aus tralasia, was set up to go into prelimin ary arrangements, and had got as far as preparing to collect £400 or so with which to start building operations.

The collection of ethnological and other exhibits belonging to the Town Council is at present stored away; there are also valuable relics and curios which have been given to the R.G.S.A., and these will be incorporated when the Museum takes definite shape later.

Visitors to the Island frequently en quire for various objects of interest contained in the above, one such being an old bell picked up on the Barrier Reef, which exhibits a double inscrip tion, a somewhat unusual thing.

One side of it carries “Ship Sally A.D. 1807,” and the other “Schooner Tri umph 1847.” Although considerable efforts have been made to discover the

bell’s origin and some particulars of the ships which once carried it, its identity is as mysterious as when it was first discovered.

Possibly this may meet the eye of some roving seafarer or ex-South Sea adventurer, who may be enabled to yield the sought-for information; if so, the local branch of the R.G.S.A., which is working on the collection of informa tion concerning old wrecks of Torres Strait, will be very glad to have it.

Torres Straits Schools

The Aboriginal Department has been re-distributing the teaching staff in the Torres Straits schools for the forth coming year. In accordance with the policy of the department, several of the schools are now in charge of native teachers. An inspector of the education department visits periodically for exam ination purposes and general guidance.

On the larger islands, European teachers are located.

A new venture in the erection of cot tage hospital buildings on the larger islands has been set on foot, but, so far, no provision has been made for training native nurses —on the lines of Samoa and Fiji—but this will probably be at tempted later on.

Personal Items

The Rev. J. W. Schomberg, principal of the Anglican Native Training College at St. Paul’s, Moa, returned from fur

lough in the Malabar in February. In addition to being the training place for Torres Straits island clergy (of whom there are now six ordained) St. Paul’s is the educational centre of the Torres Straits Mission, and includes a recently established hostel and High School for native girls.

Thursday Island stirred in its long social sleep that usually follows the festivities of Christmas, and woke up the other night to give a very enjoyable farewell dance to Sister Hunt, who has resigned from the staff of the Torres Straits Hospital and leaves for the southern States by the Changte. The guest of the evening was presented with a memento of Thursday Island, in the shape of a neatly designed mother-of pearl horseshoe. A little speechifying was indulged in after supper and the opportunity was taken of referring to Sister’s many professional and social activities during her two years service.

This was followed two days later by an afternoon tea at Mrs. F. Hockings house given by the C.W.A., and Sister Hunt will leave with the knowledge that her departure is regretted by many people, whom she has helped in various ways.

The many friends of Mr. Bob Bruce in the Western Division of Papua will

be glad to hear that he reached Thurs day Island safely and is recovering in the local hospital from a severe attack of malaria. Mr. Bruce, who is close on 80 years of age, is no mean example of the old school, who do not allow the weight of years to interfere with their activities. He has spent some months wandering round Torres Straits, now roughing it among friends at his old home —Murray Island—and then dash ing off to the Fly River country to visit old haunts with the Government pat rols. It was while he was staying with Mrs. Cowling, at Mibu, that he became ill, but, shaking that off, he now talks of taking a trip to Scotland, which seems an easier journey than those he has lately undertaken in the wilds of Papua.