Thursday Is. News
p. 76 · Read in the full issue
From Our Own Correspondent
Thursday Is., June 4.
A DRAMATIC fight to save the life of Roy Williams, 24, a Thursday Is. diver, has been waged in Darwin Harbour. While diving for pearl shell in deep water on the Bathurst Island ground, Williams became paralysed. He was taken to Dar win where Dr. Kirkland ordered him to be “staged” in diving dress in the harbour at varying depths to 15 fathoms. For two days he was immersed for long periods, being suspended from a lugger anchored in Darwin Harbour’s channel. This treatment was the only one available, as Darwin has no decom pression chamber in which divers’ paralysis can be treated. It was reported later that although Williams will be crippled for a long time, he i* expected to recover completely from paralysis.
On May 15 His Lordship the Bishop of Carpen taria returned from Sydney by the Marella, leav ing on the same day by the Wandana for Norman ton. From thence he went overland to the MitcheD River Mission by a motor truck which His Lord ship delivered to the Mission.
A local record was put up the other day when copies of the “Cairns Post” that had been published in the morning were delivered at Thursday Island the same evening. These had been carried to the landing ground at Somerset, Cape York, by aero plane by Pilot Hamilton, and brought over from the mainland by a launch. Thursday Island residents hope to have a regular air service soon. North Queensland Airways Pty., are at present consider ing the establishment of a service between Thurs day Island and Cairns.
An experiment that is being closely followed by Thursday Island pearlers and those at Broome is taking place in the Darwin pearling grounds.
Messrs. J. B. Carpenter and Co. Ltd. has intro duced a new kind of diving apparatus which will enable divers to operate at a lower depth than hitherto, and by its means they can descend quicker. This firm has taken four Thursday Island white divers to Darwin to operate the new machines.
Mr. and Mrs. George Hammond returned to New Guinea from Sydney in May by the Montoro. Mr. Hammond was pre viously stationed at Buka Passage on the District Services staff, and has now been transferred to Wau.