Ray Parer In New Role
p. 13 · Read in the full issue
UNDER the title, “Air Pioneer Now Suburban Grocer,’’ a Melbourne daily paper prints this:— “Ray Parer, who startled the world when he flew a crazy, dilapidated plane from England to Australia with Lieut.
Mclntosh at the end of the last war, and has been in the news many times since for his exploits in New Guinea, has for saken adventure to become a suburban grocer.”
The puzzle of Ray’s whereabouts was solved when a Sydney newspaper pub lished a photograph of him in his grocery shop in 'Edgecliffe, Sydney.
Since World War II began we have had many reports of Ray’s activities: he was “in the Merchant Navy”; then he was “seen in Melbourne in Air Force uni form”; and, later, he was in “small boats” in Queensland.
They cannot keep a good man down.
An interesting extract from a private letter:—“There is an extraordinary amount of interest in those ‘Edward VIII pennies’ which were issued in the Terri tory of New Guinea between the time Edward came to the throne and abdicated.
I find that the Americans are buying them here as curios at 2/- per time, and I have sold hundreds. Just between you and me, I have 9,000 of them—and I think I shall sell the lot.”