Memories Of

Timber Trade Pioneers

Vanikoro's

Spacious Days

By Bill Baverstock[?]

MR. Frederick Ashby’s men of men and ships in

timber-pioneering day 1

Vanikoro (June PIM) bring 5 many recollections of days oc venture, hardship, comedy drama.

There were only two Europes: the boat that reached Vanikoro the wreck of the Mascot, ini Walter Buckley, the old schoc skipper, was one and I waf other.

The boat’s crew were four oc of the Mascot’s hands and Ashby certainly will remembec of them, Kakana, a big, Malaita-man with only two to his right foot.

The previous night, Kakana neatly lifted a £5 bundle of: shilling pieces from a canvau as he held the Mascot’s boat to while the weary crew slept comfortably. The money bell to the Vanikoro Camp and was signed to the storekeeper, Sid < When Kakana was disco buying up big in the timber store, Wilson, the DO, proc collared him and the last!

Mascot’s men saw of Kakana as he began a two-year stretl Wilson’s calaboose.

Walter Buckley Later

to Grasciosa Bay as trades since then has been boatj in the Sydney pilot steamer Ccd Cook. He is now living in n ment in the Blue Mountains frequently calls on me at my at the Sydney Sun for a remim beer.

Other Mascot men who sav queer old ship’s death at Ul are going strong.

The mate, Dave Lazarus, now on the North Coast of NSW. his return to Tulagi, Lazarusg over the famous H. A. MarkL trading station at Leueneua Ontong Java.

Bill Russell, the lanky supero' went to the New Guinea golcfc and, I heard, died there.

Sim, the Mascot’s engineer! turned to Sydney and worke: the Duranbah, the ship Carpe< acquired to replace Mascot. Ho! have stayed in the Solomons? none of the old hands has 1 of him for 20 years.

A previous Mascot skipper, Gerrard, who took the ship tt

[onions, returned to Sydney, gre he became Chief Shipping In ctor. He recently retired, EFORE Gerrard, the well-known FSolomons identity, Martin Nielsen, skippered Mascot. rtin stayed in the Solomons and [ incredible adventures during Japanese invasion. He worked the US Navy and, on return to ney, met with a serious accident ch resulted in the loss of one lis legs. Nielsen is still a patient the State Hospital, Lidcombe, bey. He’d be glad to hear of [of his old Island pals, tie Houtu will be still re ibered by old-timers. I could [you to the spot in the anchor iwhere she burned and sank, you would probably find her lors and other gear on the om to-day. le was a New Zealand scow, oner-rigged and so shallow in Ight that the funnel of the tey boiler she was taking to |koro stuck up high above her L At first sight we all thought had an auxiliary steam engine, s evidently the boiler in the ire published in the June PIM. [was immediately named

]doo.”

st before Houtu was burned at gi. her engineer came aboard lot and asked Sim and me for tance in repairing his ram kle Scandias. We were horrified is engineroom, which made the ',ot’s machinery department like a palace—and that was reat shakes. will never forget the amaze f of the Vanikoro men as they \ out in their old ketch Isis to the Mascot’s boat to the wharf m. ! had had a tough time in that boat and evidently showed it.

Leaving the wreck at daylight, lad rowed across from Utupua mikoro in a flat calm —and was ►t! The oily sea reflected the in sun, so we got it coming and I Even the Malaita-men were ked out and sat dejectedly iling for a breeze, e wind came when we didn’t it —about midnight, when we led Vanikoro’s outer reef with : surf pounding on it. As the sy boat would not work to ward, we squared away and lay tie lee of the island until day . Next day we had to pull the in the teeth of a fresh wind he timber camp which we led at dusk. e day after our arrival the koro men voted a holiday. We their mails, the first they had for months. They fed us well their doctor took charge of me was under the weather with few days later we started back ir own camp on the beach near

the wrecked Mascot at Utupua. Our boat was towed by Isis, and again we struck dirty weather, taking more than 24 hours for the voyage.

Then Ito (not Eto) arrived in his old shell boat, Arethusa, and Mascot's party immediately com mandeered her. Ito was a Korean, not a Jap, and was one of the best underwater swimmers I have ever seen. A sailor, too, he packed Sim, Lazarus, himself, some Mascot’s crew and his own boys into his tiny vessel, loaded with shell, and set sail for Tulagi.

They had a nightmare voyage, but got there safely while the rest of Mascot’s party camped under her awning on the Utupuan beach to

wait for whatever would turn up.

EVERY day for weeks we scanned the offing for sight of smoke or a sail —no dice. We had taken on the look of hopeless castaways when two vessels arrived within half an hour of each other —almost a miracle in those days, as Santa Cruz was visited only once yearly by the Government vessel and once by the London Mission schooner.

Lever’s old steamer Kobiloko, loaded to the gunwales with re cruits, let go off the beach and the Tulagi Government yacht, Tanna, followed suit.

Leaping form a canoe we piled aboard Tanna, the nearest, to be

greeted by Deputy Commiss Broadhurst Hill. It was goc get outside a civilised meal did beer ever taste more nificent?

Then on to Kobiloko, skipper, Dreever, offered us ps< back to Gavutu. We sailed! day at dawn with even mon cruits and Mascot’s boat’s o about 150 of us packed into a little steamer about 90 tons.

The old days had their bad but they were fun. Now contact with the Islands is Buck looks in or I occasional fishing with a mate whose b( planked with Vanikoro kauri j Thanks, Mr. Ashby, fo n memory!