A Salt-Water

Inhabitant

Charlie Ashley, salt-water in

habitant of New Guinea, was bom in 1900 at Sale, near Man chester, in England. He went to sea at the age of 13 in the four

masted ship Tamar owned by

Shutes of Liverpool.

AFTER serving the first year of his apprenticeship he joined the RNR for war service, and did one year at Osborne College, on the Isle of Wight. He was a Cadet Midshipman in HMS Triumph, at Gallipoli, and in the Torpedo-Boat Destroyer Tipperary, at Jutland.

The rest of the war was spent in various ships, including the de stroyers Swift and Marne, and HMS Alsatian, of the famous 10th Cruiser Squadron of converted merchant liners, under the flag of Admiral Sir Reginald Tupper.

After the war, Charlie passed for second mate at Liverpool, and joined Canadian Pacific Ocean Services as junior second mate of the old Alsatian, then re-named Empress of France, on the trans- Atlantic run. After passing for first mate at Liverpool and serving in various companies, including the Blue Star Line, he came out to Aus tralia as third mate of SS Allajra and was in various ships of the Adelaide company as third, second and first mate.

About this period, 1925, Charlie sat for extra master in Sydney, but

(Continued on page 95)

A Brett Milder Profile

failed in the examination, in which only about one man in ten is ever successful. Two years later came two important changes 1 . He swallowed the anchor and took a job as steve dore at Bowen, and he married Violet Swanson, at Cairns.

Within five years, in the depths of the depression of 1933, Charlie went back to sea as mate of the Poonbar and served in both Burke’s and Patrick’s during the next three years. He then swallowed the hook once more and joined Burns, Philp as stevedore at Port Moresby. In 1939 he transferred to the Adminis tration as head gaoler at Port Moresby.

When war broke out he joined the RANR(S) and served in boom defence vessels for five years, end ing in command of HMAS Koala.

He then returned to the Territory and served in various positions, in cluding Government small ships, until he was appointed as shipping inspector at Port Moresby in the Department of Customs and Marine.

He will be retiring this year and intends to settle in Australia.

The Ashleys have two children: a daughter, Doreen, married to senior engineer McKillop, of the APC at Moresby, and a son, Dr. B. C.

Ashley at, present doing research at the Kanematsu Memorial Insti tute of Pathology, at Sydney Hos

pital.-

Brett Hilder.