Southern YarnTheN E W S L E T T E R O F T H E D O W N U N D E R C L U B O F W I N N I P E G I N C .

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eAugust/September 2019

AUGUSTGolf TournamentSaturday 24th August

at The Players, 2695 Inkster Blvd.Attention all DUCW members who have everplayed golf. On Saturday August 24, we arehaving a different golf day than usual. Our small,friendly tournament will be based on “TexasScramble” rules, where every group is a team,and everyone in the group plays every shot, butfrom the position where the best ball of the grouphas landed. Please call early, to let me know yourintentions. – Peter Munn 204 237-1805.

SEPTEMBERRetro NightFriday 20th September, 7pm

At the Debenhams, 584 Wallace Ave, East St Paul, WinnipegThis is a Club night like in “the old days” – at thedawn of the DUCW – when members/matesgathered in a home for a social evening of chin-wagging, yarn-spinning, reminiscing and the odddrop of something liquid. So, thanks to Peterand Joanne, we’re doing it again, particularly toremember our dear friend Gordon Keatch.Chips and liquid will be provided – just bringyour memories and a coin for the hat. PhonePeter at 204 955 0393 with questions.

OCTOBERAnnual Not-so-Formal DinnerSaturday, 26th October

Time and place, to be announced, but we’reworking on it. Save the date and join fellowmembers for a delicious dinner and social time.

NOVEMBERDownunder Club AGMFriday, 29th November, 7pm

Scandinavian Cultural Centre, 764 Erin Street

DECEMBERFamily Christmas PartySunday, Dec. 8th details follow…

And if you’d like to suggest a new social event,we’re happy to help you plan it for the Club!

Vale: GORDONKEATCHJune 25th, 2019,

aged 95.

Read more in Getting to know, p. 6

Pool party!Splish, splash…having a blast!

Splish was the sound of the very youngor the young at heart tentatively entering thewarm, yet refreshing waters of the pool atthe Davidson home; splash was the rest ofthe participants jumping in or barrellingdown the slide. Everyone was having a blast,sometimes unexpectedly from the water gun.

A beautiful, sunny July 21saw DUCW members and fam-ilies enjoy the fun of jumpingin, diving to the bottom toretrieve weighted toys, float-ing on the inflatables or tryingto figure out how to get on andstay on the frog or penguin.Nearly everyone got wet whilea few preferred the opportuni-ty to enjoy a conversation inthe gorgeous garden.

All that activity stimulatedappetites for the snacks, burg-

ers and wieners (barbecued to perfection byLes and Charlie; thanks, guys!), yummy sal-ads and desserts. Kids and several adultsenjoyed a second dip in the pool. Soon it wastime for us to pitch in for a tidy-up. Therewere heartfelt thanks to Lynley and familyfor their generous hospitality and fondfarewells to each other until the next DUCWgathering.

— Catherine Bowering

Gordon’s 90th birthday celebration with his family and friends. Photo by Jenny Gates

http://www.downunderclub.mb.camailto:info@downunderclub.mb.ca

editoriallyyoursCharlie Powell

president’sramblingsPeter Munn

2 The Southern Yarn • www.downunderclub.mb.ca August – September 2019

Most memberswill know bynow of the passing, on June 25th,of one of the Club’s founding members,Gordon Keatch,. It was sad news, thoughnot totally surprising after his fall and withan “odometer” that had already clicked past95. Our events will not be the same withouthis presence, especially our ANZAC Daycommemoration, at which Gordon per-formed Parade Marshall duties for as longas I have known him. I was honored whenhe approached me to take that role on afterlast year. And he was there this year tocoach and guide me, and to read theRequiem. Future events will now have spe-cial and more personal significance for allof us – we will remember.

Thanks to Jenny Gates for her contribu-tion and tribute to GK on page 6.

Margaret and Peter Munn spent sometime recently in Ontario and Margaret kind-ly sent in a great story of her surprise find –New Zealand themed quilts – you can readthat on p. 5

Birds I view, p.8, is a personal accountof a close encounter of the bird kind ….

Thank you to all our other contributors,Peter, Judy, Catherine, Murray, Malcolm,and sponsors.

Loss of a goodfriend.

We all lost agood friend in Junewhen one of the original founders of theDown Under Club of Winnipeg, GordonKeatch, passed away suddenly. As happensat these times, your memory flashes back tothe times you have spent together, and someof the remembrances you have. Gordon hada sharp, quick wit, and we dueled a fewtimes, with Gordon being well ahead onpoints. Not to say that we didn’t have differ-ences of opinion, and Gordon never found itdifficult to explain to me exactly why I waswrong on a certain matter. We both came

from Melbourne, and we often swappedtales of growing up in that city. Gordon wasan old-fashioned gentleman, and he will be

missed by us all.There will be further information

elsewhere in The Yarn, but we are hold-ing a “Retro” Club night on September20th, likened after the club meetings Gor-

don attended back in the early days of theclub, where a case of beer was put on thefloor, you put in your coins and opened yourbeer, with a few chips to munch on. Thesewere meetings where the kids came along aswell, and Don, one of Gordon’s sons, told methis was a fond memory of his, being in abasement with his dad and other membersof the club. And a day or so later, I was talk-ing with Ralph Thomas, who had the samepleasant recollections of going with his dadto basement meetings of the Down UnderClub.

So come along on the 20th September forthis opportunity to honour Gordon, andswap yarns and recollections of a good man.

Peter

Many memories of Gordonwere shared at the event

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Gordon as a Winnipeg businessman.

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Alice Springs, NT, AustraliaIn 1939, Alice Springs was a small, tight knitcommunity of less than a thousand peoplewhose livelihoods depended upon supplyingthe outlying pastoral industry.

As part of the Army’s requirement for anoverland supply route to Darwin, the Aus-tralian Government allocated funds in 1939for upgrading the Overland Telegraph trackinto a gravel, all-weather road from TennantCreek all the way to Larrimah. Work wasbegun in September 1940 and undertakenby construction teams from Victoria, Queens-land and New South Wales. The first troopcarrying convoy was dispatched from AliceSprings in early 1941.

Although a state of war existed from 3September 1939, it was not until a year laterthat an advanced party of military personnelarrived to prepare a camp for the DarwinOverland Maintenance Force (DOMF) inAlice Springs. The camp was set up at thefoot of Anzac Hill in a tent city. Within aweek the unit’s 14 officers and 600 otherranks had arrived with 150, 3-tonne trucks.The East Side area around Spencer Hillbecame the location of the Spencer Hill Mili-tary Camps, including the 121 and 119 Aus-tralian General Transport Company.

Seven-Mile Aerodrome became a stagingpost for flights heading northward.

More permanent buildings soonappeared, including Sidney Williams huts,two if which were used as Regimental AidPost and Dental Clinic. At its peak the DOMFcomprised some 8,000, mostly Australian,troops and 3,000 trucks. Edgar Lather wasan American journalist who travelled withthe Maintenance Force in 1941.

Alice Springs became the administrativecentre of the Territory and its de facto capitalin March 1942 when the Territory’s adminis-trator Charles Abbott and his administration

were moved from Darwin. The same year,Alan Smith found himself in Alice Springsas one of the convoy officers responsible forgetting supplies through to Darwin.

The Army railhead, central troop reserveand arsenal for the North were all centeredat Alice Springs. Thousands of men, stagedthrough the town and onto Darwin to stiffenthe northern defences, and later taking thefight to the enemy in occupied territory.Charles Rye was a civilian in Alice Springsin 1942 and remembers life alongside theservice personnel in the town.

[Read more online]

August – September 2019 www.downunderclub.mb.ca • The Southern Yarn 3

The “Spanish Flu” epidemic killed around15,000 Australians in 1918-19, having beenbrought to the country by returning WW1troop ships. It might have been worse exceptthat it hit South Africa and New Zealand first– so lessons were learned before it arrived.The toll worldwide was more than 50 mil-lion.

Cinemas, churches, racecourses, etc,were closed down to limit the spread. Quar-antine camps were set up. Read more:https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/influenza-pandemic

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https://northernterritory.com/articles/alice-springs-in-wwiihttps://nzhistory.govt.nz/armistice-dayhttps://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/influenza-pandemichttps://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/influenza-pandemic

4 The Southern Yarn • www.downunderclub.mb.ca August – September 2019

Remembering Joyce andAnnabell …They’re the names given to the two enor-mous tunnel diggers that excavated the 4.6km Legacy Way tunnel to join Brisbane’sWestern Freeway and Inner-City Bypassroads west of the city center. The officialopening was 25th June 2015. [Read moreonline.]

State bragging rights …[Source: ABC Rural, 26 July, 2019] If you’reundecided as to which Australian state youwould like to settle in, this graphic mighthelp. It shows the states that produce thelargest volume of each of those commodities.

Or is it “fush”? …[Source: Wikipedia] In New Zealand, thechocolate fish is a popular confectioneryitem, and in Kiwi culture a common rewardfor a job done well (“Give that kid a chocolatefish”).

Chocolate fish have a conventional fish-shape and a length of 5 to 8 centimetres.They are made of pink or white marshmallowcovered in a thin layer of milk chocolate withthe ripples or (scales) on the fish createdsimply by the fish moving under a blower;this slides the unset chocolate back, creating

the illusion of scales on the fish. Severalmanufacturers make the fish, but the mostwell-recognised is Cadbury. Smaller, or “fun-sized” variants of the chocolate fish are collo-quially referred to as “sprats”. For a shortperiod, in the late 1990s - early 2000, therewas a Tip Top brand chocolate fish ice-cream.

The chocolate fish is based on NewZealand’s largest freshwater fish, the giantkokopu, which is an endangered species. Aportion of each chocolate fish’s profit will gotowards protecting the giant kokopu.

Taking to the slopes …[Source: BBC News, 16 July 2019] A street innorth Wales has been declared the steepestin the world.

Residents in Harlech, Gwynedd, are cele-brating after Guinness World Records veri-fied the gradient of Ffordd Pen Llech at37.45%.

The title had been held by BaldwinStreet in Dunedin, New Zealand, with a gra-dient of 35% at its steepest.

Campaigner Gwyn Headley said: “I feelutter relief - and jubilation. I feel sorry forthe New Zealanders - but steeper is steeper.”[Read more online.]

Tied and tied again … [NZ Herald, 15 July 2019] England won theCricket World Cup but the Black Caps didn’tlose. Yes it’s all very confusing following themost dramatic World Cup final played atLord’s this morning (15 July, 2019).

Chasing New Zealand’s 241 for eight,England got 12 off the final over to see thegame end in a tie with the hosts bowled outfor 241 going for the winning run off the lastball.

That sent the match to a Super Over. Oneover for each team with just two wickets andthree batsmen allowed.

England got 15 off their six balls and sodid New Zealand. Martin Guptill was run outa metre short on the final ball going for a sec-ond to secure the final for the Black Caps.Once again the scores finished tied.

However England were crowned the win-ners of the match due to a countback onboundaries in the initial 50-over contest.

England had 24 boundaries, NewZealand had 16. For that reason England liftthe World Cup for the first time.

Previously matches at the World Cuphave been decided by least wickets lost.Under the old rules New Zealand would havewon. [Read more online.]

Hercules the Unexpected stalkedNew Zealand[Source: NZHerald: 7th August, 2019] Scien-tists have stumbled across the remains of asuper-sized giant parrot that stalked NewZealand 20 million years ago - and was halfthe height of a human.

Analysis of leg bones believed to be 20million years old have led to the identifica-tion of what is believed to be the biggest par-rot species – which has been suitablydubbed “Hercules”.

Scientists who found large strange bonesnear an old gold mining town in Otago firstthought it could be a duck.

“When you look at giant birds, you thinkit could be a duck, or a pigeon, or a ratite[flightless birds such as kiwi],” said DrTrevor Worthy, who has led the analysis offossil bones at St Bathans for 20 years.

But analysis of the two leg bones, whichare about 20 million years old, has foundthat they came from a giant kākāpō that prob-ably weighed about 7kg - more than twice asheavy as the largest known recent kākāpō.[Read more online.]

The thing about linksIf you’re reading this online, you might havealready noticed that the link text at the endof many of the articles can be clicked on, andyou should be taken to read more online. Ifyou’re reading the print version, you’ll haveto go to our online version to do this nextstep. These links are usually long and hardfor our readers to retype from print, let alonefit into our print edition.

newsfromOzvarious sources, see web links in online edition

newszealandvarious sources, see web links in online edition

https://nzhistory.govt.nz/armistice-dayhttps://experience.acciona.com/construction/legacy-way-time-tunnel-project/?utm_source=dalton&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=taboola&utm_content=nbcnewshttps://experience.acciona.com/construction/legacy-way-time-tunnel-project/?utm_source=dalton&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=taboola&utm_content=nbcnewshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confectioneryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_New_Zealandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshmallowhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolatehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadburyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spratshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_Top_(icecream)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_kokopuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_kokopuhttps://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-48992331https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12249505https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12256251

August – September 2019 www.downunderclub.mb.ca • The Southern Yarn 5

On my recent trip with Peter to Toronto, oneof the items on my list of “things to do andsee” was a trip to the country, just a littlebeyond London, Ontario, to locate the ceme-tery where my paternal great grandparentsare buried. I remember, as a kid, driving to afamily reunion in that area with my parentsand an aunt and uncle, so I knew roughlywhere to look.

Anyone who knows me, knows of my loveof all things sewing, so it should come as nosurprise that I had to visit at least one quiltshop along the way. One thing lead to anoth-er and I heard of a quilt show in one of thesmall towns where I knew some of my rela-tives had lived. Since we were going to gothere anyhow, why not visit the quilt show?And what a quilt show it was. 100 quilts fromNew Zealand! Peter said he was happy to napor read so off I went. I have been to a fairnumber of quilt shows but nothing com-pared to what I saw there. It was mind bog-gling. The work that the women had put intotheir quilts is beyond description. I was over-whelmed to say the least. I started takingphotos but could not do the quilts justice soI bought the booklet that tells the storybehind each and every quilt. After just anhour of looking, I had to leave, I was in awe!The countless hours of hand stitching, use ofcolours and fabrics, artistry, and depth ofemotion in each quilt was quite amazing.

Remarkably, the Ailsa Craig Quilt andFibre Arts Festival in this little town of2,000, hosts a quilt show with quilts from adifferent country every year. Last year wasFrance and next year is Spain.

Oh, and we did find my ancestor’s burialsite, a very small well-kept cemetery rightalongside a country road, in the middle of afarmer’s field.

All in all, a good day for me. – Margaret Munn

The flying doctor…

Old Bertie watched as the Flying Doctorflew over the property.

When I was a young stockman, wedidn’t have any need of such fancy med-icine and flying doctors. Once I wasthrown from my horse and landed on abig tree, breaking about ten of my ribs.I was in a terrible state but the old Chi-nese cook fixed me up proper and good.He made me eat a couple of handfuls ofrice and then drink two pints of borewater. The rice started to swell up in notime and eventually pushed my ribsback into place. I was back at work thenext day.’ [Source: “Classic Bush Yarns”,Warren Fahey]

Quilting: Pleasantly surprisedin Ontario

BushYarn

https://nzhistory.govt.nz/armistice-day

6 The Southern Yarn • www.downunderclub.mb.ca August – September 2019

On Thursday August 8, a memorial servicewas held for Gordon at the Winnipeg SquashRacquet Club. It was a beautiful opportunityfor family, friends and colleagues to saygoodbye to someone who was very importantto so many. The DUCW will also be holding aretro night on Friday September 20 at 7:00pm (see Page 1 of this issue for details) for allof us to share stories and reflections aboutour best mate.

In the meantime, here is the write upabout Gordon in the “getting to know” col-umn from the September 12, 2014, issue ofThe Southern Yarn.

RememberingGordon KeatchOne of our favourite people, Gordon Keatch,has retired as our intrepid “getting to know”columnist. In his letter of retirement, Gordwrote that his monthly column in The South-ern Yarn about getting to know memberswas “a most rewarding and interesting expe-rience”.

We are looking for someone to take overthe column, but first we thought we’d let youall “get to know” Gord a little better.

Originally from Melbourne, Australia,Gordon “Kangaroo” Keatch came to Canadain December 1943 when he began militarytraining as a wireless/air gunner under theBritish Commonwealth Air Training Plan(BCATP). More about this part of his storyand how he met his wife Anne is featured inthe book “Canada’s War Grooms and theGirls who Stole Their Hearts” by Judy Kozar.

In Gord’s words, “The most exciting partof the war for me was the time spent in Win-nipeg because I met my wife there.” Lovesoon blossomed, and when Gord returned toAustralia, Anne followed, and they were mar-ried there on November 23, 1946. “Anne’sparents were devastated, of course, as theythought they would never see their daughteragain. My family, on the other hand, wasecstatic, and they were delighted andcharmed by this Canadian girl who came allthe way to Australia to marry me.”

Two years later, Gord and Anne movedback to Winnipeg. “It was now my mother’sturn to be the disappointed parent.”

Gord will tell anyone who asks that mov-ing to Winnipeg was the best thing he everdid. It was here that he and Anne raised two

sons and became active in the local commu-nity.

For 33 years, Gord worked for localmachinery-manufacturing firm Kipp KellyLtd., and became involved with many com-mitments and interests, including the StJames School Board, the Niakwa CountryClub, and the Manitoba Theatre Centre.Anne was busy volunteering at the SilverHeights Community Club, and later the Man-itoba Lung Association and Manitoba HeadInjury Association.

As co-founder of the DUCW and presidentfor 49 years, Gord guided the club from hum-ble beginnings to a welcome resource forAussies and Kiwis who move to and travelthrough the province. In Gord’s words, “theDown Under Club has become an active, long-standing and popular group here in Winnipegand throughout Manitoba. We are proud tohave been a part of this city and province …and have enjoyed fostering Australian, NewZealand and Canadian relations ….”

Gord and Anne always seemed to bedoing something in the Club, including host-ing informal get togethers, and organising,attending and volunteering at many eventsand activities. As our way of saying thanksfor their enormous contribution, they wereawarded the first DUCW Life Membershipsin 2000. Indeed, they were such a constantpart of the Club that when Anne passed awayin December 2006, we all mourned the lossof a gentle soul and a dear friend.

Among his many contributions to theDUCW, Gord also took the time to documentand update our history, look after the Club’sfinances, do the audits, recruit new mem-bers, incorporate the DUCW, play the role ofnewsletter editor’s editor, mail the Yarn, andorganise, in particular, the annual ANZACDay commemoration.

Gord also played a significant role in ourfirst Folklorama pavilion. Peter Debenhamremembered the meeting he was at with

Gord and Lucia Barron at The Round Tableon Halloween in 1992. “We didn’t think wehad the resources – people or capital orknow how – but the zoo had an Aussie exhib-it and we jumped on the bandwagon, decid-ing ‘If ever we’re going to do it, it’s now’.”

In the hearts and minds of many, Gord’smost enduring legacy will be the “getting toknow” column that he has championed sinceSeptember 2006. By showcasing approxi-mately 150 members, he has definitely helpedus get to know each other a little better.

By all accounts, Gord is a true gentlemanwho is loved and respected for his generousnature, kind heart, relentless community spir-it, and willingness to step up and help out. Hemight be retiring from journalism, but there’sno doubt that Gord will be kept busy enoughwith his many interests and activities, hisgood friends, and his close-knit family, whichnow includes three grandchildren (Allison,Erin and Michael) and two great-grandsons(Ethan and Liam), with a great-granddaugh-ter arriving in mid-December.

There is much more to Gord’s story, butI’m sure he would prefer to tell you himselfwhen you chat with him at the next DUCWevent.

Cheers to you, mate! – Jenny Gates

While some things changed after this was pub-lished in the Yarn, notably the arrival of threemore great-grandchildren – Iris, Olivia and Mia –many things stayed the same, in particular, hisstrong bond with family and friends, his deep andpersistent love of theatre, and his commitment tothe DUCW. You were one in a million, Gord. We allmiss you very much.

If you would like to read the words that wereshared on your behalf at the memorial receptionfor Gord on Thursday August 8, please visit http://downunderclub.mb.ca/thank-you-gordon-keatch/ .Twenty four Club members attended the service tosay farewell and thank you to our dear friend.

GettingtoKnowhistory, and members of our club

https://nzhistory.govt.nz/armistice-dayhttp://downunderclub.mb.ca/thank-you-gordon-keatch/http://downunderclub.mb.ca/thank-you-gordon-keatch/

August – September 2019 www.downunderclub.mb.ca • The Southern Yarn 7

Stern words as NZ joinsrebuke of China over UighursMuslimsDeputy Prime Minister Winston Peters saysNZ signed the letter of rebuke to Chinabecause “we believe in the liberty of person-al beliefs”.

The international rebuke of China’smass detention of an ethnic minority grouphas been called slander by the world’s sec-ond-largest economy. But experts say NZ isunlikely to face serious backlash for joiningthe complaint. It was one of 22 countries thatlast month signed a letter to the president ofthe United Nations Human Rights Councilcriticizing Beijing for its treatment of ethnicUighurs in the Xinjiang region. Rightsgroups say a million Uighurs and other Mus-lims are being held in camps in the remotewestern region, with reports of detaineesbeing forced to renounce their faith andundergo psychological torture.

China’s Foreign Ministry has describedthe statement as slander and said it hadmade “stern representations” to thoseinvolved. Its Government says it’s fightingextremism in the region.

University of Canterbury China expertProfessor Anne-Marie Brady said despite thediplomatic bluster, no serious consequenceswould follow for NZ.—SOURCE: New ZealandHerald

Donald Trump, with Bangla Hindu activist, PriyaSaha (left) a minority activist at the White House

Hindu human rights activistfaces sedition trialA Bangladeshi minister, Obaidul Quader,says the organizing secretary of theBangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian UnityCouncil (HBCUC), Priya Saha, will face trialon the charge of sedition for her remarksabout minority persecution in the country toUS President Donald Trump, PTI reports.

The Hindu minority activist had been ona visit to the White House on July 19, whenshe told Trump that 37 million members ofminority communities in the country haddisappeared.

A video clip of the interaction went viralin Bangladesh and has evoked a strong back-lash from the government and other quar-ters.

“Saha’s allegation was absolutely false.No one will agree with her. A sedition casewill be filed against her. The process isunderway. We must take measures againsther and are in the process of doing so as aBangladeshi national, she has made false,purposeful and treasonous remarks,” Quad-er stated.

Even the organisation she leads, theHBCUC, does not seem to be prepared todefend her.

“We are embarrassed. The commentsshe made were her own and not ours,”HBCUC spokesman Kajal Debnath said. —SOURCE: Lankaweb

NZ approves six child marriagessince law changedJust six marriages involving young teenagershave been approved since a law was changedto try to prevent forced marriage.

While some children’s advocates saythat’s a sign the legislation is working, oth-ers are pushing for it to go further. However,before Parliament passed the Marriage(Court Consent to Marriage of Minors)Amendment Bill last year, they only neededtheir parents’ consent. It’s estimated an aver-age of 30 marriages involving 16 and 17 yearolds were registered in New Zealand eachyear before the law change. — SOURCE:reliefweb.

Books:Liam Cochrane’sThe Cave: TheInside Story ofthe AmazingThai Cave Res-cue is a grippingaccount of the dif-ficulties and tri-umphs of therescue of a boys’soccer team andtheir coach in Thailand last year. Every read-er will remember how we all held our breathas the days passed until the boys were foundin an impossibly difficult place deep inside amountain with flooded access channels, nar-row passages and the danger of heavy rainsto come. The narrative grips the attention as

suspense builds and the dangers and diffi-culties become more and more apparent.Cochrane is the Australian BroadcastingCompany’s S.E. Asia correspondent based inBangkok. He spent two weeks outside thecave witnessing the wait for news. After therescue, he researched the whole undertak-ing, using his local knowledge and contactsto present us with an unrivalled picture ofthe various plans that were proposed and thedifficulties that the cave divers faced. This isa book everyone should read, it is moving,inspiring and definitely not to be missed.

Sergio Ghione’sTurtle Island: AJourney toBritain’s OldestColony is a rarefind: delightful,absorbing, and,above all, inform-ative. Ghionejoined three sci-entists whoseresearch projectwas to find out where green turtles go in thevast Atlantic after laying their eggs on thebeaches of Ascension Island, one of the mostremote islands in the world lying just southof the equator in the Atlantic Ocean. Thebook describes a month on the island, study-ing the turtles and exploring the dry, dustylandscape which lacks any form of lush trop-ical vegetation. The wind is a constant factor.Until recently, visiting was restricted to themilitary and essential services. Neverthe-less, the island is rich in history whichGhione inserts into his descriptions andnarratives making a fascinating read. Booksabout Ascension Island are hard to find; donot miss this one.

commonwealth place by Murray Burt

Read more from Commonwealth Corner onpage nine of the electronic versions of mostissues of The Southern Yarn.

Murray Burt is a retired editor and journalist whois concerned that lesser elements of the Com-monwealth get poor media coverage.Burt is president of the Manitoba branch of theRoyal Commonwealth Society; past president ofthe Commonwealth Journalists Association; HonLCol of the 78th Fraser Highlanders; a senator ofthe 166th Battery RCA (Kenora) and a director ofThe Intrepid Society. He is retired from more than50 years of journalism.

https://nzhistory.govt.nz/armistice-day

Board of DirectorsPresident: Peter MunnVice President: Catherine BoweringSecretary: Margaret MunnNewsletter Editor:Charlie PowellTreasurer: Peter DebenhamSocial Coordinator: Judy Powell, with assistants Penny Hechter & Lucia BarronMembership:Terry RobertsPast President: Terry Roberts

This newsletter can be downloaded in PDFformat from the website. Thank you to allof our contributors within the club, fromoverseas and information services. Layoutby design@hydesmith.com

The Southern Yarn is published by theDown Under Club of Winnipeg, Inc.(DUCW). The views and opinionsexpressed by contributors to thispublication are not endorsed by, nor do theynecessarily reflect those of, the members ofthe DUCW. The DUCW and the Editor ofThe Southern Yarn do not accept anyresponsibility for the content or accuracy ofinformation or websites contained in thispublication. Articles may be republishedwith permission of the Editor.

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8 The Southern Yarn • www.downunderclub.mb.ca August – September 2019

Crows (again)

I featured crows in the third ofthese articles, back in the March2015 issue. This time its goingto be a bit more personal …

Quite a number of years ago,when we started trying to encourage more birdsto the yard – particularly songbirds and humming-birds, etc. – a pair of crows showed up and obvi-ously assumed that, being birds, they would bewelcome, too. So they set to work building theirnest high up in one of our Manitoba maple trees.When I discovered it, I was not pleased. I had it infor crows because of their reputation for robbingother nests - nests of the very birds we wantedaround. Squirrels, cute as they can be, also havethis reputation. And don’t get me started on cats!

I was working at a chicken plant at the time, sothe idea crossed my mind that maybe if I smug-gled some chicken guts home each day, I couldoffer that to them, and they’d leave the youngsongbirds alone. But what if they didn’t clean upall the scraps? The neighbours might complain. Isaw no other option than to get them to move on(the crows, not the neighbours). So I took a longpole up onto the roof of the garage and pokedaway at the nest. Mr and Mrs Crow were nothappy! They circled and squawked and cried aloudas their nest was being demolished. It wasn’t verypleasant for me either – all that bird stuff andsticks raining down on me. Then, down came anegg and splatted beside me on the garage. Thenanother. I felt bad. You can imagine how the crowsfelt. No wonder they were angry!

Crows also have a reputation for human recog-nition, and not forgetting, and I’m certain they, andtheir succeeding generations, bad-mouthed me formany years after that.

Fast forward to June this year. I notice there isa crow’s nest high up in the same tree; only thetree is much taller now, so the nest is well out ofreach of the pole – maybe the crows knew that?But they needn’t worry – Iam more philosophicalnow – they are going toraid songbird nestswhether they live in ouryard or not – its whatcrows do.

Anyway, over dinnerone night recently, whilesharing the excitingevents of the day, Judymentioned a closeencounter with a crow –she was gardening andsensed a “presence” and,looking around, saw acrow behaving quite

birdsiview…by Charlie Powell

unafraid with-in 6 feet ofher. Unusualbehaviour, weagreed.

Next daythe neighbourreported thata young crowhad flown toher and let

her feed it. My interest was tweaking. And thenext day she demonstrated by feeding it on ourback fence. Next thing it was on my shoulder andtaking food.

This intimacy (with the crow, not the neighbour)continued for a few days and gained lots of “likes”on Facebook. I just had to step out the backdoorin the morning and there it was. I’d stretch myarm out and on it flew; and soggy bread and freshearthworms went down its gaping gullet. The par-ents, of course, were very vocal about all this –no doubt warning their naïve child about gettingtoo close to cruel humans. Then it showed up withan obviously injured leg – hungry and friendly asever, but quite handicapped in its ability to getaround. After another day or two we decided itreally should have its leg seen to. So we drove itto the Wildlife Haven Rehabilitation Centre, at Iledes Chênes, just south of Winnipeg. We heard nomore until I phoned after a week and was told theleg was broken too close to the joint for them tobe able to do anything – so they euthanized it – “Itwas the humane thing to do”.

Realistically, we probably couldn’t have kept oncaring for it, anyway. But our neighbour was moreupset and thought we/she should have been giventhe option.

But that wasn’t the end of the story: the parentswere still around. They would call their usual “ark,ark” – wondering where their kid was. I couldn’texplain, but I tried to be friendly and would leavesoggy bread on the fence for them, which I thinkthey accepted, though not while I was present.And then a remarkable thing happened – some-thing that is difficult to explain. They both showedup one morning, perched in a couple of nearby

trees and, using a “voice”I have never heard from acrow, before or since,they had a “conversation”with me. There were noharsh “ark, ark”s. It wasmore of a gentler “argle,argle” tone – and backand forth between themfor several minutes. Ibelieve that it was direct-ed to me or at least formy benefit. Anyway, I gotthe sense that there wereno hard feelings. We’llsee what transpires nextspring …

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