The Owl and the Pussy-cat
By Edward Lear I The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea In a beautiful pea-green boat, They took some honey, and plenty of money, Wrapped up in a five-pound note. The Owl looked up to the stars above, And sang to a small guitar, "O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love, What a beautiful…
An eye for detail
and colour
The fish lying on ice at the market might shimmer silver or sport a dull red but a fish hauled from the cool ocean loses most of its colour – its washes of yellow or its blue stripes – about ten minutes after it has gasped in the searing air. Not only do fish give…
Whale tails aid research
Lightly spotted or black splashed, deckle edged or bedecked with barnacles, the underside of a humpback whale tail fluke is the surest way to identify a particular animal. The East Coast Whale Watch Catalogue, a humpback whale fluke identification research project established in 2008 by Peta Beeman, is assembling a database of tail flukes using…
Southern Cross Pearl
back from long exile
The story of the Southern Cross Pearl has been shaped by intrigue. Tales of superstition and awe attended its discovery and rumour and mystery dogged its long exile from Australia. Now the pearl cluster is back, on permanent loan to the Western Australian Museum, and some of its secrets can be pieced together. The Southern…
Light a light - a
constant labour
At work, Anthony MacFarlane is called “Pin”. It’s short for Split Pin (he’s stringbean thin) and it has become an extended joke to allocate to his family sobriquets that are a variation on the theme. On a cool June morning Pin is at the helm of the Maritime Safety Queensland motor vessel, Cowan, dark glasses…
Families of missing men
call for investigation
Note: This is an ongoing report on the fate of three crew - Anthony Murray, Reg Robertson and Jaryd Payne - missing for more than a year following their disappearance at sea during the delivery of a Tui Marine/Sunsail catamaran from Cape Town to Phuket, Thailand. The report will be updated as information emerges. Previous…
