Book Description

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1904 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER XI. Great Changes in One Lifetime--How Shells and Coral Were Obtained for l.ime-making --King Island or "Winnam "--Lime-burning on Petrie's liight--Diving Woik--Harris's Wharf--A Trick to Obtain "Grog"-- Reads Like Romance--Narrow Escape of a Diver. sfir, YC DEGREES' an lnstance f tne great changes which have Myfnk taken place in Brisbane in even less than one DEGREESr-N DEGREES DEGREESJiii-tmu-. is interesting to follow my father's experiences of the way in which shells and coral for lime-making were obtained when he was a boy, As already mentioned, a punt did the carting from the Bay, and as a protection to them from the blacks, "Tom" was sent with the crew, for, being so well known among the darkies, the lad was a safeguard to anyone in his company. The shells used were obtained from the sandy point on the Humbybong side of the mouth of the Pine River, where they were plentiful then in the required dry, dead state; and this point the blacks called " Kulukan " (pelican), because at low water the bank there was crowded with pelicans. Four men besides my father manned the boat, and they went with the ebb down the river, anchoring at the mouth till the tide turned again and came up some two feet, thus enabling the party to surmount the difficulty of sandbanks. Planks were fixed along each side of the punt, so that the men could walk from end to end, and each man had a long light pole with which to shove the boat along. They kept in as close to the shore as was possible, and so with the help of the tide got slowly along past where Sandgarte is now, onwards to the mouth of the Pine, Father steering. Four baskets made by old Bribie, the basket-maker, also two or three rakes to gather together the shells, formed part of the punt's outward-going cargo, and...