LET THE PORT MORESBY ADVENTURE BEGIN!

An Acrylic Painting by me....looking from the foreshore at Mission Beach across to Dunk Island

The Hinchinbrook Island resort restaurant and pool area as it once was

Two Views of Wallaman Falls  (104ks south-west from Cardwell.  And 51kms south-west of Ingham

Cairns Airport

Hinchinbrook Island and Channel

In July 1987 the Queensland Tourism & Travel Corporation, informally known as the “QTTC”, in their infinite wisdom decided to send a tourism delegation to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. 

This venture into the un-chartered territory of our northern neighbours across the aquamarine waters of the Torres Strait, would be the first of such tourism marketing strategies into New Guinea (and probably the last as far as I know).

Nine illustrious, notorious representatives were chosen, by methods unknown to any of them, to represent particular areas of Tropical North Queensland. 

Seven of the reputable representatives were male; two were female. I was one of the elected, honoured few; one half of the celebrated, seraphic feminine duo!

Our mission was to cut a swath through the savannah dust of Port Moresby through to the emerald, dense vegetation of the Highlands, spreading the word on the benefits of holidaying in North Queensland, just a hop, skip, jump and swim away to the south.  

My role in the adventure was to represent the Hinchinbrook, Cardwell and Johnstone Shires.

Heading north from Townsville, the Shire of Hinchinbrook incorporates the sugar towns and areas of Ingham, Lucinda, Forrest and Taylors Beach and, of course, Orpheus Island, which is anchored in the Coral Sea.  Orpheus Island lays a little south of Hinchinbrook Island.

Ingham, located about forty-five minutes south of Cardwell, has a rich history of sugar cane farming.  Over 60% of its population is of Italian descent.

The region from Ingham north is well-known for its natural attractions and diverse environments.

Cardwell, gracing the shores of the Coral Sea and the Hinchinbrook Channel, is a perfect, relaxed fishing area.   

As I’ve described in some of my previous posts, Cardwell serviced the now-defunct resort at Cape Richards, on the far north-eastern corner of Hinchinbrook Island, the world’s largest national park island.  The resort I managed back in 1986-1987.

Further north from Cardwell is another sugar cane and banana-producing area, with the town of Tully being its centre.

The Cardwell Shire is in the heart of the wet tropics.  Cardwell, itself is in a rain shadow, but Tully, less than thirty minutes north, boasts of being one of the wettest areas in Australia.

Tully is a very small town, again rich in Italian heritage. The waters of the Tully River have become world-renowned for white-water rafting.  Enthusiasts from all over the globe flock to the area.

Across the highway from Tully, a few kilometres to the east through lush, thick rainforest to the coastal fore-shores, hides beautiful Mission Beach, which is part of the
Cassowary Coast Region.  Dunk Island is 4kms out to sea from Mission Beach. Easy access to the Great Barrier Reef from both the island and mainland is on offer to the adventurous tourists.

Dunk Island is part of the Family Group of islands, which also includes Bedarra, Bowden, Wheeler, Hudson Islands, amongst others. Dunk is the largest and the most northern island in the group.

For the keen readers among you, if you’re looking for a “good read” grab hold of “Confessions of a Beachcomber”, or any of the other books written by Edmund James Banfield.

“Edmund James "Ted" Banfield (4 September 1852 – 2 June 1923) was an author and naturalist in Queensland, Australia. He is best known for his book Confessions of a Beachcomber. His grave on Dunk Island is Heritage listed.
Banfield was born in Liverpool, England. Banfield was brought while a boy to Australia by his father, who settled at Ararat, Victoria in 1852,  His father became proprietor of a newspaper, the “Ararat Advertiser”.  Edmund Banfield received his first training in journalism on this paper.

In 1897, suffering from work anxiety and exhaustion, and advised by doctors that he had just six months to live, writer Edmund James Banfield moved to Dunk Island with his wife Bertha – so becoming the island’s first white settlers.
Previously a Journalist and Senior Editor with the Townsville Daily Bulletin for fifteen years, Banfield let the tranquillity of this unspoilt tropical paradise weave its magic.  He lived on Dunk Island for the remaining 26 years of his life until his death in 1923. A small hut built with the assistance of an Aborigine called Tom was the Banfields' first home.

Over a period of time they cleared four acres of land for a plantation of fruit and vegetables. Combined with their chickens, cows and goats as well as the abundance of seafood and mangrove vegetation, they lived very self-sufficiently. Fascinated by Dunk Island’s flora and fauna Banfield meticulously recorded his observations and went on to write a series of articles about island life under the pseudonym Rob Krusoe.
He was further inspired to write a full-length book entitled ‘Confessions of a Beachcomber’ which was published in 1908^. The book became a celebrated text for romantics and escapists and established Dunk Island’s reputation as an exotic island paradise. In the ensuing years, Banfield wrote several other books about Dunk including ‘My Tropical Isle’ in 1911 and ‘Tropic Days’ in 1918. In these he shared the secrets of nature that he had uncovered and described the customs and legends of the Aboriginal people on the island. E J Banfield died on 2 June 1923 and his final book ‘Last Leaves from Dunk’ was published posthumously in 1925. His widow remained on the island for another year before moving to Brisbane where she died, ten years after her husband. Today both are buried on the trail to Mt Kootaloo^...."

There is much to see and explore in Tropical North Queensland, for instance, the state’s two highest mountain peaks, Bartle Frere and Bellenden Ker, (the state’s third highest mountain, Mount Bowen, is on Hinchinbrook Island).

Australia’s longest single-drop waterfall, Wallaman Falls, is not far from Cardwell.

Further north along the highway from Tully, one enters into the Johnstone Shire.  Immediately the stunningly beautiful vistas of lush, thick green pastures, sugar cane fields and dense vegetation take hold.  In a previous post, a couple of months ago, I described Paronella Park at Mena Creek.  It is part of this wonderland, and, under its present owners, Paronella’s dream continues. Paronella Park gained National Trust listing in 1997, and has one many Tourism Awards over the past number of years.

Having been chosen as the representative for the above areas, proudly, and excitedly, I packed my suitcase.  Armed with all the information I needed for my odyssey into the unknown, I headed north to Cairns where I was to board a flight to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

Arrangements to meet with my fellow partners-in-crime at the airport had been made prior to my departure from the island.

I knew only two of my fellow conspirators, meeting them previously at various tourism conferences and expositions.

Each time I’d met one of the two known to me, he hadn’t impressed me much. Loud of voice – of mouth - he was quite an arrogant fellow. Rather than speak in a normal manner, he had a tendency to bellow.  He was one not open to the opinions of others, not that I ever bothered offering mine to him. There was no point wasting my breath, I believed. 

In those early days I was still somewhat of a novice, an apprentice to tourism marketing, quietly observing and learning as I went. 

Mainly, I kept my own counsel in social conversations pertaining to the business at hand, mingling and merging with others when I found myself in his presence.  He annoyed me, so I could see no useful purpose in cultivating a friendship.  There would come a time, I believed, that I would not be able to hold my tongue!  So, I usually gave him a wide berth...for my sanity and his safety!

However, everyone in the group was in high-spirits as we waited for our flight to be announced.  Eagerly we waited for our boarding call to echo through the loud-speakers.

The flight from Cairns to Port Moresby is approximately 45 minutes only, in flight duration, so we’d be there in no time at all. Well, that would be the way if our flight had been on time.

Two hours later, we were still twiddling our thumbs Cairns Airport, while we waited for our Air Niugini flight. 

Our feet hadn’t left the ground; but, as the minutes passed, our feet began impatiently tapping the ground.  Rather than leave indentations on the airport floor, we gave into the demands of our thirst and, as one, we descended upon the airport bar.

And then, finally, we were ascending the sky above Cairns, headed northward to Papua New Guinea, with Port Moresby our destination.

Beneath us the crystal-clear waters of the Torres Strait glittered, waving us forward as we flew low over the Strait and its islands.

To Be Continued....

 

Female Cassowary