Terry Edwinsmith and the Blog Site ‘PNG ATTITUDE’

3 Comments

1. Are you the Terry Edwinsmith who wrote the article on the web entitled “Reminiscence: The last voyage of MV Bulolo”.
   The reason I ask it that I am on the Parish Council of St Peter’s Anglican Church East Lindfield and we have a bell from the SS Orungal (previously Fezara) which we understand was donated by Captain Brett Hilder to our church and we wanted to find out his connection back in history probably around 1974 when our church was built to fill in a gap in our knowledge of the history of the bell. We note from your article that he had a surviving son and three daughters and wondered if you had any contact details with them if you cannot answer our query please. Thanks, Bruce York

   • Before the year 1400, Australian born Brett Hilder, (my 6th cousin once removed) applied all of his researching abilities to look back over the previous 400 years and summarize his findings in his publication “The Heritage of JJ Hilder”. ‘J.J’. was his father, Jesse Jewhurst Hilder, the famous early 20th century Australian watercolourist/artist/painter.

     Brett, like his father Jesse Jewhurst Hilder, a highly acclaimed early 20th century Australian artist/painter, became famous as a sea captain, navigator, author of several books, has a North Queensland reef named after him, a Catalina pilot in WW2 and an artist/painter in watercolours.

     During a holiday to Norfolk Island several years ago I met up with one of my Hilder relatives who is a resident there and she recalled the days when Brett Hilder called at the island with cargo and visited the schoolchildren to show them how to sketch pictures in charcoal. Norfolk Island was visited regularly by Brett as he sailed with cargo to the various South Sea Islands and I have also seen references to his connection with the whaling days.

     Brett was an experienced researcher and made an exceptional effort over thirty years ago to trace the origins of our Hilder forefathers, sadly by the time I got around to contacting him, he had passed away.

     Jeff Hilder

2. I am from the famous Dagle Tribe of Kerowagi in Chimbu Province n m now living here in Melbourne, Australia. I was taught by Australian teachers at Kewamugl primary school, towards the border of Western Highlands before Nondugl station. We had a Headmaster, a big blond hairy guy, with a heavy mustache n trimmed beard. His name was ‘Mr Gordon’. My uncle (Krondh) used to b his hausboi. At lunch time, I would hang around the big playground in front of Mr Gordon’s house so that my uncle could see me n probably give me some food or 10-20cents to buy lunch. Those days, u could buy a packet of biscuits for 20c if they were big pkts or 10c if small. To this day, I still remember Mr Gordon’s physical features n wonder if he is still alive somewhere here.
   It still amazes me these days that we had Aussie teachers living in the village schools at that time in very peaceful conditions. Not so now n I really regret those times. Every end of the year, we would either f a class party with cordials n lolies or we wud go for picnics along Er/Gam Rivers with our Aussie teachers. We wud walk those bush tracks singing the ‘Waltzing Matilda’ with our teacher n not an harm wud come to them. They were at home, they were regarded s locals, only difference was the white skin. Those were good old times. We long to c those simple Aussies up there once more, not the corrupt Govt bureacrats rom Canverra.