A Woman Pirate. 1936.

I did a post yesterday with hints on how to be a helpless female in 1890.

It was very amusing to read the tactics outlined by R. J. Burdette (a man) in order to ensure a life of leisure.

The Daily News 14 Apr 1936 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article84222953

This article about a woman pirate is from the opposite end of the spectrum. I really doubt that Miss Sue Nakawura would have had much time for such a helpless, coddled woman.

I love her story, going from the life of an 18 year old school teacher from a respectable home in Japan to the mistress of a pirate chief.

I can just imagine her daydreaming during the lessons, wishing for a more exciting life. Unlike most people, she then went off and found one!

First she eloped with a travelling salesman, but obviously that life wasn’t exciting enough for her and she soon transferred her affections to a Formosan pirate chief.

Once she hitched up with Chen Pao-lin, she quickly showed an aptitude for piracy and became an expert marksman, winning the respect of the other bucaneers.

I wonder what an aptitude for piracy is? Saying “arrrr, me hearties” a lot?

Clearly she was pretty good at counting dubloons as she became chief booty distributor. Maybe she had been an accounting teacher?

A boy, a magnifying glass and fireworks. A recipe for disaster! 1936..

The Advertiser 28 Apr 1936 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article35427469

Some kids use a magnifying glass to investigate the world. Some use one to bring fiery death to ants. Others, like this kid, take their destruction to a higher level and use it to ignite the fuse of an explosive.

I expect this is something most boys are guilty of, only looking for entertainment and not really thinking things through. What did he really expect would happen? Did he not notice that he was standing on the other side of a large pane of glass? I think he and his friends were lucky that the glass was tougher than the back of the display.

I wasn’t sure what a basket bomb was and in my searches in the internets I was unable to find a picture of one, only the description of them being a ‘powerful cane-bound explosive’. I did find another news article dated 1937 titled ‘Fireworks Must Be Banned In The Future’, describing the destruction one was capable of. Apparently they were powerful enough to ‘rend a solidly framed iron letterbox to shreds’. Eeek! I wouldn’t want to be standing on the other side of the glass, that’s for sure!

If you hate your job, you should just quit. Extreme measures. 1936.

Albany Advertiser 21 Dec 1936 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article70259057

What an unusual way to hasten the end. If you hate your job you should really do something a little less drastic about it. I wonder what the pilot was thinking as this guy dove out?

I wonder if it was his own shop or if he had spent ages just dreaming about smashing through the roof onto his surprised boss?

I am sure we have all imagined ways to tell a crappy boss to shove their job, but diving through the roof from 3,500 ft? Really? I think he could have thought that through a little better.

Either way, it would appear he missed the grocery altogether and only managed to ruin a nearby bungalow and nearly take out some innocent bystanders. Those poor women are never going to feel safe indoors again!

Trapped by an upside down camel. 1936.

I had to read this article a few times before I had all the facts. I admit it, I kept laughing at the thought of a camel upside down in a hole, with the prospector still on its back. Can you imagine what he was thinking once he realized the camel wasn’t budging? What was the poor camel thinking?!

I know that the camel didn’t have a very good outcome in this little tale but Phillip Hamel was the luckiest person ever. What are the chances of even being seen by the group of Aboriginals in the first place? I suppose that the sight of some camel legs waving around in the air would be sufficiently unusual that you would want a closer look. Outback Australia is a BIG place though, it is amazing that they came across him at all.

The most unpleasant part of the tale is the fact that they cut a hole through the camel to see if the prospector was still alive, then Gillies climbed through it to save him. Yuck. I know there wasn’t much choice but if I had been that blokes only hope I think he might still be there.

Western Argus 14 Apr 1936 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article34947147