Quote on John 20747's Place

The "Sachi Maru No.1" at Stokes Hill Wharf, Darwin, 1969

 

 

The photo shows the MV Milson docked alongside

the Sachi Maru No.1 at the Stokes Hill Wharf, Darwin, in 1969.

 

The MV Milson was sunk during cyclone Tracy in December

1974.

 

It was originally a Sydney Harbour ferry,

and was used to transport tourists and Radio Australia staff

from the Stokes Hill wharf to the Mandorah Jetty at Cox Peninsula.

 

The Sachi Maru No.1 was a Japanese fishing vessel, and made

regular visits to the port of Darwin for fuel and supplies.

 

Many of the Japanese fishing vessels that visited the port of

Darwin in the 1960's, were built by the Kyokuyo Shipyard Corp.

at the port of Shimonoseki, in Yamaguchi Prefecture, on the

southern tip of the island of Honshu.

 

The second photo shows 3 crew members of the Sachi Maru No.1.

 

Photos copyright © 1969  John Barnes.

 

 

 

The SACHI MARU No.1  at the Stokes Hill Wharf, 1969.

 

 

The MV Milson docked alongside the Sachi Maru No.1 , Stokes Hill Wharf, Darwin, 1969.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

crew members of Sachi Maru No.1

 

Three Japanese crew members of the Sachi Maru No.1 on the Stokes Hill Wharf.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quote on John Barnes Blogsite

PMG instructor Joe Maranta awarded Order of the British Empire

 

 

Joseph Antonio Maranta (Joe Maranta ), the chief instructor (Principal )

of the former PMG technical training school at Chermside (Brisbane ),

was awarded The Order of the British Empire (OBE ), on the 12th of

June, 1965.

 

Name: MARANTA, Joseph Antonio

Award: The Order of the British Empire - Medal (Civil) / British

Empire Medal (Civil)

Date granted: 12 June 1965

 

Joe was awarded the OBE for his many years of service to

the former Postmaster General's Department.

The Postmaster General at the time of the award was Alan Hulme.

 

The former PMG technical training school was located on Banfield Street,

adjacent to the Chermside Drive In Shopping Centre (now Westfield Chermside ), in

a group of wooden Army huts.

 

The site was gradually 'built up' over a period of 40 years, and by 2001,

there were a number of brick buildings and a large multi-storey building

constructed from reinforced concrete. This building appeared to be some type

of administration centre, as it contained offices and windows, so it was not  simply

a storage building for telecommunications equipment.

 

When the site was totally demolished in 2005 to make way for the expansion of

Westfield Chermside, the large reinforced concrete building proved to be a major

difficulty in the demolition operation, compared to the brick buildings.

 

An eyewitness account from Patrick O'Shea of the Chermside and District

Historical Society, tells how easily the brick buildings came down, compared

to the effort required to demolish the concrete building.

 

By the end of 2006, Westfield Chermside had expanded right across Banfield

Street, and the former PMG (Telstra ) site became part of an underground

carpark for Westfiled Chermside !

 

One of the last Chief Instructors at the PMG training school (during

the 1980's) was Barry Neilsen, who was a Senior Technician at the ABC Radio

transmission station at Bald Hills in 1963.

In 1970, Barry was the Officer In Charge of the (now demolished )

PMG Radio Workshops at Perry Park, Newstead (Brisbane ).

He was only there on a temporary basis, and his position was taken

over by Ken Lund.

No picture of Joe Maranta was available .

 

Joe Maranta died of cancer not long after being awarded the OBE.

 

A group photograph of the 1969 intake of PMG technical trainees at

Chermside Training School can be seen by clicking on the link below -

http://johnwilliambarnes.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!BE3AFDE98176603D!973.entry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quote on John20747's Place

The Norman and Allied conquests of Sicily.

 

In a nutshell -

 

The Allies conquered Sicily in 6 weeks, between July

and August of 1943.

 

 

In contrast, it took the Normans 30 years to (fully )

conquer Sicily - from 1061 to 1091.

The Norman conquest of Sicily (from the Arabs ), brought

the Island back under European control.

 

Unfortunately there are no photos to show of the Norman

conquest of Sicily, as it would be another 800 years before

the camera was invented.

 

Naturally, there is no shortage of photos from the 1943

invasion !

 

Footnote - Palermo and Messina were taken by the 7th

Army commanded by old blood 'n' guts (General George

Patton ).