BISMARCK DODGES U-BOAT

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 76, 18 October 1939, Page 3

BISMARCK DODGES U-BOAT

Ship: Native canoe. Nationality: Australian. Master: Bismarck. Nature of Cargo: Ballast. Destination: Melville Island. So read the wartime port clear anee issued to a Melville IsSand abo igine by the Darwin Customs authorities. Such are the ramifications of the emergency control and the examination of shipping that, who;! Bismarck applied to the Customs Department for v, document that would satisfy any investigating vessel th-d might challenge his dugout on lis passage to Melville Island, tne department gave him a l'ull-blown clearance. Wishing to return to the island .with three other islanders aft<n- a visit to Darwin, Bismarck got ready to set out from Casuarina Beach, about 11 miles from the town. But he heard of how the white man's ships were being stopped at sea in these times, and that, on occasions, j shots i\vere fired at them, so he de- | cided to play safe. ! Returning to Darwin, he asked the j Native Affairs Department to give him a red flag, which seemed to him a complete protection against Üboats. The department passed lihn 011 to the Customs authorities. Bismarck and his companions are ■ now paddl.ing and sailing their big ij canoe on its 70-miles trip to Mcl- [ ; vil'e Island, content with the green ;I ticket 'which the "Big Fella Boss' - j gave them as a charm that will set | the 111 past all hazards.