SALT OF THE EARTH

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 05, Issue 90, 12 August 1942, Page 4

SALT OF THE EARTH

THE AUSSIES ARE GOOD FELLOWS The folloAving appeared in a N.Z. troopship journal after having visited Australian ports cn route to the Middle East:— It Avas grand meeting you, Aussies. Tall, lean loose-limbed blokes —exactly the same as avc Enzedders had known you ' through Smith's Weekly, The Bulletin and Man. Same old adjective and noun—and "fair coav" too. Too right!

Fair dinkum, sit was corker. And your cry on sight of "Coms-an-hava-drink, Kiwi." Ami cripes, could you knock down the beer?

And the way you leaned against lamp posts and bars with your Digger hat and your roll-your-own drooping out of your mouth. '*Salt of the Eiartli,/* said our tAvo pipper artist with us. We're still excited over ii;t. And your women, Aussies—strewth, it must have been tough having to leaA r e such good-lookers, good dressers, good laughers, good kids. And the Returned Diggers who told us of our fathers in the last scrap, Avho Avould liaA r e got us blind drunk if we'd accepted a fraction of their prolfered drinks. And your civvy folk Avho couldn't do enough for us, who said: "We won't treat you as Enzedders—avc'll

treat you as our own, for Ave ahvays think of Australia and New Zealand as one." That Avas an honour. We liked your liA'C-Avire, clean children Avho collared our badges, gave us their addresses, begged us to Avrite to them. And your beautiful city and sunshine and countryside: it Avas almost too tough leaving it all. The small bunch of us who Avent ashore Avere bitterly ('reappointed— as Avere your own folk —the rest of our cobbers Avere confined to ship. Its pathetic to think of Avhat they've missed. —a Avar aim in. itself. Soon avc'll be meeting you Aussie joqers ashore —Avackoh! And later. It'll mean a lot, fighting alongside you blokes. Advance Australia —Onward New Zealand —my oath!