MYSTERY MEN.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5225, 11 January 1928, Page 3

MYSTERY MEN.

WORKING ON THE WATERFRONT

CASES AT SYDNEY. Deprived of all enterprise and enthusiasm by some cruel bloiw of fortune, there are a. number of titled and talented men working on the-. Sydney wharves to-day who, despite their knowledge, are indifferent as to what the future holds, says a Sydney paper. They are known as the “mystery men of the wiharves.” They do their work conscientiously, talk with their mates on leading questions of the day, but rarely refer to the past. The “mystery men of the wharves” include t.wo titled men, a Master of Arts, a barrister, an accountant, and five holders of master’s tickets. A slightly built man of dark complexion daily checks cargo on sex Street wharf. If circumstances had not intervened, he would now probably, have been figuring in London society. He is the eldest son of a titled citizen of London whoi died some years ago. he, tally clerk has

the right to claim the title at his will. “What use is tjie title to me ?” he said to a fellow tally clerk. “There is no money or property attached to it and I would be compelled to earn my liv, ig as l am endeavouring to dp at pres'ent.”

This is one of the few occasions on which he had referred to his past.

To the. other a /title ihas brought nothing better than a painters’ job on a wharf. He. does h’s work well, is known as a good fellow, but of his prist little is known. His best friends treat him with great respect, but they do not make more than general reference to this earlier days. Because he was unscrupulously treated by his New Zealand wife a Master of Arts is daily tq be seen in a sleeveless shirt lifting and heaving with the rest of the wharf labourers. He has lost faith in women, and whenever the can he avoids them. The barrister and accountant have been reduced to the wharf-labouring class through drink. They were medium drinkers until some misfortune came, and then they tried the old error of attempting to drown their sorrows with whisky. What is these men’s loss is the gain of ©theirs.. Quite a number have benefited materially through associating with them. >

“I have gained more' knowledge from some, of these men than apy. bdok could teach me,” said a gatekeeper of a Sussex Street wharf.

These men, no doubt, will continue to be the “mystery men of the Wharves,” but on, tihe waterfront they will always be reanembered as men who had the courage to throw aside their pride and earn a crust with their own hands.