SYDNEY’S SENSATIONS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 386, 21 June 1928, Page 13

SYDNEY’S SENSATIONS

THE SUy’S SYDXEY LETTER

COOKS SURRENDER FLYERS LEAVE FOR MELBOURNE SYDNEY, June 15. 1928. Sydney has not lost her reputation for providing a constant supply of sensations. Yesterday, after Kingsford Smith had flown away to Melbourne, and the sea cooks’ strike had shown serious signs of petering out, Jock Garden, the leader of the “Reds” in Sydney, was arrested and the heaviest cyclonic storm for years burst over the city, sweeping the coasts all to-day. “Bad weather will soon settle the strike,” said a wiseacre on the waterfront to-day, and surely, the idle men in the neighbourhood looked miserable enough to settle anything, though most of them lacked the needful to make it a drink. His prophecy was fulfilled, though Mr. Tndehope, the cooks’ secretary, attributed their capitulation to the attitude of the other unions. Air. Garden’s arrest also assisted to bring about peace. The Men of the “Southern Cross” When the Southern Cross flew away from Mascot Airdrome yesterday, the date of the departure of the American members of the crew was still undecided. At first Messrs. Warner and Lyons intended to sail by the Maunga:nui to-day, but they were persuaded to stay till the end of next week and leave by the Sonoma, which does not call at Auckland. Now it is hoped to keep them here longer. Undoubtedly they would be an acquisition on the proposed trip to New Zealand. It appears that the whole matter is one of business. These two were engaged at £IOO a day each to cross the Pacific. At Brisbane, when funds were low, Ivingsford Smith felt that he could dispense with their services, but since then the money has rolled in. and now he is offering them onehall of all the money donated over and above expenses. The Americans have declined this generous, if belated, offer. Welcome Awaits Them at Home Apparently there is no ill-feeling over the matter, though something of the kind was suspected at Brisbane. The fact is that the people of the United States have started a huge fund for the navigator and wireless man of the Soul hern Cross. It will run into 500,000 dollars, it is said, and naturally, since it will mean three Aveeks’ travel home, the men are anxious to leave here as soon as possible. This international flight has developed-aspects little dreamed of when the four.heroes set off on their great venture. America’s share in the undertaking is so considerable that nobody can decry the eagerness of the people of the United States to see their representatives of the flight home again soon. . . . An Australian said to me: “And I’ll bet that when they get back the papers and the people will call it an American flight.” Maybe, and are not we here calling it an Australian one? Apparently the time has not yet arrived when these tAvo countries will be sufficiently in tune to call such a combined effort an Ameri-can-Australian one, or vice versa. Jock Garden’s Sailor Brother A brother of Jock Garden, the Labour man who arrested lor inciting to murder, in connection with the maritime strike, is Captain James Garden, of the Adelaide Company’s Arkaba, and this mariner took his ship, to sea to-day, manned entirely by free labour. He is not at all in sympathy with strikes or any other of the machinations of his brother. He is one of the best-liked and most capable skip-: pers sailing out of Sydney. One of the trans-Tasman captains told me today that he went up for his second mate’s ticket with Captain Garden, and he found him a sterling fellow. The anomaly of these two brothers is j another example of what strange things can occur in Sydney, A\ r here Premiers and A\ r atersiders know one another by their Christian names. The Anglo-Saxon Type During his recent trip to Broken Hill Avith the Governor, Mr. Chaffey. Minister of Mines, evidently found more interest above than beloAV ground. He has commented on the large numbers of faur-haired, fairskinned children whom he saw on his tour. This reminds me of a remark on similar lines made by Mr. Massey in the Auckland Club on one occasion when he dropped in for a chat after some campaigning in the Bay of Plenty. He said then that though, that area, many of the parents hafi dark complexions, there were scores of flaxen-haired children. He added that throughout New Zealand he liad noticed the same preponderance of the blonde type. In the discussion which followed it was decided that this was due to the reversion to the AngloSaxon type, which predominates in NeAV Zealand. And doubtless this has been the case in Australia, too, for despite the mixture of races here, there is still over 80 per cent, of British stock. WILL LAWSON.