Setting up House (continued)

Figure 8 Lakatoi. The craft used by Papuans for coastal navigation. With twin hulls, the catamaran-style boat was a speedy sailer.(Photograph courtesy of A. K. Hannay)

Audrey arrived in the middle of the north-west season when the high humidity is tempered by steady north-west winds. She and I were soon introduced to the strong squalls and heavy rain which had the local name of Guba. One dark night we were rudely wakened by the sudden and abrupt onset of torrential rain and gale force winds. Our bedroom windows were glazed and hinged on the side but the living room at the front of the house had shutters hinged at the top and propped open by slender wooden battens. Shutters and windows had been left open and in the gale were violently slamming open and shut. Before we could fasten the windows some were torn from their hinges and crashed to the rocky ground below. The Guba departed as abruptly as it had arrived. We were left somewhat dazed in the darkness caused by the blackout of our electricity supply.

I had written to the head office of the Bureau of Meteorology in Melbourne asking for the installation of a septic tank so that we could have an interior flush toilet to replace the outside pan lavatory. This had not been installed when Audrey arrived and was the first of a series of pioneering inconveniences to which she readily adapted. The primitive powerhouse located near the shore of the harbour provided electricity for lighting only. We had a kerosene refrigerator to preserve our food and a wood-fuel stove to cook it. We ordered provisions (including meat and fresh vegetables) by letter from a Sydney supplier, McIlwraith & Company. This arrived by the Burns Philp ships MV MacDhui or MV Montoro at roughly four weekly intervals. Because the capacity of our refrigerator was very small it was necessary to consume most of our delivery of meat, fresh fruit and vegetables within a day or two. Until the next ship arrived we then reverted to our diet of canned meat and vegetables and powdered milk, relieved only by fruit we bought from the Papuans.

Bureau of Meteorology