AustLit
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.
Latest Issues
Notes
-
Contains a final section entitled 'Ethnographical' made up of five short essays in which Becke observes a range of natural phenomena and describes a number of Pacific Islander cultural practices.
Contents
* Contents derived from the
London,
c
England,c
c
United Kingdom (UK),c
Western Europe,
Europe,:John Milne
, 1909 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.-
The Man Who Was Too Small For His Boots,
single work
short story
A bullying ship's captain is intent on recovering the treasure from a sunken ship. However, his brutality and greed lead to his death.
-
Denison Gets Even with Saunderson,
single work
short story
Tom Denison is forced to resign his supercargo position after Saunderson's bumbling interference results in Denison's being fined for smuggling ammunition to a Samoan chief. When the two men meet again in two year's time Denison exacts his revenge.
-
The Deserter,
single work
short story
A deserter from the Royal Navy risks his freedom to save the crew of a boat that was sent to capture him.
-
The Loneliness of It,
single work
short story
Becke writes of the pitfalls and consolations of life as a trader in the Pacific Islands. He gives a detailed and appreciative account of his eleven months on the island of Nanomaga, particularly the lives of the Islanders and the natural environment.
-
Julius Jenkins's Christmas Alligator
Julius Adolphus Jenkins's Christmas Alligator,
single work
short story
humour
A young bank clerk, newly arrived from England, is shocked by the lax habits of the Townsville inhabitants. When he falls in love with a local girl she tells him that her father makes fun of him and will never let her marry a 'duffer'. She asks him to prove himself by shooting a crocodile.
-
My Friend George, the Docker,
single work
short story
A dockworker relates how grasping priests drove his betrothed to suicide.
-
Teresa Stuart : A Reminiscence of the Bush,
single work
short story
A young girl loses her entire family in a series of tragedies.
-
Captain Bolter's Escape,
single work
short story
A retired sea captain is saved from making a disastrous marriage.
-
Some Skippers with Whom I Have Sailed,
single work
short story
Becke writes of several of the sea captains he has sailed with, good and bad.
-
Denison Gives a Supper Party,
single work
short story
Tom Denison devises a scheme to win the command of a ship previously denied to him by the meanest man in Samoa.
-
Clarkson's Last Chance,
single work
short story
Clarkson, a trader, has failed in all his postings because of his fear of Pacific Islanders. After pleading for one last chance he is given a position replacing a trader who has been tabooed by the local people.
-
A Coastal Tramp,
single work
short story
The narrator joins up with a party of timber workers to hunt and fish. He then spends a few days on a deserted cattle station and is shown features of the area by the grandson of an old man who lives in a bark hut on the property.
-
The Most Hateful Place I Know,
single work
short story
Two men are stranded on Hunter Island, a dormant volcano, after their dinghy is wrecked in a ferocious storm. The volcano proves not to be as dormant as they thought.
-
An Incident of Marriage in the South Seas,
single work
short story
A man and his companion live in seclusion, believing that the man had killed his companion's former husband.
-
An Adventure with 'Grey Nurses',
single work
short story
An unpopular and brutal foreman ignores advice given to him, resulting in a terrifying experience with three grey nurse sharks.
-
'Jack Shark',
single work
short story
Becke relates tales about shark attacks and shark-catching.
-
'Lots o' Time',
single work
short story
autobiography
Becke writes of the founding of Port Macquarie and explains why it became known as 'Lots o' Time'. He also gives an apparently autobiographical account of his childhood in the town.
-
The Palolo Worm of Samoa,
single work
essay
Becke writes of the rising of the palolo worm, occurring during the last quarter of the October moon. The worm is regarded as a delicacy and Becke describes the festivities with which the Samoan people celebrate the event, as well as the methods used to cook the worm.
-
The 'Fishing Liar' and His Verification : Fishing-nets of Spiders' Webs,
single work
essay
Becke presents evidence verifying stories that some of the inhabitants of the mountainous areas of New Guinea use spider webs as fishing nets.
-
On the Ways of Some Tropical Birds,
single work
essay
Becke records the unusual behaviour of several species of tropical birds.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Miscellaneous Works
1909
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australasian , 31 July vol. 87 no. 2261 1909; (p. 306-307)
— Review of 'Neath Austral Skies 1909 selected work short story -
New Books
1909
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Town and Country Journal , 11 August vol. 79 no. 2062 1909; (p. 55)
— Review of 'Neath Austral Skies 1909 selected work short story -
Australasia
1909
single work
review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 5 August vol. 30 no. 1538 1909; (p. 2)
— Review of 'Neath Austral Skies 1909 selected work short story
-
Miscellaneous Works
1909
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australasian , 31 July vol. 87 no. 2261 1909; (p. 306-307)
— Review of 'Neath Austral Skies 1909 selected work short story -
Australasia
1909
single work
review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 5 August vol. 30 no. 1538 1909; (p. 2)
— Review of 'Neath Austral Skies 1909 selected work short story -
New Books
1909
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Town and Country Journal , 11 August vol. 79 no. 2062 1909; (p. 55)
— Review of 'Neath Austral Skies 1909 selected work short story
Last amended 6 Apr 2016 16:05:47
Export this record