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In the Far North series - publisher   essay  
Issue Details: First known date: 1921... 1921 In the Far North
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Includes

In the Far North No. I : Tragedies of the Barrier Archibald Meston , 1921 single work essay
— Appears in: The Sydney Mail , 27 July 1921; (p. 12,33)
This article consists of a series of adventure and horror stories set on Barrier Reef islands or coastal north Queensland. They deal with conflicts between European crews and Aborigines; swimming feats by shipwrecked fishermen; encounters with crocodiles; the death of Kennedy's men; a rifle duel between settlers; and the loss of the Pipon Island lightship in a cyclone that also wrecked the pearling fleet.
In the Far North No. II : Voices of the Barrier Reef Archibald Meston , 1921 single work essay
— Appears in: The Sydney Mail , 3 August 1921; (p. 12, 33)
Meston gives examples of the destructiveness and power of tropical cyclones. He describes the burial of two of Kennedy's men on Albany Island and the remains of the failed settlement of Somerset, founded in 1862 by the Jardine family on the tip of Cape York, where 'the surrounding blacks were all bitterly and persistently hostile'. He also gives details of gold found on Possession Island. He narrates the killing and eating of shipwrecked Dutchmen on Torres Strait islands, and the Dutch government's retaliatory raid.
In the Far North No. III : Life on the Barrier Archibald Meston , 1921 single work essay
— Appears in: The Sydney Mail , 10 August 1921; (p. 12, 32)

This article begins and ends with tales of shipwreck and tragedy on Barrier Reef islands and the nearby mainland. Other topics include the formation of coral reefs, their fairyland beauty, a death struggle between a shark and a turtle, the edibility of turtles and dugong, and decreasing supplies of trepang and pearl shell.

In the Far North No. IV : Cape York Peninsula Archibald Meston , 1921 single work essay
— Appears in: The Sydney Mail , 17 August 1921; (p. 12, 35)
After mentioning expeditions to the tip of Cape York by the Jardine brothers in 1864 and by R. L. Jack in 1880, Meston describes the general topgraphy of the region before focusing on the lagoon behind the Mapoon Mission Station which abounds in species of ducks and wading birds. The Ducie and Batavia Rivers are haunted by crocodiles, which are hunted and eaten by local Aborigines. The first navigators were unlucky enough to sight only the 'low shore of mangroves and swamps' of the western side of the peninsula. The article concludes with an account of seasonal massed bird migrations, and with a mention of the barramundi, a species discovered by Leichhardt.
In the Far North No. V : Peninsula Aboriginal Tribes Archibald Meston , 1921 single work essay
— Appears in: The Sydney Mail , 24 August 1921; (p. 13, 32)
Meston covers many aspects of Aboriginal tribal life on inland Cape York, including the legend of how the jabiru became silent. 'My own opinion is that the aboriginals occupied this continent before there was any civilised race in the world.' He deplores the 'indiscriminate' shooting of Aborigines by pioneer squatters, and the further reduction in population through introduced diseases.
Last amended 8 May 2017 16:19:24
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