+blows+the+candle+for+his+second+birthday+flanked+by+siblings+Moasing,+Keith+and+Jr.+Nationalpic+by+MALUM+NALU-752758.JPG)
A cake for Keith...Keith (centre) blows the candle for his second birthday on Monday night flanked by siblings Moasing, Keith and Jr Malum Nalu.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
The horse and cart days
Down Memory Lane with PAUL OATES in Queensland, Australia
When I was a small child, most of our family’s daily requirements except meat, were delivered by a horse and cart. (Ice, Bread, Groceries, Milk, etc)
We didn’t have refrigerators in those days and used ice chests. Ice chests were galvanized zinc lined wooden boxes with a flap on the top opening into a self draining box. The bottom of the chest held a small, enameled metal cool area not unlike a very small bar fridge. This was how everyone kept their butter, milk and meat to ensure they didn’t go off in the heat.
The Ice man came early in the morning twice a week, to deliver ice to our house. His cart always had a slow drip of water trailing out the back. He knew we only had a smaller, ‘half block’ ice chest although some people had a larger ice chest that took a whole block. The Ice man would grab hold of a large block of ice with his two ice hooks and slide it out from under the hessian bags that kept the ice blocks insulated. He would then pull the block onto the back of the cart. A large block of ice was about two feet long (2/3’s of a meter in length) and a foot (a third of a meter) square. The Ice man would then break the large block into two halves by expertly striking the block in the middle with his ice pick and turn the block over and strike it again in the middle. The block would split neatly into two halves but often leave some small ice chips that would fall onto the road. Small boys used to follow the ice cart around and grab the ice chips and suck them like highly prized lollies.
The Ice man would grab hold of the half block and lift it onto his shoulder using his ice hooks. He wore a leather cape made up of a shoulder guard and a hood covering his head to protect him from the ice he carried. With his yell of “Ice Oh!” people would open their front doors and have the top flap of the ice chest open ready. The Ice man would deposit the block or half block into the top of the top of whatever was left of the last bock. Sometimes in the cooler weather, the last block hadn’t completely melted and the top flap of the ice chest wouldn’t close for a while until the ice had melted down and drained away.
The Ice man’s leather head and shoulder guard was very similar to one that the sanitary carter used when he picked up and carried on his shoulder the sanitary bins from the outside toilet. He would then replace the ‘full’ bins with empty ones from the ‘Honey Wagon’. The sanitary bins were two foot high and about 18 inches in diameter and when full, were very heavy. It took a strong man to be a sanitary carter in every sense of the word and in those days, the sanitary carter was reputedly one of the most highly paid workers. Everyone knew why. You always checked the outside ‘loo’ for any undesirables like snakes and spiders before use.
Milk was also delivered early in the morning, in bulk and direct from the dairy at the end of the street. The dairy farmer, who had milked his cows before dawn, would make his deliveries via his horse and cart. The Milkman’s cart had a large metal barrel on the back of it and the Milkman would ladle out the fresh milk from a hole in the top of the barrel into a large Billycan and carry the milk to each house. Each family had a servery built into the side of the house about a foot (1/3 of a meter), square where the milk Billycan would be left at night. When we sometimes were locked out of the house if the wind had blown the door closed, my job was to crawl through the servery and open the front door from the inside. The milkman would then pour the milk delivery into the family’s quart pot (2 pints or about 1 and ½ liters) Billycan and close the outside door to keep the milk out of the sun. Some larger families might have half a gallon (4 pints) delivered in the same way.
Later in the day, the baker would also use the servery to deposit the family’s bread delivery. Baker’s carts were often painted in a very artistic manner with colourful scrolls and the name of the bakery painted on the side. The back of the cart was open and the loaves were held on shelves. Our bread was usually a high topped loaf although some preferred a square loaf. Wrapped, sliced bread was not available then. Grandfather would slice the loaf in a peculiar way using an old bread knife. He would hold the loaf with his left arm around it and with his right hand slowly saw towards him a slice off the top of the loaf. I understand this was a traditional English way of slicing bread and Grandfather’s parents came from Cornwall and Devon. Breadboards were apparently a more recent invention. As a child, I can remember waiting impatiently for the next slice of bread to be available but nothing would hurry Grandfather. Butter, fresh out of the ice chest, was usually ‘as hard as goat’s knees’ and you had to wait a while for it to become spreadable. My favourite lunch was bread and treacle.
The horses pulling all these delivery the carts would remember where the next delivery was to be made and automatically halt outside that house. Each horse would have a nose bag with grain and chaff in it and would slowly ‘munch’ its way along the road and occasionally deposit a pile (on a winter’s morning), of steaming horse dung. The road outside our house often had lumps of horse manure in the middle of it and people would collect this and put on their roses. This had a good effect on the roses but always sprouted unwanted oats seedlings that the horse had eaten but not digested.
Talking to my Aunt recently, she related a story about when my Grandfather (her brother) was working at McIlwraith's Grocery Store in Parramatta. He borrowed the pony the family used to pull the farm sulky and took it on the rounds to collect and deliver grocery orders. My Aunt said that it turned out to be a bit of a nuisance for when the family decided to go on a sulky ride somewhere, the darned pony would continually stop and wait every time it arrived outside each house that Grandfather used to visit with a grocery order.
When I was a small child, most of our family’s daily requirements except meat, were delivered by a horse and cart. (Ice, Bread, Groceries, Milk, etc)
We didn’t have refrigerators in those days and used ice chests. Ice chests were galvanized zinc lined wooden boxes with a flap on the top opening into a self draining box. The bottom of the chest held a small, enameled metal cool area not unlike a very small bar fridge. This was how everyone kept their butter, milk and meat to ensure they didn’t go off in the heat.
The Ice man came early in the morning twice a week, to deliver ice to our house. His cart always had a slow drip of water trailing out the back. He knew we only had a smaller, ‘half block’ ice chest although some people had a larger ice chest that took a whole block. The Ice man would grab hold of a large block of ice with his two ice hooks and slide it out from under the hessian bags that kept the ice blocks insulated. He would then pull the block onto the back of the cart. A large block of ice was about two feet long (2/3’s of a meter in length) and a foot (a third of a meter) square. The Ice man would then break the large block into two halves by expertly striking the block in the middle with his ice pick and turn the block over and strike it again in the middle. The block would split neatly into two halves but often leave some small ice chips that would fall onto the road. Small boys used to follow the ice cart around and grab the ice chips and suck them like highly prized lollies.
The Ice man would grab hold of the half block and lift it onto his shoulder using his ice hooks. He wore a leather cape made up of a shoulder guard and a hood covering his head to protect him from the ice he carried. With his yell of “Ice Oh!” people would open their front doors and have the top flap of the ice chest open ready. The Ice man would deposit the block or half block into the top of the top of whatever was left of the last bock. Sometimes in the cooler weather, the last block hadn’t completely melted and the top flap of the ice chest wouldn’t close for a while until the ice had melted down and drained away.
The Ice man’s leather head and shoulder guard was very similar to one that the sanitary carter used when he picked up and carried on his shoulder the sanitary bins from the outside toilet. He would then replace the ‘full’ bins with empty ones from the ‘Honey Wagon’. The sanitary bins were two foot high and about 18 inches in diameter and when full, were very heavy. It took a strong man to be a sanitary carter in every sense of the word and in those days, the sanitary carter was reputedly one of the most highly paid workers. Everyone knew why. You always checked the outside ‘loo’ for any undesirables like snakes and spiders before use.
Milk was also delivered early in the morning, in bulk and direct from the dairy at the end of the street. The dairy farmer, who had milked his cows before dawn, would make his deliveries via his horse and cart. The Milkman’s cart had a large metal barrel on the back of it and the Milkman would ladle out the fresh milk from a hole in the top of the barrel into a large Billycan and carry the milk to each house. Each family had a servery built into the side of the house about a foot (1/3 of a meter), square where the milk Billycan would be left at night. When we sometimes were locked out of the house if the wind had blown the door closed, my job was to crawl through the servery and open the front door from the inside. The milkman would then pour the milk delivery into the family’s quart pot (2 pints or about 1 and ½ liters) Billycan and close the outside door to keep the milk out of the sun. Some larger families might have half a gallon (4 pints) delivered in the same way.
Later in the day, the baker would also use the servery to deposit the family’s bread delivery. Baker’s carts were often painted in a very artistic manner with colourful scrolls and the name of the bakery painted on the side. The back of the cart was open and the loaves were held on shelves. Our bread was usually a high topped loaf although some preferred a square loaf. Wrapped, sliced bread was not available then. Grandfather would slice the loaf in a peculiar way using an old bread knife. He would hold the loaf with his left arm around it and with his right hand slowly saw towards him a slice off the top of the loaf. I understand this was a traditional English way of slicing bread and Grandfather’s parents came from Cornwall and Devon. Breadboards were apparently a more recent invention. As a child, I can remember waiting impatiently for the next slice of bread to be available but nothing would hurry Grandfather. Butter, fresh out of the ice chest, was usually ‘as hard as goat’s knees’ and you had to wait a while for it to become spreadable. My favourite lunch was bread and treacle.
The horses pulling all these delivery the carts would remember where the next delivery was to be made and automatically halt outside that house. Each horse would have a nose bag with grain and chaff in it and would slowly ‘munch’ its way along the road and occasionally deposit a pile (on a winter’s morning), of steaming horse dung. The road outside our house often had lumps of horse manure in the middle of it and people would collect this and put on their roses. This had a good effect on the roses but always sprouted unwanted oats seedlings that the horse had eaten but not digested.
Talking to my Aunt recently, she related a story about when my Grandfather (her brother) was working at McIlwraith's Grocery Store in Parramatta. He borrowed the pony the family used to pull the farm sulky and took it on the rounds to collect and deliver grocery orders. My Aunt said that it turned out to be a bit of a nuisance for when the family decided to go on a sulky ride somewhere, the darned pony would continually stop and wait every time it arrived outside each house that Grandfather used to visit with a grocery order.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Horror smash leaves 17 dead
* 17 killed, over 40 injured
* Two PMVs collide near Bereina
* Many victims from Iokea and bodies, casualties at
By YEHIURA HRIEHWAZI and PATRICK TALU in The National,
SEVENTEEN people were killed and more than 40 are fighting for their lives in hospital after one of PNG’s worst road accidents on the
Two PMV trucks collided head-on in the horrific accident about 4pm, several kilometres toward Iokea village from the Bereina station turn-off.
Sixteen of the passengers and crew died on impact, while a young boy died on arrival at the
A nursing staff of
Hiritano Highway Police Patrol unit officers told The National in Hisiu yesterday that the 13 passengers who died on impact were in the PMV truck travelling to Iokea from
One of the women killed instantly was named as Fotuna Akarai Sarufa, in her mid-40s, who was travelling to Iokea for a farewell feast for her elder sister who passed away 43 days ago.
Mrs Sarufa died instantly from a head injury. Her niece, Emma Tau, who was accompanying her aunt, also died instantly, and one of her sons-in-law, Kivovia Kevei Ovai, a former Correctional Services officer, also died in the crash.
An employee of a mining company, Loksy Ovai, who was heading home to Iokea for his field break, was killed as he sat in the cabin of the PMV truck. The driver, Charlie Tapora, and a third person in the cabin, were crushed into the back of the cabin and died instantly.
Police said the driver and crew of the city-bound truck also died on impact.
There was a smell of death in the air and cargo and passengers’ belongings strewn all over the scene of the accident when The National arrived yesterday.
Kerema East local level government president, Robert Paiva, who was at the scene, was shocked and distraught by the tragedy.
Many who died were his relatives and he was travelling to
He called for more police patrols on the highway and urged the Works Department to clear the sides of the roads which were overgrown with tall grass that made the national highway appear like a bush track, with visibility of on-coming vehicles extremely difficult (see separate story above).
The Hiritano Highway Police Patrol told The National that the PMV travelling to
On impact, passengers and cargo were thrown toward the cabins of the two PMVs, with visible signs of the metal frames bent inwards.
Help was sought from the
They rushed four passengers with serious internal injuries to
The total death toll was put at 17 last night by various persons and police spoken to by The National.
The front of the POMGH turned into a large mourning site as people from Gulf province arrived in droves as news of the accident spread through various suburbs like Taikone, Kaugere, Mahuru, Gerehu, Koki, Hohola, Tokarara and Gordon on Saturday night.
There was wailing and mourning at the hospital grounds up to about 1am on Sunday as relatives confirmed deaths of their family members and identified bodies as they were transported in.
Reliable sources from POMGH’s Accident and Emergency unit confirmed that 17 bodies were transferred to the hospital morgue, while the rest of the passengers, some with serious injuries, are fighting for their lives at the intensive care unit.
When The National visited the emergency ward and surgical units at 6pm yesterday, 43 badly injured passengers were fighting for their lives.
Happy 2nd birthday, Keith Nalu
Happy 2nd Birthday to my third son, Keith 'Baby' Nalu Jr, who turns two years old today, Monday, June 01, 2009.
That is sadly without Mum, Hula, who left us so tragically in Easter 2008.
I love you son, and God Bless You as Your prepare to take your place in this wide, wide world.
Love from Dad, as well as big brothers Malum Nalu Jr, Gedi, and sister Moasing, plus family and friends in Daru, Lae, Goroka, Papua New Guinea, Australia and the world.
I love you son, and God Bless You as Your prepare to take your place in this wide, wide world.
Love from Dad, as well as big brothers Malum Nalu Jr, Gedi, and sister Moasing, plus family and friends in Daru, Lae, Goroka, Papua New Guinea, Australia and the world.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Today at the farm
Captions: 1. Green Grevillea 2. Grevillea 3. Grevillea 4. Honey Gem Grevillea 5. Pink Grevillea 6. Lorikeet 7. Wobbly 8. Lorikeet 9. Lorikeet 10 Lorikeet
From Paul Oates in
We've just had a little rain and the Grevilleas are bursting into flower. AsI try to photograph the flowers, Rainbow Lorikeets screech at me for interrupting their evening meal and at their screeching, a furry head pops up from behind the rock wall to see what's going on.
Implement work place policy on smoking
By ELIZABETH MIAE in The National
THE PNG Medical Society (PNGMS) has called on Government and private institutions to implement the tobacco legislation into work place policies at their work places.
PNGMS president Dr Mathias Sapuri said the tobacco legislation was already in place but was not being enforced because many institutions were not taking it seriously.
He urged the Health Department to revive the legislation and tighten it up to give the department power to penalise people who smoke in smoke-free zones.
Dr Sapuri’s comments were timely as PNG observes the World No Tobacco Day today with the theme “Tobacco Health Warnings”.
“We need to have a penalty that is instituted by a legislation.
“It is our responsibility, as the medical society, to advise the public that smoking causes cancer.
“The more you smoke, the more you damage your lungs,” Dr Sapuri stressed.
He said all health facilities and public places (including work places) should be free from smoking and the chewing of betelnut.
Dr Sapuri added that places such as restaurants, pubs and night clubs could create a smoke room or corridor where smokers could go to smoke as being done in Asia, Europe and
“It is entirely up to pubs to impose a ban on smoking but some people may argue that it is discriminatory.
“But passive smoking is more dangerous because the non-smoker is inhaling more smoke than the smoker who is blowing it out,” he said.
Dr Sapuri also called on parents to be responsible and not send their children to buy cigarettes and betelnut for them because that was where they picked up the bad habits.
He highlighted that as one of the biggest problems in the country where children were being educated “indirectly” by parents on how to smoke and chew.
World No Tobacco Day is celebrated annually on May 31.
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