LAND OF THE LOST

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 May 1938, Page 11

LAND OF THE LOST

FORGOTTEN MEN OF TASMANIA LONDON, April 26. ■'Land of forgotten men. with the ghost-town of Zeehan as its centre,” is how the Rev. lan Macdonald describes Western Tasmania. Now the vicar of St. Peter’s. Bradford, Mr. Macdonald was formerly in charge of the Zeehan parish—9o miles long by 18 miles broad. When he arrived there, he says, rotting verandahs threatened to crash down on his head as he walked the streets. Foul searching odours issued from jagged gaps in broken windows. Trees pushed their way through the walls and roofs of deserted dwellings. But he found the last Zeehanites unbroken in spirit. The people were genuine find honest. If a funeral had to be conducted, Mr. Macdonald dug the grave before the servicec. He deputised for the midwife in outlying places. If the lads were too rowdy in the pubs, he discarded his coat and chucked them out. He became so expert that the police sergeant would telephone for him if he had a bad case on hand. He led the amateur dramatic society, captained the cricket and football teams, and acted as a member of an orchestra and a legal adviser. His parishioners were not surprised when he visited them with an axe slung at his waist. They knew that he needed it to hew rough planks and make a, shakedown bed, filled witn ferns. He found that radiators and vacuum cleaners were, used in the bush, the wires being slung from treetops. Mr. Macdonald recalled an incident when a tough character was breaking up a pub. His attention was called to it by a pint pot whizzing within a few inches of his head as he passed. He entered, carried out a miner, and dumped him in the rectory garage, where he slept soundly till morning. The miner left a “thank-you” note behind.