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A VARIED LIFE

IRISHMAN IN EASTSYDNEY, Julie 28. A tall, lean Irishman, who has spent half his life in the islands north of Australia as a policeman, rubber planter, pearler, and professional tiger hunter, among- other vocations, aj'i-ived' in Sydney this week for his first redl holiday in many years. He wore bleached moleskin trousers and two hats. His. name is John. Wesley Cox. As | a youth he was! in the Royal Irish (Jon- ■ stabtilary, .and in his early, twenties went out to the Straits Settlements,' where he became a sergeant, and- later, inspector, in the Malayan police force.He served’ for five years with the Irish Guards throughout the Great War. and ; on returning to Sumatra conducted a rubber plantation until prices collapsed in 1921. i About 6ft 3in in height, and wearing his well-seasoned broad-brinimei 1 , double hat with tattered ribbon, Mr. I Cox, who is 50 years; of age. iw a pic-, turesque. figure. His hat, he said, was called a double tera, and consisted ol one felt hat imposed on another as a protection against the tropic sun. Now road master ini New Guinea, Mr. Cox said that in 25 years’ wandering he 1 had been, among other things, a -professional tiger hunter. He said th.-11 he had never seen a tiger except Jin a zoo, before- he became a tiger hunter. Five years' ago, when he was in Sumatra, two tigers mauled ten people, and terrorised' a small village. He went out with a gun and killed l both tigers. Many Javanese- guards on an old pipe line had been killed by tigers, land the l oil company, hearing of his ! exploits, gave him the> job of huntling the animals. With a German he I killed .1" ligers. For each they reIceivcd a .£lO bonus, in addition to > .£5O a month pay. “It was tine while lit lasted, but my partner caught I blackwater fever, and I had to call the ■ expedition off.” lie said. I Mr. Cox became a public servant in INe w Guinea five vears- ago. i i ' ■■■■! ■ I

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Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/GEST19390718.2.11

Bibliographic details

Greymouth Evening Star, 18 July 1939, Page 3

Word Count
346

A VARIED LIFE Greymouth Evening Star, 18 July 1939, Page 3

A VARIED LIFE Greymouth Evening Star, 18 July 1939, Page 3