A HERO OF THE NEVER NEVER.

Colonist, Volume LIII, Issue 13110, 19 May 1911, Page 1

A HERO OF THE NEVER NEVER.

A brief cablegram from Port Darwin on April 29th, announcing that "Henry Peckham and three otiki Europeans were drowned at Campbell's Springs, in tho Northern Territory," concealed quite a sensational story of tho death of a man who was a personality. Mr. Henry V. Peckhr-.ni (.says the "Lyttelton Times") was a native of New Zealand, having bscn horn in Geraldine, and was known far and wide as one of the most drum;; mail contractors of Australia's terribl'o Never Never country. For twenty years he maintained the mail service between Katherine and Powell's Crock which are separated by 320 miie:; of "shadeless, trackless, sim-bakod, crabholorl" plains and downs ,and since tile pud of last year he had been contractor for the Katherine-Victoria river service, his journey oacli way being 280 miles. Each of the journeys was'done with a team of packhorsos every sis weoks. At any time tho long stretches of drscrt country made travelling d:mjrornus, and in bad seasons wl^n flooded streams wore -added to the other perils, tho mailman's lonely rkl ( > demanded almost heroic endeavour Mr. Pcckham lost his life in attempting to transport his mails aero-<; a flooded river. Ho had a black boy with him, .and the boy was able to save the mails, acting under his master's instructions, but Mr Pcckham would not accept the native's assistance hri!sclr, fearing tliat Ins precious burden might be lost, and bo was swept off Irs horsn and drowned, sacrificing his ]if« to his sense of duty. Mr Peckha-n was known to all his friends amo. U ' «t, lo"€'1- v settlers of tho interior ns The Fizzer," and under that title l-o was immortalised in Mrs. Acne-is Ounn shook, "We of fto Never