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Contains a final section entitled 'Ethnographical' made up of five short essays in which Becke observes a range of natural phenomena and describes a number of Pacific Islander cultural practices.
Contents
* Contents derived from the London,
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England,
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United Kingdom (UK),
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Western Europe,Europe,:John Milne,1909 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Tom Denison is forced to resign his supercargo position after Saunderson's bumbling interference results in Denison's being fined for smuggling ammunition to a Samoan chief. When the two men meet again in two year's time Denison exacts his revenge.
Becke writes of the pitfalls and consolations of life as a trader in the Pacific Islands. He gives a detailed and appreciative account of his eleven months on the island of Nanomaga, particularly the lives of the Islanders and the natural environment.
A young bank clerk, newly arrived from England, is shocked by the lax habits of the Townsville inhabitants. When he falls in love with a local girl she tells him that her father makes fun of him and will never let her marry a 'duffer'. She asks him to prove himself by shooting a crocodile.
Clarkson, a trader, has failed in all his postings because of his fear of Pacific Islanders. After pleading for one last chance he is given a position replacing a trader who has been tabooed by the local people.
The narrator joins up with a party of timber workers to hunt and fish. He then spends a few days on a deserted cattle station and is shown features of the area by the grandson of an old man who lives in a bark hut on the property.
Two men are stranded on Hunter Island, a dormant volcano, after their dinghy is wrecked in a ferocious storm. The volcano proves not to be as dormant as they thought.
Becke writes of the founding of Port Macquarie and explains why it became known as 'Lots o' Time'. He also gives an apparently autobiographical account of his childhood in the town.
Becke writes of the rising of the palolo worm, occurring during the last quarter of the October moon. The worm is regarded as a delicacy and Becke describes the festivities with which the Samoan people celebrate the event, as well as the methods used to cook the worm.
