Marquette (AKA 95) - Naval Cruise Book

 - Class of 1946

Page 33 of 90

 

Marquette (AKA 95) - Naval Cruise Book online collection, 1946 Edition, Page 33 of 90
Page 33 of 90



Marquette (AKA 95) - Naval Cruise Book online collection, 1946 Edition, Page 32
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Page 33 text:

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Page 32 text:

whom they thought gone, were returning once again. The Matsonia, which we had last seen at Pearl, had taken home most of the remaining American Navy in Australia just before we arrived. Most of us went Hrst to the Red Cross on Adelaide Street. It offered an ideal place to stop and unscramble our minds after trading our dollars for pounds, shillings, and pence at the money exchange there. The sandwich shop in the basement turned out to be a favorite meeting place for all men going ashore. Brisbane appeared to be quite a large and well-populated city. We later found that because of the wish for small individual homes, it had one of the largest metropolitan areas of any city in the world, the city was bounded by a circle of about thirty miles in diameter. The American Army as well as theiRoya,l-, Air Force and Navy were present but we were the only American Navy. Naturally, we felt this made us top dogs and that the girls enjoyed our presence most. On further thought we rather suspect it a reflection of the belief that Americans have a little more money to throw around than the other fellow. Perhaps the Aussie servicemen were not quite as enthused as we were, and a few brushes were unavoidably mixed in with all the good times we had. Judging from a few conversations heard around the ship, most of the Aussies that fought side by side with Yanks thought quite a bit of them in the field. fEd. note - of battlej. r It was always easy to talk with and to learn a little about the Aussies and their country. We spoke the same language, if one ruled out a few dinleums, all that sort of thing, and other similar slang. They were greatly interested in us and our no longer far-away America, and knew much more about us than we about them. Our movies, armed forces, and radio, though presenting at times a little distorted picture of Americans as cowboys, playboys, or bandleaders, certainly were an indication of our ways of living. We found that while Australia and the United States are of approximately the same size, the land down under had only seven million inhabitants, concentrated in three or four major cities, one of which is Brisbane. Despite similar pioneer backgrounds, Australia had not developed industrially at the same rate as our own country, and this has effected not only its economic structure, but also its ways of living. For instance, items such as refrigerators, cars, and mass-produced clothing are not available to the middle-class levels to the same degree as in the United States. In Australia these things are considered luxuries and not sought after as furiously as in our country, perhaps this is because of the scarcity, but perhaps also the all-consuming, competitive drive - at times - of the American does not exist here. When this background is reflected in daily living, there exists a love of free- dom and independence equally as strong as the American's. The Nationalist struggles in Indonesia were the subject of much discussion at the time we were in Brisbane, and it appeared that there was even more widespread interest and comment on the problem here than there would be in a s'milar situation close to the States. The most interesting conclusion that could be drawn on such short acquaintance, was that while so much alike the Austral- ian and American think and feel differently on many points. The reactions of both peoples seem reasonable if all the background causes are considered critically. New York has its Daymon Runyon characters and Brisbane had a counterpart in Sammie, the taxi driver. He seemed to like the blooming Yanks and could always take us to exactly the type place We had in mind. The story got around that Sammie had worked so hard and long that he was now ready to go to New York to retire to a life of grandeur. No matter where he directed us in our wanderings around the city, we always seemed to pass Anzac Square a couple of times each liberty. Usually it was on the way to the City Hall for a dance that was held there nearly every night. The Aussie band always tried to imitate American swing music, and since we had heard nothing but canned jifve for quite a While, it sounded pretty good. The Australians say these dances were first started C197



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by American soldiers who furnished their own bands. The idea went over so well that when the Americans left, the people of Brisbane kept it going. For the homesick hepcats, a common breed aboard, the Coconut Grofve evoked happy memories' of American rug-cutting. There a few of the men picked up the latest in dance steps, the gypsy hop, a cross between judo and the two-step. This experience came in handy around pub time. Since beer and spirits were rationed in Brisbane, all bars, or pubs as they were called, were opened only at certain hours. The passer-by always could witness a combination of American football, wrestling, and boxing when pub call sounded. By the time the dust settled, all the beer would have been sold out and one or two of us would go away dry - eligible candidates for the Purple Heart. The majority of us had never visited a British possession before, and more than once on crossing the streets we found it n-ecessary to dive- for the sidewalks. The British drive on the left instead of the American right, and a lifetimeis habit of looking left when crossing a street was hard to break in a few days. Usually at least once a day the entire range of driver-to-pedestrian vocabulary was cast to one of our innocent but forgetful sailors. Then too, a longer but less violent punishment was getting on a tram that was going the other Way. One of the things we had looked forward to seeing was the kangaroo, for Australia and that animal were synonomous to us. A visit to a Koalo Bear farm satisfied that curio- sity, as well as introducing us to some of the other more interesting forms of Australian wild life. Amo-ng them were the Koala itself, the wierd red-and-yellow-striped Cus Cus, and the junior size kangaroo, the Wallaby. Since horses were legion in Australia, riding and racing were popular. Many a liberty request chit used as its excuse, The need for personal supervision of investments . Brisbane's story would not be complete without mentioning t-he old paddle-wheel ferry that made trips back and forth across the river, just a stone's throw from the ship. A favorite pastime on duty nights was to sit on deck and watch the ferry come, and go. The ferry captain reportedly came on board and requested that our VP's give him clearer berth and pass at a reduced speed, for our small boat activity was not doing his business any good. While we were ashore having our good times and getting to know the Aussies better, the ship was rapidly sinking lower in the water with its cargo of dry provisions. Each day of loading shortened our pleasant stay in Brisbane. Already we had our orders to sail for Samar in the Philippines. When the sailing day finally arrived, we pulled away from the Mercantile VVharf, getting a farewell wave from the people on the ferry dock. It was a little early in the morning and we will never know whether they really wishd to have one last chance to say hello and goodbye or were just glad to see us go. 1.4 -1 cg ci tb- '24 , 2- 5 E ii ff if' fr. 15:1 gi gpg ,Q is 'jhE3'L 5-1' . fra.. if-f vw- 5-C A+ .sf - x . ' Q cf if i , viii. ,,.,..--ff Y 5? , . C219 vi si ' .t ' .' :-.Ti-.5 , - .r pg - ' QT az, -. t ' ' ' wax M ,vi ' - ,r1.,g'ie' 1'

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